The overarching leitmotif of the Indian government’s response to global criticism of it’s worsening religious freedom and human rights record with respect to the minorities is whataboutery and hypernationalism which believes that the nation is the ultimate moral high ground and there is nothing beyond the nation which is being increasingly conflated with the ruling dispensation and the PM. The official response to the US statement on India’s egregious religious record and the widespread social condemnation of hate speech by Muslim majority nations are recent examples of the dominant phenomenon.The first one counters trenchant criticism by pointing out America’s human rights record, the second one asserts that no other nation can criticise India least of all non- democratic Muslim countries. India has been subject to widespread international condemnation in the last eight years due to majoritarian hate crimes and speeches inspired by the saffron ideology; aided and abetted by the rulers and state complicity in the excesses. Muscular nationalism has pushed us so far down the rabbit hole that we have reached a point of no return.
