In Search of India’s Soul: From Mughals to Modi
A journalist explores political and religious tensions in his mother country.
Writer and journalist Aatish Taseer returns to India, his mother country, to explore the changes in this deeply religious yet secular nation.
He takes an in-depth look at tensions between Hindus and Muslims, and how the hardline government of the country’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, has fueled anger between Indians of different faiths.
Cows are a sensitive topic in India – holy to Hindus and a commodity to Muslims. Taseer meets the families of cow traders and herders who have become targets of Hindu nationalist anger.
Aatish also meets Hindus who believe Muslim men are forcing Hindu women to convert to Islam as some form of “Love Jihad” – and discovers the dangerous lengths they are prepared to go to stop Hindu women marrying Muslim men.
He also examines the country’s history of religious rule, stretching back to the Mughal Empire and beyond. He searches for answers as to why India finds itself in this position today, and what lies ahead for this religiously diverse nation founded on secular principles.
Episode 1:
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