In the city of Varanasi in India is temple dedicated to the goddess of the nation: Mother India. Since the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s in 2014, “his government has bolstered religious pride for its Hindu citizens, some of whom are in favor of a Hindu rashtra, or nation. Slogans from the days of British rule such as “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” (Hail Mother India) or “Vande Mataram” (Praise the Motherland) have now come to represent an ideology that many in his constituency hold — a distinctly religious allegiance to the mother goddess of India, or Bharat.”
Reminds me of the patriotic services held in many conservative evangelical churches in America on the Sundays before Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Veterans Day.
8:01 am on December 21, 2023
