Unequal Freedom
By Gemini AI “Earlier, when they were in power, they said that Muslims have the first right on the country’s assets. This means who will they collect this wealth and distribute it to? They will distribute it to those who have more children. They will distribute it to infiltrators.” As India is gearing up to celebrate its 80 th Independence Day, I’m tempted to ask the question what freedom means to Indians today when the country has a Prime Minister who delivers speeches like what’s quoted above. Modi didn’t speak these lines long ago when he was struggling to consolidate his power over the nation. These lines were spoken in April 2024 during an election rally in Rajasthan. No less a persona than the Prime Minister is telling the nation that all the Muslims – 172 million citizens – are infiltrators. What does freedom mean to such a huge section of the country? Most BJP leaders keep uttering similar views frequently. In fact, what drives the BJP and the entire Sangh Parivar is hat...
