The Myth of Indian Intellectualism: A Critical Analysis by Justice Markandey Katju

Amalendu Upadhyaya
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The Superficiality of Contemporary Indian Intellectuals : The Role of Intellectuals in India's Socio-Political Landscape


In this incisive critique, Justice Markandey Katju exposes the shortcomings of contemporary Indian intellectuals, exemplified by Yogendra Yadav. Justice Katju argues that many so-called intellectuals lack genuine insight and contribute little to addressing India's deep-seated issues, such as systemic corruption, casteism, and the urgent need for revolutionary change. Read more to understand Justice Katju's perspective on the true state of India's intellectual discourse.

Yogendra Yadav's Intellectual Prowess: A Misconception?

The Myth of Indian Intellectualism: A Critical Analysis by Justice Markandey Katju



Indian 'intellectuals'

By Justice Markandey Katju

Yogendra Yadav exemplifies the Indian 'intellectual' of today, who poses to be very learned, but in fact, has nothing in his head except some bookish knowledge, and yet talks as if he is a deep, erudite thinker..

Yogendra was interviewed by journalist Saba Naqvi recently.

Most of what Yogendra said was like the peace of God, 'which passeth all understanding', i.e. blah, blah, blah.

Yogendra deliberately avoids speaking the obvious, that the whole system in India has collapsed, that all our state institutions have become hollow and empty shells, that our Constitution has become a scarecrow, and that the country is heading for a Revolution.

He never mentions that parliamentary democracy largely runs on the basis of caste and religion, and casteism and communalism are feudal forces which have to be destroyed if India is to progress, but parliamentary democracy further entrenches them. Hence it has to be replaced by another system, which is only possible after a mighty protracted people's struggle and a Revolution, in which tremendous sacrifices have to be made, led by genuinely patriotic, selfless modern minded leaders determined to create a political and social order under which India rapidly industrialises and modernises, and our people get a high standard of living and lead decent lives.

Yogendra also glosses over the fact that almost all our present political leaders, of all parties, are a bunch of selfish rogues, rascals, looters, deceivers, gundas, and mafia type gangsters, who have no genuine love for the people, but only seek power and pelf for themselves or their kith and kin. For this, they polarise society by inciting and spreading caste or communal hatred, to get votes in elections.

He never says that our national aim must be to transform India from an underdeveloped country into a modern industrial giant, like China, because unless we do that we will never be able to abolish our massive poverty, massive unemployment, appalling level of child malnutrition ( every second child in India is malnourished, according to Global Hunger Index ), almost total lack of proper healthcare and good education for the masses, skyrocketing prices of essential commodities, etc.

Yogendra says in the interview that every one of us is a minority. I confess I wracked my brains, but could not understand the head or tail of what this 'profound' statement of a 'profound' genius meant. Maybe if I had a beard like Marx, Engels, Abraham Lincoln, Lenin, or Yogendra Yadav I could have understood

Similarly, he makes esoteric, mystical statements like svadharma, karuna, maitri, and sheel, man needs sanskaras, we took our freedom struggle and Constitution for granted, freedom struggle was a great filter, we had rich tradition of political thought in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, we have hegemony, decline of political imagination, rape, Gandhi was a very modern person ( which is a joke, considering Gandhi's statement in Young India '' I am a sanatani Hindu, I believe in varnashrama dharma, I believe in cow protection '' )

In fact, the more obscure Yogendra's statements are, and the more he obfuscates and speaks in mysteries, the more profound a thinker he imagines he becomes. This is typical of almost all Indian 'intellectuals'. They will never speak in simple, clear language, because they believe that in that case they will be reduced to the ranks of the hoi polloi or riffraff, or because they believe that if they do so, they will be exposed to the public as empty-headed blabberers.

In my opinion, most of India's self-proclaimed liberals, intellectuals, academics and mediapersons are an inane, superficial and frivolous, puffed-up and arrogant lot, who have been strutting around like peacocks for long on the Indian stage. They have managed to bedazzle and be-fool most people, particularly the gullible youth into thinking them to be profound paragons, embodiments and the quintessence of wisdom and learning. But the truth is that they have little in their heads, and the knowledge they have is only bookish and perfunctory.

To give an example, none of the acclaimed Indian historians ever went deep into the question what is India, as I have in my article What is India ( see online ) in which I have explained that India is really a country of immigrants, like North America, and this explains its tremendous diversity.

None of these historians has explained that communalism started in India from 1857 after the British suppressed the Mutiny (see my article The Truth about Pakistan online ).

Similarly, academics in other fields were mostly satisfied with getting their salaries and perks and never made penetrating analyses of anything.

Today, India is facing a terrible economic crisis, but our professors of economics in JNU, Delhi School of Economics and other Indian universities, colleges and institutes, who draw huge salaries, allowances, and perks, have no clue about its cause and solution.

Mediapersons, who are almost all inane and superficial, with half-baked knowledge, and many of whom are sold out, give puerile explanations about it, posing as experts in the field.

(Justice Katju is a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India. These are his personal views.)

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