Intellectual. The once-positive word has been stigmatized beyond repair.
I read an article about Mamata Banerjee's electoral win which hailed her as the real "mass"-leader, by
blaming all that has befallen on today's Bengal on the hypocrisy of the "dhooti-clad (wtf!), Kolkata-centric, Left-spoken upper caste" Bengali. The article was fun to read, no doubt. It, I felt, correctly diagnosed the disease. But the treatment that it welcomed, is horribly wrong!
Read :
How Mamata has supposedly killed the gentleman of Bengal
Okay. So Mamata Banerjee has been voted back in power. She has more seats than she dreamed of, or she wouldn't have stayed inside her Kalighat house till Judgement Day! Anyway, her brand of politics has proved its mettle once again. The "intellectuals" must be wondering about the
WHY and
HOW aspects of this result. Someday, political parties will wake up and know the answer. Let that be.
The problem is elsewhere. If in reality, alienating the educated class starts equaling retaining of power, we are in for a treat :
A democracy that will tear itself via civil war. Enough has been said
about the current polarization continuum that is sweeping the country. But why are people actually getting polarized even in this age of technology? If everyone eats at the same restaurant, drinks the same coffee, rides the same cabs and sink into social media through identical smart phones, where does this seemingly connected generation begin to get disconnected? As more and more politicians are investing into crass language and "humble background" to project their "mass-image", one can't help but notice that Indian politics has started to show self-similarity :
What's happening in the states, is also happening on a large scale at the national level.
Our (by this I mean, the new generation) top leaders are fiery orators, cult figures and (so that the "mass" audience gets the point) "Dramebaaz". While dharna might be a few people's strong zone, selling tea becomes someone's jackpot mantra. In between all this, the middle class of India is allegedly getting "polarized". But how fickle this polarization can be, was proved by the assembly elections of Delhi and Bihar. So after religious polarization failed, neo-nationalism emerged.
But unaffected by the Central politics, West Bengal assembly elections took place on an entirely different theme :
Development vs Corruption.
While the incumbent voiced development, the hopefuls pointed at corruption in those very claimed development policies (along with several other issues, of course). This is funny because even kids would not make such mistakes. You cannot criticize any populist policy that
you never brought into action and take on a mass leader. This is one of several lessons the old pseudo-communists have to learn. But then, there were other issues too. Scams, video footage, public threats... nothing seems to have provided the hopefuls with their potent weapon. How sad it is that morality has left West Bengal for good!
There is a cliched saying that "Everything is fair in love and war". But surely everything is NOT okay with a state where accepting bribes is accepted. It is neither love nor war. It is only lethargy. It is mental inaction of the mass. No doubt, their leaders show middle finger to law and order.
If the gentleman is silenced by these powerful orators, it calls for the truly educated to make the education count. It calls for a revolt. It calls for boycotts. But it certainly does not call for a 20th century style revolution. It truly demands its intellectuals to fight back. The war has begun. The fortifications have started to fall.
Any society must be led by the educated. Our politicians might be cunning but they are NOT educated. The country will do much better with an Educated dramebaaz rather than his/her uneducated counterpart. The earlier we learn this lesson, the better our future will be.
I am a fair-skinned, tall, practising-Brahmin who happens to be a PhD student in Physics. What this means is, I am one of the most privileged persons in this country. Statistically speaking, my sort is expected to face least hatred from our compatriots. Ideally, this should not be the case. But well, ideals don't stand on immoral lands. Sadly, this goes both ways. Seventy years of self-rule has given power to countless oppressed voices today. So it is as easy to put blame for the tortured history of the "lower castes" on the evil Brahmins, as it is easy to blame the country's present on its politicians. Let us for once accept the truth. The lower castes were oppressed for the same reason the Hindus once were and the whole nation once was : There was an Oppressor, who simply was more powerful than the Oppressed! Using today's style of oratory, the "lower castes" did not have big enough balls to fight against the Brahmins or the Kings. Later these "mighty" Kings surrendered to the Mughals and ultimately to the West. Don't be fooled by the hug your PM gives to the US Prez. The Predator is still eating its prey.
It is absolutely right to ask for demolition of the caste system. But it is useless to put the blame on the "Upper castes" for the genetic inferiority complex that you suffer from. I agree, the real onus is upon the "Upper caste" to let go of their ridiculous hang-ups if a better India is to be produced. But overthrowing of this particular hierarchy has to be smooth, attainable through the only medium :
EDUCATION. 