An ill thought offence can lead you to a morass of your own making. The idea to search for a ‘Muslim League imprint’ on Congress’s manifesto has proved to be such an occasion.

The ascendancy of Deendayal Upadhyay, who abhorred the idea of secularism, opposed Hindu-Muslim unity and aimed to build a Hindu rashtra, in current political discourse is a sign of things to come.

The Hindutva right has taken to comparing vigilante killers with India's freedom fighters, which not only sanitises the image of murderers but denigrates the independence movement.