Western liberal norms have been facing serious challenges not only from non-liberal, fascist, and authoritarian states but also from countries that hold democratic values in tandem with rising populism and religious nationalism. This raises legitimate questions on the universal validity of these norms, which are deemed detached from the historical-cultural setting of any country. An example of this type of contestation is the contemporary debate over secularism in India, an integral constituent of liberal democracy imposed by the Congress party and based on the borrowed Western concept of secularism. This has been contested by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) understanding of Bharat, said to be grounded in India’s civilization, national inheritance, and cultural claims. This paper argues that the Congress idea of India is declining due to the left-liberal failure to stand by these principles and the rising adaptability of culture nationalism promoted by the BJP.