There is this strange kind of dehumanisation that happens in the minds of Hindus who don't want to identify with their discriminatory brethren. It involves thinking of their own religion as "culture" and others' religions as religion (in the most stereotypical way possible).

Someone afflicted with this problem might say "Holi isn't really a religious thing. It's just throwing colour at each other." Or that "Diwali isn't a religious festival. It's just a way to get together and have fun." First, obviously they choose to ignore the fact that these are actual religious festivals mentioned in their religion's texts.

But the other problem is the unmentioned implication that somehow, Eid, Christmas, and other non-Hindu religious festivals are more than "just getting together and having fun". I mean, did I miss a memo? Are Muslim kids running around playing with each other chanting "Allah Hu Akbar" in their heads? Are families sitting around a Christmas tree secretly making plans for the second coming of Jesus?

In the liberal Hindu imagination, the Hindu religion acquires a special flavour, where it is "not really a religion" and every other religion is "religious". In truth, all religious festivals are "just" ways for people to get together and have fun with their families and communities. The distinction between "religious" and "not really religious" is a meaningless distinction.

Often, the underwhelming truth about religion (that many actually do realise) is that it is not about god or gods or religious beliefs. It's just community-building exercises. The conviction that "we are doing it for community but others are secretly chanting god's name as they do it demonstrates only one fact. And it is that you think of yourselves as more progressive and others as less. And because you don't want to think of yourselves as being in the same camp as bigots and racists, you put on the saviour's hat and say you are only pointing this out because you want the welfare of "those people". It's dressed as worry but it's still discriminatory bullshit. Bullshit designed to make you feel good about your actions during a time when people far more blatantly bigoted than you are trying to legalise discrimination.