In a recent election speech in  Uttar Pradesh, the prime minister said that if a (Muslim) graveyard is made in a village, then so should a (Hindu) crematorium, and that if there is enough electricity for Ramzan, it should be the same for Diwali. Narendra Modi is not making any profound point but he is using the language of representation to create cultural binaries in an antagonistic and competitive manner. As if Ramzan and Diwali are festivals that are defined by electricity. The other example between cemeteries and crematoriums is a strange but tricky one, for cemeteries obviously need much more space for burials whereas crematoriums don’t. The comparison doesn’t hold, though the point is, it was made. To make people think of religious festivals and death rituals in terms of space and favouritism is to divide cultural spheres into competitive zones and inject a psychology of divisiveness into what are simple and collaborative ways of living, celebrating – and dying.

The idea of a nation that pays secret, subtle or open allegiance to one religion and way of life is inherently divisive, for the very idea of one, of oneness, is against the idea of heterogeneity, of otherness. The politics of binaries – where differing world views, ways of life, eating and drinking habits and ways of worship are seen from the perspective of what is sacred and what isn’t – tends to infuse violence into diversity.