What has become of the world's largest democracy? What happened to the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi? The discourse has changed: The father of Indian independence is now criticized, while his murderer, a Hindu extremist, is revered.
Narendra Modi's accession to power in 2014 marked a turning point in Indian history. For the Modi regime, ethnicity is key. The ideology behind this radical change is Hindu nationalism, also known as Hindutva. Hindutva emerged in the 1920s, in the tradition of Italian fascism and National Socialism.
Hindutva is at odds with the long tradition of religious pluralism in India, as the ideology strives for a nation consisting exclusively of Hindus. This means that the 300 million-strong minority of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Buddhists are no longer safe.
Attacks on Christians have increased by 400 percent since 2014. In some federal states, freedom of speech is restricted and teachers are no longer allowed to talk about paradise or hell in class - under threat of imprisonment. The systemic violence is primarily directed against Muslims. Universities, media and NGOs are no longer a counterweight to the nationalist government, as freedom of speech is often curtailed.
However, extremist Hindu groups exist in more than 150 countries. Especially in the US and Britain, brutal attacks provoked by the Hindu diaspora within the Indian community have increased significantly in recent times.
The documentary sheds light on this disturbing development and questions the extent to which India still deserves to be called "the world's largest democracy”.
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