One good thing about the current polls is that there is less of religion, although the caste factor remains as explosive as before. Secular elements, although far from united, have started joining issue with the fundamentalists.

It is not my case that the Muslims do not suffer due to discrimination or suspicion. Only recently did many Muslims in Mumbai face a government order to prove their citizenship. The raid by the Intelligence Bureau – it rarely does so directly - on an Islamic institution in Lucknow, without the knowledge of the respected Muslim head, suggested suspicion. But the reaction of non-Muslims and the media was so strong that the authorities had to beat a hasty retreat and apologise.

Communalists are on the defensive now. The upward line in the graph of Hindu-Muslim rioting has dipped abruptly after the Mumbai killings. The declining trend is also visible from the number of communal riots ...

One can see the equation between Muslims and Hindus taking shape. The Muslims are not afraid of being swamped culture-wise as they were at one time. The secular policy, after all the beatings, is getting strengthened.

What has probably contributed the maximum to the importance of Muslims is the elections. They have become arbiters. Even the BJP has realised that the party cannot retain the gaddi at the Centre if it does not have the Muslims on its side ... (Source: The Radiance, 12-18 September, 1999)