Protest over Afzal Guru sparks culture war in India

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 (APP): Attempts by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government to promote an “increasingly assertive” brand of nationalism has triggered a culture war between the ruling BJP supporters and left-leaning and Indian liberals who accuse the Prime Minister of “religiously inflected chauvinism”, a report in a leading US newspaper said. A new wave of tension between hardliner Hindu nationalists and liberal has emerged after recent protest in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to commemorate the execution of Kashmiri leader Afzal Guru a year ago.  His execution has been criticizedby those, particularly in the Indian-held Kashmir, who say he did not receive a fair trial.