Another mosque, another time, another argumentative democracy. In the United States, a dispute erupted recently over building a mosque in lower Manhattan. In late September 2010 in India a major court ruling addressed the destruction of a mosque eighteen years ago. Despite differences in the two cases, common fundamental debates include: Which central idea forms the essence of any multi-ethnic, multi-religious nation? Must its society uphold a particular culture that defines the core values of the nation? Or, must it not merely tolerate various cultures but actually celebrate diversity? Gautam Adhikari analyzes the recent Indian court ruling on the Babri Masjid in the context of the "idea of India."

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