Hate in India today does not erupt suddenly, it circulates. It does not shock; it settles. It is no longer an interruption in public life but its background rhythm embedded in political language, amplified by television studios, and quietly legitimised by institutions meant to protect citizens. What we are witnessing is not a temporary spike in intolerance but a structural transformation: cruelty has been normalised, and discrimination has been routinised as governance.
MP Shashi Tharoor appeared as a panellist to discuss “The Future of the Nation-State and National Identity” at Doha Debates Town Hall held during the Bradford Literature Festival 2025 earlier this year. On stage with academics Dr Wael Hallaq and Dr David Engles, and a diverse group of students from Qatar and the UK, the debate saw a nuanced interrogation of belonging, sovereignty, and identity. Yet what transpired revealed a fundamental tension at the heart of Tharoor’s much-vaunted civic nationalism: a philosophy that is rhetorically inclusive but substantively fragile when confronted with objections.
