The New York TimesThe New York Times

Can India's global ambitions survive its deepening chasms at home?

By Mujib Mashal and Hari Kumar

08 Sep 2023 · 6 min read

informed Summary

  1. As India prepares to host the G20 summit in a posh golf resort south of New Delhi, religious tensions stemming from a Hindu-nationalist march weeks prior persist nearby, leading to violent clashes and social unrest.

NUH, India — Inside a sprawling golf resort south of New Delhi, diplomats were busy making final preparations for a fast-approaching global summit. The road outside was freshly smoothed and dotted with police officers. Posters emblazoned with the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi bore the slogan he had chosen for the occasion: One Earth, One Family, One Future.

Not far away, however, were the remnants of bitter division: grieving families, charred vehicles and the rubble of bulldozed shops and homes. Weeks before, deadly religious violence had erupted in the Nuh district, the site of the resort. The internet was shut down, and thousands of troops were rushed in. Clashes quickly spread to the gates of Gurugram, a tech startup hub just outside New Delhi that India bills as a city of the future.

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