NEW DELHI - A new normal prevails in #NewIndia, where elected Members of Legislative Assemblies, belonging to the party that controls the union government, are openly supported extra-judicial killings, now even threatening of persons who speak against majoritarianism, according to Citizens for Justice and Peace (cjp.org.in).

Last week, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, a MLA belonging to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in the Bijapur constituency of Karnataka recently said that “If you speak about our faith or about India, then you will be shot.

” this open threat was issued by the said MLA as he was speaking about the murder of Atique Ahmed in Uttar Pradesh, saying that this same method will be used in Karnataka too, where decision will be taken on the road. His state goes to the polls on May 10. Hate speech has been a dark spot on Indian democracy for decades, but the scale of the problem has accelerated sharply in recent years, with the Indian polity being regularly bombarded with hateful speech and polarising content.

This development has gone hand in hand with the rise and consolidation of the current regime at the centre since 2014 with even cabinet ministers and officials committing offences of hate bartering, with impunity.

The vitriolic tone used in these particular instances of speech is the most relevant, as it aims to not only stigmatise or isolate the minorities (especially the largest majority in India, Muslims) but are so extreme that they amount to exhortations to physical harm and violence.