"[India has a] Hindu woman for President, a Muslim as Vice-President, a Sikh as Prime Minister, a Dalit as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and an atheist as Speaker of the nation’s Parliament. That’s apart from the fact that the leader of the country’s ruling party is a Christian. As complex and confusing as it gets. Though perhaps logical when politics is seen as a mix of so many diverse streams. In the U.S. — the first modern nation to legally separate the church and the state — it’s different."
Practically everybody in India walks around clearly presenting their religious faiths. Which is not something that appeals to me when I visit India. Though, as problems go, it is not even a blip in the radar compared to how the poor live.
As the writer points out, it's different here in the US. But, the difference--according to me--is that here in the US, we pretend that we live and operate with a wall that separates church and state. Humbug! It is a mere facade. I way prefer the what-you-see-is-what-you-get of religious fundamentalists for that reason. Maybe, that too is a reason why it is easier for me to work and interact with people who wear their religion on their sleeve than with those pretending that they approach pubic interactions and policies devoid of their biases.
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