The many shades of intolerance

Intolerance in India is discussed mostly within the framework of religion and not caste

The Pew Research Center report, (June 2021), has provoked several critical articles, which mostly present its findings as being about Hindu-Muslim relations. The survey, however, presents comparative data pertaining to four other major religions: Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism. Its conclusion, according to these articles, broadly confirms the growing influence of Hindutva politics on India’s social fabric. According to the report, “India’s concept of religious tolerance does not necessarily involve the mixing of religious communities. While people in some countries may aspire to create a ‘melting pot’ of different religious identities, many Indians seem to prefer a country more like a patchwork of a fabric with clear lines between groups.” However, interrogation of the conceptual foundations on which the report is premised could lead to a vastly different understanding of tolerance in India.