“Hindu Rituals Are ‘Religious Monarchy’, Quran Oath By Zohran Mamdani Is ‘Freedom’: Arfa Khanum Sherwani’s Selective Secularism”, The Commune, January 05, 2026

“Leftist rag, The Wire’s senior ‘journalist’ Arfa Khanum Sherwani has come under criticism for what can be described as a contradictory and selective interpretation of secularism and constitutional freedom, following her comments on the inauguration of India’s new Parliament building and her subsequent defence of a religious oath taken by a Muslim political leader in the United States.

During the inauguration of the new Parliament building in May 2023, attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sherwani expressed strong disapproval of the Hindu rituals performed as part of the ceremony. In a video, she said, “For the last 75 years continuously we have been trying, we have been struggling, that we should be able to make ourselves into a liberal, secular democracy which gives everyone equal freedom and equal rights, gives everyone an equal place. But what was seen today in Parliament, in the name of the new Parliament, in the name of the inauguration of the new Parliament – believe this, not just as a journalist but also as a citizen – it has made me feel ashamed. Today my country did not appear as a democracy. Today my country did not appear as such a society, did not appear as such a country which is run by the Constitution. Today my country has come across as such a society, such a system, which can only and only be compared completely with a monarchy – that too such a monarchy which runs on the basis of religion.”

Cut to the present. Sherwani adopted a markedly different position while commenting on an event in the United States involving Zohran Mamdani, who took oath of office by placing his hand on the Quran after becoming the first Muslim mayor of New York City……”

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