India’s government is ignoring, and sometimes even encouraging, hatred of minorities
Narendra Modi’s Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party is determined to preserve its power
PULSES RACED as 12th-graders answered maths problems at St Joseph’s School in Ganj Basoda, a provincial town in the state of Madhya Pradesh, on December 6th. They faced a tough trial: national board exams that decide who gets into India’s best universities. But it was not the scratching of nibs or rustling of answer-sheets that heightened the tension. Midway through the test a crowd could be heard gathering outside, clanging at the gates with wooden clubs. “Who will protect the faith?” they chanted. “We will! We will!” Rocks crashed into the glass-fronted school building, spraying jagged shards across classrooms. Then the mob surged in.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Playing with fire”
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