WATCH: “If I stay silent, what of the ordinary person whose house can be bulldozed?”

Mallika Sarabhai, 71, recalls being afraid of speaking out — afraid for her children.

She speaks from experience, of living in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, the veritable laboratory of Hindutva. This is the state where was chief minister before he became India's prime minister, the state of and of .

And indeed, who isn't afraid these days? "We have become so full of insecurity that we have forgotten everything except hate," she says.

But, the dancer and actor told National Herald in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the Congress’ AICC summit in , "This is not the way to live! Who today is able to live joyfully?"

For her, as an artiste, a parent, an Indian, that is surely the goal: a life of joy and love and tenderness and being humane.

Speaking of her alignment with the grand old party, what motivates her to be there, she says, "Who today can say, 'Yes, this is where I want to be'? Yes, I am here use this is where I want to be — but this is not where I want my beloved country to be.'

We are living, she says, in a time when people keep talking of killing each other. "People are living in such fear that they can't even look at their own brother," she says, "and that is why we have come to this point where we stand."

What the world needs most just now is "love, tenderness and humaneness", Sarabhai believes — but these very things are the three values that have "vanished".

What she would rather see is an India that moves towards what Congress leader often speaks of: "a world of love, a world of acceptance — not tolerance, but acceptance".

As for Ahmedabad, it is her city, her home — and not just the cradle of militant Hindutva. This is the city her ancestors have helped to build. Many of its institutions were built by her family.

"Women who come from families like mine, families that have fought for the idea of India–Bharat — have gone to jail for it, giving up their lives for it... how can I step back from that legacy?"

Yes, there were threats, there were false allegations and fake cases, and fear that her young children might be kidnapped for her beliefs, her ideology.

"But if I stay silent, what expectation can I have of the ordinary person whose house can be bulldozed — how can they stand up?”