Critical elections are proceeding in five states in India, including in its most populous state and political nerve center, Uttar Pradesh. The election there in particular illustrates the majoritarian nationalism that is driving widespread and lethal aggression against Muslims across the country. Amid the balloting that commenced on Feb. 10 and will end March 7, with results due to be announced March 10, Hindu nationalist leaders are energizing their constituents with calls for mass violenceMilitant campaigns based on a conspiracy theory that Muslim men are marrying Hindu women to imperil and overpower Hindu culture – and a new law premised on that belief — stand to override the rights of Muslims and other minority communities. The elected head of state, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, is a Hindu nationalist demagogue from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who is seeking a new term with a divisive electioneering strategy that pits minority groups against the majority.
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