Every society, every country in the world is shaped and led mainly by its intellectuals All those who are remembered by history are mostly intellectuals. An intellectual may not get instant recognition by the society when alive but in course of time the person’s greatness will be recognised and recorded on the pages of history. Because, an intellectual and intellectual alone can help bring about socio-economic changes. The Buddha. Pieto, Marx. Rousseau, Lenin, Abraham Lincoln. Maxim Gorky, Bernard Shaw, Mao. Thiruvallavar, Mahatma Phule were all great intellectuals. It is intellectuals who not only think but make others think. After Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, M. N.Roy. Periyar E. V. Ramaswamy.. and Ram Manohar Lohia. we have hardly produced any intellectual giant in India. India’s Ruling Class has been systematically corrupting any up and coming intellectual and if any one dares to defy he is mercilessly crushed. That is why rarely one wants to show originality, innovation. So much so India has gone into total intellectual bankruptcy. The very fact that India has not received a single Nobel Prize after it became independent proves that we are a country of mediocre, dwarfs. But we are never tired of boasting that we have the second largest scientific manpower in the whole world. If so, what are they doing? Why not a single one has made an international merk? The one agricultural scientist who received the Magsasay Award was later found to have got it after making a false claim. But even this man has now taken up a kushy job outside India. This is the disease with our intellectuals. One social scientist, considered very distinguished, is seldom in India and even when at home never rubs the ruling class lest it may upset his lucrative in- come. Scientist like Khurana have sett- led down in the USA. All this is because our society and our value system do not believe in encouraging and promoting intellectuals. India’s Ruling Class wants to make its people surrender their judgement To it. every intellectual is a suspect. It looks upon him as a source of trouble. Some of the finest budding. blooming flowers of our society were shot dead dubbing them as Naxalites. Any person who does not fall in line and conform to the established thinking is considered a threat to the society. Dissent is disliked, nay dangerous. Truth should not be spoken. And those who speak the truth will be branded as “controversial” persons. Any number of organisations. both govt. and non-govt. are set up to watch and weed out such “dangerous” persons. Innumerable State and private awards are instituted to win over any brilliant writer, scholar to pocket if not corrupt him. Courage is an essential prerequisite to become an intellectual. He has to suffer and sacrifice-pay for his commitment. That is why intellectuals and intellectuals alone can lead a society or a movement. An intellectual can lead as well as mislead. But in India very often our intellectuals have been only misleading the society. Nobody has painted such an Indian situation better than Dr. B. R. Ambedkar and things have hardly changed since he wrote it: “Whether you accept the theory of the great man as the maker of history or whether you do not, this much you will have to concede that in every country the intellectual class is the most influential class, if not the governing class. The intellectual class is the class which can foresee, it is the class which can advise and give lead. In no country does the mass of the people live the life of intelligent thought and action. It is largely imitative and follows the intellectual class. There is no exaggeration in saying that the entire destiny of a country depends upon its Intellectual class. If the intellectual class is honest, independent and disinterested it can be trusted to take the initiative and give a proper lead when a crisis arises. It is true that intellect by itself is no virtue. It is only a means and the use of means depends upon the ends which an intellectual person pursues. An intellectual man can be a good man but he can easily be a rogue. Similarly an intellectual class may be a band of high-souled persons, ready to help, ready to emancipate erring humanity or. it may easily be a gang of crooks or a body of advocates of a narrow clique from which it draws its support. You may think it a pity that the intellectual class in India is simply another name for the Brahmin caste. You may regret that the two are one that the existence of the intellectual class should be bound with one single caste, that this intellectual class should share the interest & the aspirations of that Brahmin caste, which has regarded itself the custodian of interest of that caste, rather, than of the interests of the country. All this may be very regrettable. But the fact remains, that the Brahmins form the intellectual class of the Hindus. It is not only an intellectual class but it is a class which is held in great reverence by the rest of the Hindus. The Hindus are taught that the Brahmins are Bhudevas (gods on earth). The Hindus are taught that Brahmins alone can be their teacher. Varnaram Brahmano Guru. Manu says. “If it be asked how it should be with respect to points of the Dharma which have not been specially mentioned, the answer is that which Brahmins who are Shishthas pro- pound shall doubtless have legal force.” When such an intellectual class, which holds the rest of the community in its grip, is opposed to the reform of Caste, the chances of success in a movement for break-up of the Caste System appear to me very,very remote”.
A film actor like Amitabh Bachchan or actress like Hema Malini may have millions of fans but the glamour is temporary. The moment the youth fades. the star sinks. A cricketer or sportsman is adored till his capacity lasts. A wrestler, boxer or a King Kong will be feared until his body strength stays. A politician like Indira Gandhi or Reagen is adored until the person is in power. Remember people used to avoid Indira Gandhi like plague when she was defeated by the Ja nata. Those with money come and go. No Tata or Birla is remembered by the hi story. A beauty queen is glorified till her skin fades. There is nothing permanent with stars, sportsmen, body-builders, political personalities or wealthy tycoons. But that is not the case with an intellectual. He is respected not only in his life time but even after that. Kalidasa was simply e poet under King Vikramaditya but the king’s name has faded but not of Kalidasa India’s greatest Sanskrit writer. Sometimes an intellectual is respected and recognized more often his death. Karl Marx’s name will be there as long as history is there. So too Plato. Jesus Christ. Mohamed Paigambar, Lenin, Mac, Martin Luther King. Progress of any country de- pend only on its intellectuals. They alone can lead but in India. alas, our intellectuals have been only misleading the society because they have been impotent and corrupt. That is why they compromise. Look at the courage of J. B. S. Haldane. He subjected himself to great physical pain by himself becoming a genius pig of his experiments. Have we produced a scientist of his caliber ? Our scientists are spending their time not in laboratories but in airconditioned offices, busy pushing files. Intellectuals of Indie have not given evidence of their courage, their in- dependence of thought and conviction which are the indices to judge an intellectual. They are not courageous, because they are so preoccupled with selfish interests. That is why they migrate to foreign countries in search of kushy jabs. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on June 3 is reported to have expressed concern over “brain drain of scientific talent.” But this is not the first time she and other top leaders are expressing such a concern. What is the use of a brain that allows itself to be drained? Better not have such brains. What we want is brains with hearts and such brains will rarely allow itself to be drained. Heartless brains are more dangerous than brainless hearts. Therefore let the heartless brains go. India will in no way become poorer. A true intellectual will not sell himself. He can never be bought. He can never seek power and ambition. He will speak the truth-come what may even at the cost of his life. The evil has triumphed in India and the country is drifting because our intellectuals do not speak up. So much so the country has grown sick and its sickness is effecting the outside world as well. But our intellectuals are unperturbed. To them their caste and cash is more important than the eternal pursuit of truth. What is the use of learning and knowledge when it does not bring cash or power ? Popularity does not depend upon ones ability but other factors. “Success in life” depend not on learning but on bank balance. In such a society what use is learning or intellectual pursuits? Intellectuals are laughed at, despised. Why should we strain the brain when money can be made without it? This is India today. If our intellectuals are corrupt and spineless, the masses are dumb, deaf and blind, because of poverty and illiteracy. The latter are illiterate because they are poor. When they are preoccupied all the time in an endless battle of the belly, where is the time for them to think, even if thinking is possible ? If this is the position of the poorest, what about the educated, employed people who come from this very same revolutionary section-dalits and other persecuted minorities? The tragedy with this section is they have become easy going. pleasure-seeking. Not only that. A considerable number of them, particularly the educated Untouchables, hide their identity and turn into bumlickers. Yes, there are a tiny section of conscientious people. among them who are angry. Who wants to rebel ? “The world owes much to rebels who would dare to argue in the face of the pontiff and insist that he is not in- fallible I don’t care for the credit which every progressive society must give to its rebels.” (Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, preface to second edition of Annihilation of Caste.) Ambedkar, however. lived up to the definition of a rebel, an intellectual giant. But such of the rebels are spotted out and finished at the very initial stage. Those who have managed to escape and build “up their leadership are recruited by the ever-watchful political parties. So there is an all-round famine. No ruling class will produce a revolutionary. On the other hand, the revolutionary section is starved to submission by the ruling class. This answers the oft-repeated question: “Why India has not produced a second Ambedkar?” Babasaheb lived a major part of his life when India was under the British who were benevolent rulers. Not only they gave us education, denied to us by Brahmins, but even gave us modern, Western. knowledge. Not only that. If there was any “freedom struggle” and some leaders like Gandhi and Nehru were able to fight the British, it was because of the knowledge they gained from the very British education and the encouragement they gave to fight for liberty and fraternity. But for the British rule, which in fact meant a Christian rule. India would not have been what it is today. So Ambedkar despite his open criticism of the British Government got all the encouragement from the British. No body criticized the British right on their face as Ambedkar did. They gave him all the facilities and also protected him against his enemies. They gave all-out encouragement and built up his leadership. Once the British were out. dalits & the persecuted minorities of India had none to protect them. They were virtually thrown to wolves. The independence that India got on Aug. 15, 1947 was the independence given to the high costs to exploit, which they could not do earlier so freely. The lambs are bound and bundled and handed to wolves on a silver platter. That is the reason why after in- dependence India did not get a second Ambedkar. No honest. dedicated leadership is tolerated by these ever-watchful headhunters. This is the heinous rale played by India’s intellectual class.
