In India, which is a cauldron of multi-ethnic groups, religion has always been an incendiary issue. And, today, ‘hurting religious sentiments’ is bandied about as an excuse for some to sink to ridiculous lows.

So, when the owner of a resto-bar in Goregaon had the words ‘hurting religious sentiments’ hurled at him, he did not stop to argue. His three-month-old outpost, Goregaon Social, came under punishing glare when ‘activists’ from NGO Watchdog Foundation filed an FIR against it over the use of Catholic iconography and symbols in its décor.