Two different things often get conflated by both RW and liberals in India: 1. We SHOULD have a small-l, liberal democratic state- that is laws should be adopted based on the will of the majority, but subject to not violating individual rights and Constitutional provisions (1/n)

And that we have constitutional procedures, independent institutions etc. to secure such individual rights. 2. That does not mean that capital L- Liberalism is an ideal political philosophy and certainly does NOT mean that society should conform to some liberal “ideal” (2/n)

Where the RW goes wrong is to not respect individual rights. Where the liberals go wrong is wanting to redesign society based on liberal norms and even force of law sometimes, and not recognising that atomic individualism and contracting is no basis to construct a durable society

This leads to talking past each other. For the RW liberals are deracinated and disconnected; for the liberals the RW are authoritarian troglodytes. And hence we have trench warfare on many social issues rather than genuine dialogue and nuance. (4/4)