Govardhan Brown, I support your points. Both yu and Shaan have been frank in laying out the sentiments of the respective communities. Dialogue is important. Eventually, understanding will come. 1) Many of my letters to papers like The Hindu and The Hindustan Times, were never published because my points, politely made, did not agree with the papers' "anti-Hindu" ideology. 2) Public discussions in India are affected by "political correctness" - suppressing the Hindu standpoint that middle-class, moderate Hindus take. 3) The rise of the BJP is entirely due to people like Mulayam, Aiyar, Lallu (remember his U.C. Banerjee Report on Godhra train-people burning?) and, generally, the "soil tilled and made fertile by the Congress". In the South, everytime KarunaNidhi makes a silly anti-Hindu statement, the support for BJP increases. This party is now making inroads into smaller towns of TamilNadu. It was nowhere ten years ago. It is easy to see what is happening. 4) BJP never said that "India should be 'cleansed' of Muslims." There are muslims in the top ranks of the party, unlike the "muslim-only parties", like the League. The problem is the "habit of mind" of the ruling class of Hindus who always blame the BJP for their "sickularism" and other divisive policies.
My family and I are former Congress supporters, voted for it in at least four general elections. No more after that. Will not in the near future. We will judge every party on its merits.
