New Delhi, Jan. 2 -- When the bells tolled at New Delhi's Cathedral Church of Redemption on Christmas Day, what reverberated was a message of peace, compassion, and fraternity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the church, and the carefully staged image of him standing in prayer with members of the Christian community, were meant to project a plural India in which every faith is secure, dignified and equal. Yet this postcard of harmony sits uneasily beside a darker reality in which India is becoming a nation where militant majoritarianism is gaining political impunity at the cost of its beleaguered minorities.

In the days preceding the festival, congregations and public celebrations were disrupted across several states by groups li...