This article critiques the ideology of Hindutva—the ideological assertion of the Indian nation as Hindu culture—and its persecution of religious minorities in the name of preventing what the proponents of Hindutva perceive as the forcible conversion of Hindus to Islam and Christianity. Reading religious conversion as `cultural criticism', the author defends the rights of those who seek to convert to Islam and Christianity. In conclusion, the author proposes that our secular politics have to represent a `minimalist morality' in order for them to have a meaningful content.
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