Jawaharlal Nehru was pained by the abuse of religion by peddlers of blind faith and those using religion as a cover for their political goals, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor

What can we learn from Sri Lanka's disastrous style of ruling, intensification of sectarian divides, marginalization of minorities and power concentrated in autocrats is there for all to see, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor

Today, while a large section of the Muslim community lives in intimidation and fear, at the same time there are elements like Riyaz Ansari and Ghouse Mohammad whose insanity is not only a blot on Indian Muslims but also is totally contrary to the sayings in Koran that if you kill a single innocent person, it is like killing the whole humanity…

Those who were not part of the anti-British struggle had roots in the ideologies of landlord-clergy combine. They articulated nationalism in the name of religion, called it cultural nationalism, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor 

The major political parties in India need to oppose the gross violations of the Constitution, the bulldozer (in)justice and beating of accused in custody, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor

The present statement of the RSS supremo reinforces the belief that Islam was spread by aggressors. This again is a superficial and selective projection of history

In contrast to what Gandhi envisioned, the gulf between the two communities in India has been made wide and deep

The 1991 act was aimed at focussing social energies on building the future while preserving the integrative aspects of Indian syncretism, what Jawaharlal Nehru underlined as "Ganga-Jamuna tehjeeb", writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor

Overall, the changes proposed in the country's education system are in tune with the concept of nationalism and culture that sectarian nationalists want to impose on the country, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor

Even in these dark times, one can see bright rays of communal harmony. One only hopes these trends are encouraged and divisive loudmouths are punished, writes Dr Ram Puniyani for South Asia Monitor