Ramachandra Guha: How thinking patriots should view the renewed hyphenation of India with Pakistan

India and Pakistan were born at the same time, cut from the cloth of the same Empire. They inherited a common political, economic and cultural legacy. Yet, in the nearly eight decades of their existence, their fortunes have markedly diverged. The Indian economy has advanced more quickly; its per capita income is now almost twice that of Pakistan.

India has stayed united, whereas Pakistan lost its more populous eastern wing in 1971, which became the sovereign nation of Bangladesh. India holds regular and fiercely contested general elections, whereas in Pakistan the timing and outcome of elections are decided by the generals.

Why has India done so much better than Pakistan? Hindu supremacists like to claim that this is because of the intrinsic and essential superiority of their faith over Islam. In fact, the truth is otherwise – it is because our founding fathers (and mothers) turned their backs on religious prejudice and religious triumphalism that we turned out somewhat differently from Pakistan.

The Indian Constitution rejected ancient Hindu models of kingship in favour of a political system based on one person, one vote. It also rejected traditional hierarchies of gender and caste. And it refused to merge faith with state, even though Pakistan was in...

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