(This is the latest edition of the Political Line newsletter curated by Varghese K. George. The Political Line newsletter is India’s political landscape explained every week. You can subscribe here to get the newsletter in your inbox.)
Unity is strength, as they say. From Manipur to Tamil Nadu, and on the question of the Uniform Civil Code, the BJP’s obsession with oneness and discipline is not exactly creating either unity or strength.
At least 134 people have been killed in sectarian violence in Manipur that has been going on for two months; in Tamil Nadu, Governor R.N. Ravi announced the dismissal of a Minister in an unprecedented breach of constitutional norms. Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked him to walk back the announcement, but the controversy is far from over. What is common between Manipur and Tamil Nadu? In both States, there are strong cultural and ethnic identities which exist in a delicate balance with regional and national identities. Both States are theatres of an enhanced drive by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its agents towards closer integration with its version of nationalism, clearer categories, labels, and disciplining of people.
