As anyone who has served in the Indian Army knows, it is refreshingly free from religious and political ideology. Unlike the Pakistan Army, which heavily spices up nationalism with religious fervour, our men and women in olive green are clear about whom they serve - the Union of India.

The India they defend is not a Hindu state and the "Bharat Maata ki jai" that is often chorused at army functions is an invocation to nationalism rather than religiosity. While the army's soldiers are overwhelmingly Hindu, it has never been - ideologically speaking - a Hindu ...