Shekhar Gupta: Indian, nationalist and Muslim

A new Indian Muslim is rising. They're dressed like Muslims but are also flaunting their patriotism, nationalism, love for tricolour, national anthem and Constitution

This Republic owes a huge debt of gratitude to celebrity writer-activist Arundhati Roy. She single-handedly saved India from the armed Maoist insurgencies.

She did it when she described our Maoists as “Gandhians with Guns”. It was a great quotable quote forever. It also buried whatever little sympathy the Maoists might have had as underdogs.

As the oldest truism goes in marketing, nothing fails faster than an obvious lie. You couldn’t be both Gandhians and Maoists at the same time.

Watching the pictures from the steps of Delhi’s Jama Masjid, a brisk 15-minute walk or one metro station away from where