> Perhaps I am taking the analogy too far (but maybe I am not) but in > India the > criticism faced by a Hindu is practically the same whether he kills a
Collective guilt? Well, I don't know. Nothing short of public apathy - and a latent hatred of muslims - would have made conditions ripe for someone like Modi. I have a friend who is a roman catholic from the konkan coast (the sort who were hindus a few centuries ago till converted by the Portuguese missionaries) - stayed at Ahmedabad for about a year in the late 90s. He tried very hard to rent an apartment in "predominantly hindu" localities - which just happened to be closer to where his office was. No dice. So, told the realtor to go back to the nicer apartments and call him "Mohan Prabhu" (the "hindu name" he has, traditionally, along with his Christian name .. Konkani Christians from those clans - Miranda, Remedios etc - generally do) and he found zero trouble getting space from the same landlords who insisted they were full up, or flat out refused to rent to "a guy with a muslim sounding name"
