Extremist Hindutva worming its way into the minds of the Indian masses is making intolerance look like a good habit.
The leopard does not change its spots. It was a given that the Hindu Right in In dia would be the vanguard of intolerance, and at the end of one year in power that is exactly how it is.
It should, however, be kept in mind that the rulers in Delhi, are not all from within the family of the Hindu Right. Of the 13 coalition partners, most represent regional elites whose supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was based on the bjp's promise to be more moderate (in contrast to the unbridled visions of the fascistic members of its extended family).
Prominent secularists and sometime socialists like George Fernandes and Yashwant Sinha are part of the coalition bandwagon. But for all that, BJP's governance has in no way been qualitatively different from how the preceding Congress governments ruled. What sets bjp apart though is its "authoritarian symptoms", as pointed out quite rightly by Prakash Karat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which keeps in focus the disease of intolerance that is gnawing Indian society.