>> >> Will there be a day when an Indian will be >> faced with mortal danger from a young hardliner because he is >> considered 'anti-national?' > > I know this column is pegged to the Taseer murder, but surely Indians should > have learned the answer to this question on or around January 30, 1948. >
There is an implicit class element here. When there was a clash between law college students in Chennai, we did a story trying to understand student activism. What we found wasn't surprising -- students from the middle to upper class prefer civil society organisations to change society. Those who join politics are from the lower classes; one guy who was starting a new political party said that he preferred to target the lower classes because the upper classes were not interested in joining politics. A Chennai-based lawyer had an interesting take. She said that given lack of inspirational movements, students were drawn to identity politics, which again is linked to the economic situation. That's why I think there's a difference between Gandhi's assassination and what's happening in the current scenario. Though a part of it relates to resolving issues resorting to violence, there's another thread which is economic.Income inequality at the scale in which it is now means democracy is um, a rural legend? Sruthi
