Bi-polar political equation: Why thinking Right should be wary of violent Right

The whole debate over intellectuals and liberals reacting to the recurring attacks from fringe groups is getting a bit mixed up. Writers have been criticised more in the media for surrendering their awards in protest against shrinking space for dissent and expression of free opinion than people who actually are hacking away at the idea of freedom. This, despite the near agreement across the thinking circles that intolerant, regressive elements in the society are getting too irreverent to the law of the land and need to be leashed. One hasn’t noticed too many people supporting their activities openly. [caption id=“attachment_2470204” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] What explains this curiously nuanced position? Hypocrisy? Maybe that’s too strong a word. But there surely is some confusion around the approach to the fringe. Perhaps it has to with the fact that the central government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are being dragged into matters which are mostly local in character and spread. The Prime Minister has expressed his displeasure over the activities of the illiberal elements several times already. So the charge against him that he is silent does not wash. The insistence of a section of the intellectuals to link him to the fringe and what it represents is where part of the problem lies. Now, take Modi out of the frame. Does it change the nature of the debate significantly? It doesn’t. The Left and Right ideological divide among the intellectuals has gone so deep and the mutual suspicion is so entrenched now that it does not matter anymore whether the rich intellectual culture itself is under threat in the country. Any criticism of the fringe is likely to be seen as an assault on the ideological right. Of course, there’s enough dirt to be dug up from the past to shame the opposite side. The trouble with this stand-off is that the space for the ideologically independent or the free thinkers is virtually lost. In the ‘either you are with us or against us’ bi-polar equation of today, they stand to be judged on the parameter of ideology for every statement they make. You hate the trait of illiberalism gaining prominence in the society but don’t have anything against Modi or the government he runs, chances are you would still be branded as foot soldier of the Left. Not long ago, the case was the reverse. The intellectual middle space is eroding fast and it is being taken over by extreme, intolerant voices. This should be a sign of worry for all. One hopes this situation does not continue for long. The Left intellectuals came under unedifying light and lost credibility by providing blanket ideological justification to all acts of excess by the Maoists and steady refusal to acknowledge that any knowledge other than their own can be valid. Its ostrich-like approach to the changing world left it virtually a dead force. The same could happen to the thinking Right too. The excessive defence of the illiberal forces may prove counter-productive for it in the long run. Such forces, when they are done with enemies outside, have a habit of taking on the liberals within after a point. There could be a situation where the Right liberals are at loggerheads with the Right extremists. It does not help the case of the former when they resort to sophistry to couch their support for the latter. They have to draw the line and make clear where they stand on the issues of values such as freedom before it’s too late. Making Narendra Modi an excuse does not work. He is strong enough to stand up for himself.