Former Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari sparked political controversy in New Delhi by warning that Hindu right-wing communalism is the real danger to the country. Speaking at the India Islamic Cultural Centre, Ansari invoked a decades-old warning from Jawaharlal Nehru, recalling that Nehru once told colleagues that Hindu right-wing communalism was a greater threat than communism. Ansari argued that India has shifted from civic nationalism to an “imaginary practice of cultural nationalism” that distinguishes citizens by faith and promotes intolerance among religious minorities.
The remarks drew a sharp reaction from the Vishva Hindu Parishad, which condemned the comments as an unfair characterisation of the Hindu community and its politics. Ansari called for these trends to be contested both politically and legally, framing it as an urgent question for Indian society and institutions.