The recent Christmas season served as a geopolitical mirror, reflecting two neighboring nations moving in starkly opposite directions. While the festive lights illuminated a renewed commitment to pluralism in Pakistan, they cast long, ominous shadows over a shrinking secular space in India. What was witnessed was not merely a contrast in celebrations, but a revelation of state intent: Pakistan is actively journeying to reclaim the inclusive vision of its founder Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinah, while India appears intent on dismantling its democratic heritage in favor of a rigid majoritarianism led by RSS and its subsidiaries.
In India, the season of peace was marred by a systematic and coordinated campaign of intimidation against religious minorities. Disturbing incidents from Raipur in Chhattisgarh and Nalbari in Assam were not isolated acts of hooliganism but visible manifestations of an emboldened Hindutva ideology operating with near-total impunity. In Raipur, Hindu extremist mobs stormed a Christmas party at Magneto Mall, vandalising decorations, destroying a Christmas tree, and terrorising celebrants, while videos of the attack circulated widely on social media. These acts coincided with a state-wide strike call in Chhattisgarh under the pretext of opposing so-called “illegal religious conversions,” a narrative frequently weaponised to justify violence against Christians.
Similarly, in Assam’s Nalbari district, members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, Bajrang Dal, an organisation classified by the US Central Intelligence Agency as a Hindu militant group, vandalised St Mary’s School in Panigaon village, burning banners and posters prepared for Christmas celebrations. Police confirmed that the attackers raised religious slogans, warned authorities against celebrating Christmas, and proceeded to damage festival items at local shops, even setting some on fire near a Jain temple. Bajrang Dal leaders openly justified the violence, declaring Christian festivals to be “non-Indian” and unacceptable.
This climate of intimidation is reinforced by institutional discrimination. In Uttar Pradesh, the BJP-led government refused to grant the traditional Christmas holiday, instead mandating compulsory school attendance on December 25 to commemorate former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s birth anniversary, despite the state’s own official calendar listing Christmas as a public holiday. Such decisions send an unmistakable message: minority faiths are to be erased from the public sphere.
Conversely, Pakistan presented a narrative of conscientious course correction. The imagery emerging from Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi was profound in both symbolism and substance. The Christmas season saw the convergence of the nation’s highest civilian and military leadership in a unified display of solidarity with Christian citizens. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari did not merely offer ceremonial platitudes; they explicitly invoked the foundational ethos of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, reaffirming that the state’s legitimacy rests on the protection of its minorities. In doing so, Pakistan projected a counternarrative in South Asia—one in which constitutional promises are reiterated through visible state conduct, and religious diversity is framed not as a threat, but as a pillar of national cohesion.
Most telling was the presence of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff, at Christ Church in Rawalpindi. In a country where security narratives have often overshadowed social ones, the military leadership’s declaration that “Pakistan’s strength lies in its diversity” marks a significant doctrinal shift. By publicly celebrating the contributions of Christian soldiers and citizens, Pakistan is weaving its minority communities into the very definition of patriotism and national security. This is a strategic pivot: a top-down effort to institutionalize inclusivity and construct a national identity that is resilient, unified, and distinct from the forces of extremism.
While Pakistan acknowledges its historical struggles with religious intolerance and the work that remains to be done, the current trajectory is undeniably one of repair and reform. The state is actively utilizing its machinery to project protection and integration. In stark contrast, India, once the global beacon of secularism, is sliding toward an authoritarianism where the majority dominates and the minority survives only on sufferance.
The divergence is clear. India is currently engaged in a project of homogenization, seeking to consolidate power by fracturing its society. It is a politics of fear. Pakistan, conversely, is engaged in a project of managed inclusion, seeking to consolidate the nation by embracing its composite parts. It is a politics of cohesion.
Ultimately, these events offer a lesson in the lifecycle of nations. India is risking its global standing and internal peace by allowing the mob to dictate its culture. Pakistan, by standing shoulder-to-shoulder with its Christian citizens, is taking a courageous step toward realizing its true potential. One nation is forgetting its secular promise; the other is striving to remember it. The path forward is defined not by the challenges of the past, but by the intent of the present and this Christmas, Pakistan chose dignity, while India chose division.
