The ugly scenes outside Hyderabad’s Karachi Bakery on Saturday – saffron scarves, anti-Pakistan chants, sticks pounding the shop’s name – were more than just vandalism. They represent a potent symbol of India’s worrying trajectory, where rising Hindutva nationalism increasingly translates external tensions into domestic aggression against minorities and symbols of a shared past.
This wasn’t the first time this iconic bakery, founded by Sindhi refugees in 1947 and emphatically branded “100% Indian”, faced such wrath. A similar incident occurred in Bengaluru after the 2019 Pulwama attack. Every single-no matter how small, no matter how self-orchestrated-foreign policy crisis means a double whammy for minorities living in the so-called largest secular democracy wherein national tension is seized upon by nationalist mobs to target perceived links to Pakistan, however tenuous. The recent attack saw BJP activists involved as police reportedly stood by. In addition to the injury, the perpetrators were later released without any criminal charges.
This intolerance manifests brutally across India. When Pakistani artists like Ghulam Ali and Atif Aslam face concert cancellations and social media accounts are banned, thanks to the influence of groups like the Shiv Sena. Although the Pehalgam moment is far from done, Kashmiri students and traders endured heart-wrenching beatings and evictions across India as they were labelled “terrorists” merely for their origin. Meanwhile, the horror of mob lynchings over alleged cow slaughter continues unabated, with nearly 50 Muslims killed since 2014. Victims like Sabir Malik and Aryan Mishra (mistaken for a Muslim) highlight this savagery, often met with official indifference or even tacit approval, as seen when convicted lynchers were garlanded by BJP officials.
Adding to this is the phenomenon of “bulldozer justice” in BJP-ruled states. Homes belonging primarily to Muslims are summarily demolished, often on flimsy pretexts, actions celebrated by leaders dubbed “Bulldozer Baba” and “Bulldozer Mama.” Human Rights Watch confirms a pattern of attacks on minorities, often encouraged by ruling party figures, undermining India’s constitutional guarantees of equality and pluralism.
This domestic climate inevitably poisons India’s international posture. Blaming Pakistan (just as manifested last month) becomes reflexive, diplomatic space shrinks, and cultural symbols become battlegrounds, damaging India’s self-proclaimed image as the world’s largest democracy. International concern is growing, evidenced by little to no support from regional allies during its strikes in Pakistan. India’s “soft power is bleeding” as its claims of secularism clash violently with the reality on the ground. When a bakery’s name is deemed seditious and lynch mobs operate with little fear, the foundational ideals of the Indian state appear increasingly fragile. *