Often, just outside the frame of the video that goes viral, there is a quiet and resolute presence. Take the incident, in the closing days of 2025, in a cafe in Bareilly. Vigilantes attacked a birthday party of a 22-year-old woman, purportedly because two young people in the group belonged to the Muslim community. And yet listen to her, three days later, and amid the bleakness, there is reason to hope. Her parents and relatives have never dictated to her the religion of her friends, she said.

Source: Indian Express January 01, 2026 10:28 UTC