Even in a political culture used to its most privileged classes, professionals, officials, captains of industry acting servile in the presence of power, the self-abasement of so many intellectuals in the service of power still comes as something of a shock. At one level, absurd to suppose that the sole task of intellectuals lies in opposing power or restricting authority, wherever these may touch them. Denying the moderate claims of duly constituted authorities and politicians can itself be a symptom of fanaticism. During NDA rule, scientists and intellectuals lined up to put their seal of approval on many hare-brained schemes. But little did we imagine that Indian intellectual servility to power would reach a new low. A recent example is a statement issued by a group of prominent Left intellectuals that once again confirms that their loyalty is to power and party, not morality and argument.

The Left is gifted with some of the finest minds. But too often their ingenuity is used for artful circumlocution. The recent statement on the violence in Nandigram is a perfect example of that. The statement begins with a tone of sincerity that only Left intellectuals can feign, expressing pain and anguish at the violence in Nandigram. But it swiftly descends into a premature exoneration of the state government. It says that the tragedy at Nandigram on March 14 was “entirely unanticipated, unjustified, and unfortunate turn of events”. In the annals of circumlocution this use of ‘unanticipated’ is almost on par with ‘collateral damage’. Imagine a Modi or a Bush being exonerated by the magical power of the term ‘unanticipated’.

... contd.