when your idea of India is rooted Hindutva, no Hindu is anti-national. if your idea of India is rooted in humanity, no person would be anti-national - nationalism is *an infantile disease* (Einstein), *cruel epidemic of evil that is sweeping over the human world* (Tagore)

people from times immemorial have used religion for its spiritual valence - radical, progressive political leaders have used theology & spirituality to advocate emancipatory politics rooted in love, universality, look beyond superficial differences that power leverages to divide

every single religion I can think of is rooted in patriarchy & horrors have been perpetrated in its name, words can't capture the shame & barbarity - but until nonreligious spiritualism & morality is widespread, we have to contend with religion, its resonances & internal shifts

danger with leveraging religion instead of religion-agnotic spiritualisms is what you see happening today - absurdly grotesque formations - RSS, Gandhi's own murderers, claiming Gandhi while refashioning his religious spirituality of ahimsa into political religiosity of violence

religion has significant but ultimately limited political value, where someone can use religion to draw on universal values of love, fraternity, morality to advocate for progress, the other can use the exact same language to justify hate, genocide, heterobrahminical patriarchy