Majoritarian mobocracy, higher education and Vikasit Bharat 2047

Abstract

‘Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely’ (Lord Acton,1877). This dictum makes it mandatory for a democracy to support critical reasoning and scientific temperament to protect it from becoming a majoritarian mobocracy. Cultural majoritarianism across the globe display common tendencies. Identification of a cultural enemy, mostly hatred towards migrants or minority religious groups as a cultural unifying force, setting a narrative and spread the same and curb all other narratives through all possible means to remain in power, and a national cultural pride, claiming to be a world power, super power etc have been at the centre of majoritarian mobocracies in general. German Nazism, Italian fascism and almost everywhere one can easily observe those characteristics. Once in power majoritarain mobocracies tend to convert all institutions of scientific reasoning and critical thinking, including academic institutions to function as cultural propagandists. Academic institutions, specifically higher educational institutions by the production and dissemination of scientific and critical knowledge transforms individuals to become scientific tempered, critical thinkers and to act as public intellectuals by which citizens in particular and nation in general becomes capable of facing future socio-economic challenges. Cultural propagandist education institutions focus on inculcating a national pride of the great past through false narratives which lacks scientific evidences and critical scrutiny. Therefore, any democratic nation that aims to be a developed nation, where citizens enjoy high standards of socio-economic well-being, scientific temperament and critical thinking-based education is the only option. The paper tries to analyze the reports and policy documents of Education commissions and National Education Policies of independent India, to see what extent policy documents incorporate and promote science-based education or retard the educational institutions to function as cultural propagandists. Cultural propagandist institutions are antithetical to socio-economic development of the nation.