Riots have entered homes and families and India is slowly heading towards a “civil war”, Kanhaiya Kumar, former president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student’s Union, said on Saturday.

At an event, Kumar said violence had been “normalised”, and basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter, and matters of agriculture, education and health were being ignored.

“Dinner tables have been divided into two,” Kumar said, according to PTI. “If a father takes a position [in support of] secularism, the son calls him pro-Pakistan.”

The student leader said riots were not restricted to cities anymore. “Riots have crept into the homes of people,” Kumar said.

Localities dominated by Muslims in villages and communities are being called “mini-Pakistan”, he said, adding that the government was being run on speeches and propaganda.

“Communalism has become poisonous to such an extent that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has been able to divide villages,” Kumar said. “People from outside are not needed for riots, locals do the work. Those who played cricket together, studied in same schools are saying their friends are Pakistanis.”

He said there was a “big problem” if the calculation of economic growth was not taking into account agriculture, textile and construction sectors.

“If farmers are committing suicide – 12,000 farmers end their lives in one year – and the companies providing them with insurance make a profit of Rs 10,000 crore, there is a problem,” he said.