India has always prided itself on its diversity and the peaceful coexistence of faiths. Yet, time and again, we witness ugly flashes of communal friction—most often during religious processions or festivals. The disturbing part is not merely that such incidents occur, but that they recur with uncanny political convenience. More telling is the pattern: these flare-ups almost always involve processions or congregations of the majority faith, rarely those of minorities. Why this selective friction? Instead of uniting people, both ruling and Opposition parties seem content to exploit such episodes to deepen divides.
Take, for instance, the recent Ganesh immersion processions. Reports of disturbances came not from one corner but from multiple states—Congress-ruled Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh, and BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra. Clearly, the problem cuts across party lines. The immediate question is: why were these incidents allowed to occur in the first place? Was it failure of intelligence, complacency of law enforcement, or a deliberate political gamble? Perhaps all three.
When incidents occur in Congress-ruled states, the pattern is all too familiar. A section of the majority faith feels targeted, and the suspicion is strong: here is the Congress, yet again, playing its old appeasement card to safeguard its vote banks. The party has done little to shed this image. On the other hand, when trouble erupts in BJP-ruled states, a different doubt arises—that incidents are either ignored or subtly encouraged to polarize communities. The BJP, after all, relies heavily on the consolidation of the majority vote.
So, what are we left with? A vicious cycle of competitive politics. Congress clings to minority appeasement; BJP leans on majoritarian polarization. Both, in their own way, are equally guilty of nurturing division. This is not governance—it is a dangerous game of fire.
As someone who has been in the media long enough, I refuse to give either side a clean chit. Appeasement politics is a slow poison; polarization is an accelerant. Together, they corrode the nation’s social fabric. Call it by any name, it remains divisive politics, designed to manufacture wedges where none should exist.
Here, I also find myself in agreement with Brigadier G.B. Reddy (Retd.), a fellow columnist who has rightly taken the media to task. Instead of diffusing tensions, prime-time news debates often amplify them. Night after night, anchors invite the same set of loudmouths, knowing fully well what they will say. The result is a circus that does little for truth and much for TRPs. The Brigadier warns that such shows directly undermine national security, and I could not agree more.
Equally troubling is the media narrative of “faith under siege.” The notion that one religion must rise in revival to counter another is not only provocative but also irresponsible. When journalists masquerade as nationalists, shouting inflammatory rhetoric in the name of freedom of expression, they cross the line between responsible reporting and dangerous incitement. Yes, the Constitution grants every Indian freedom of expression, but even freedoms must come with boundaries. There is a difference between expression and provocation.
The state has a responsibility here. Governments must crack down on media houses and commentators who deliberately inflame passions. Law enforcement authorities too must act with impartiality—neither bowing to political bosses nor turning a blind eye to lawlessness. Protests are legitimate in any democracy. They are a vital form of dissent. But the moment protests turn violent, it becomes a straight case of law and order failure, for which governments cannot escape blame.
This is why I find the protest in Mandya, Karnataka—where BJP cadres took to the streets after stone-pelting on Ganesh processions—justifiable, as long as it remained peaceful. That is how democracy should work: people expressing their anger without slipping into violence.
The time has come for a national rethink. Both appeasement and polarization are twin evils eating into the vitals of Indian democracy. Neither Congress nor the BJP can wash their hands of responsibility. Unless our politics rises above vote-bank calculations, communal flare-ups will continue to haunt our festivals and weaken our harmony.
It is time, once and for all, to end appeasement politics and replace it with statesmanship. Anything less will keep India trapped in the same self-defeating cycle.
