India, since its inception, has grappled with balancing secu­lar principles and majoritarian religious sentiments. Nehru envi­sioned a secular state, but re­cent decades have shown the erosion of these ide­als in favor of an asser­tive Hindu nationalism, driven by political op­portunism and a desire for Hindu dominance. Arti­cles 15, 16, 25–28, 29, 30, and the Directive Principles of the Indi­an Constitution place a strong em­phasis on equality, secularism, and religious freedom. These virtues of Indian plural society have been under pervasive stress since the emergence of the Rashtriya Sway­amsevak Sangh (RSS) driven Modi Sarkar in India.

In the intricate interplay between secularism and democracy in India, the RSS steadily gained prominence, eventually paving the way for the rise of its political face, the Bharati­ya Janata Party (BJP), with its pecu­liar ideological direction. The rise of the BJP, characterized by its radical ideology and electoral dominance, has changed the course of Indi­an politics. With significant conse­quences for both internal politics and India’s international position, their vision of a “New India” deft­ly blends Hindutva with patriotic fervor and majoritarian Hindu am­bitions. A concerning agenda that targets minorities, including Sikhs, Christians, Muslims, and Dalits, has been brought about by the RSS’s impact on the BJP’s ascent. Reli­gious minorities have continuously endured oppression in India, from the 1984 Gujarat riots to the........

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