We had been a society where a joint celebration of festivals was part of our common culture. Now things have come to such a pass that provocative actions are planned to ensure a divisive trajectory in society.

What is needed is to combat the ‘love jihad’ propaganda, which is being done with unimaginable intensity and is vitiating social peace. The need for national ‘help lines’ and support systems for such isolated girls in painful relationships is the need for the hour. 

Another welcome part of Yatra is the proactive response of these social groups and many political parties to affirm the values of pluralism, diversity and democracy. 

Today the international image of India, courtesy the RSS-BJP, is a Hindu supremacist one where minorities are insecure, where identity issues are getting precedence over the issues of livelihood. RSS is the fountainhead of this politics; it needs introspection if it is serious about the process of dialogue and reconciliation.

While the ruling Hindutva ideology sees Islam and Christianity as "foreign religions" and developed this ideology into misconceptions and hate against Muslims and Christians, the understanding of Gandhi, Nehru, Bose and most leaders of the freedom movement revolved around seeing the diverse religions as a point of welcome and strength to the…

The Supreme Court must respond to the PILs and put these Gujarat convicts back to where they belong -- the prison

The attack on syncretism from multiple directions and the communal distraction in the face of the worsening plight of people should worry us all

What is needed more is an end to the hate campaigns against the Muslim community and the start of affirmative action for the weaker sections of the Muslim population, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor

Mere symbols don’t bring the substance unless values of Fraternity, Equality and Liberty are followed, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor

Jawaharlal Nehru was pained by the abuse of religion by peddlers of blind faith and those using religion as a cover for their political goals, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor