With our correspondent in New Delhi, Sébastien Farcis
Ten days ago, a party leader in the southern region, a member of the national opposition alliance, rebelled against orthodox Hindu culture, called Sanatan Dharma. Because this practice would exclude people from lower castes. Elected officials later called for the abolition of this form of religion. The Prime Minister, traveling through the center of the country, then launched a counteroffensive, presenting himself as a defender of Hinduism.
“ The opposition alliance seeks to divide the country by attacking the Sanatan values and traditions that have united India for thousands of years. Their hidden agenda is to destroy Sanatan Dharma and plunge the country into 1,000 years of slavery “, said Narendra Modi.
“Millennium Slavery”
This “millennial slavery” is often used by Narendra Modi to talk about the time when northern India was dominated by Muslim kings. So, contrast the criticism of discriminatory Hindu practices with that of Muslim slavers, who sought to eradicate Hinduism altogether.
On the same day, the chief minister of the country’s largest state, monk Yogi Adityanath, declared Hinduism India’s official religion, in defiance of the country’s secular Constitution. But this makes this religious debate one of the main themes of the legislative campaign next spring.
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