India, March 3 -- Religion and politics are extremely emotive topics, particularly the erasure - or attempt at erasure - of the line between the two. When these topics are debated civilly among friends and neighbours under an old banyan tree while sipping hot tea on a foggy winter afternoon, or over dinner by the fireplace with everyone agreeing to disagree, they do lead to an expansion of mental horizons. But taking the debate to the streets and resorting to physical assaults underscores a lack of knowledge of both religion and politics.

The irony is that it is generally the ignoramuses who either resort to violence or weaponise politics, policies, laws, constitutional bodies and institutions - including educational institutions - and u...