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In this ever changing society, a group of people have always been instrumental in ushering the transformation. These strata, oriented with radicalism came to be known as intelligentsia. This term was initially coined around 1840, to describe the educated and professionals, having a cultural, social and political initiative. By and large journalists, teachers, civil servants, artists et al formed the intelligentsia.

 The conceptions of this group are as follows.

 Those who think ahead of time.

 Full of empathy and sensitiveness for fellow beings.

 Magnanimous Philanthropic attitude

 Exhibiting deep concern for helpless.

 Involved in Creative activities.

 Possessing an unmistakable individuality

 Holding Strong convictions

 Very vocal in self expression

Emergence of modern intelligentsia in India may be traced back to British time. Raja Ram Mohan Roy and his group may be described as the first group of modern Indian intelligentsia. They acquired knowledge in western culture and imbibed its rationalist and democratic principles, conception and spirit. During those days a small number of Indians were educated. There after the British Government opened more and more schools and colleges.

In the early 19th century the number of educated Indians was meager. However it is worthy to quote that certain elite groups then also believed that British people would help India get rid of the past backwardness.

By the end of the second half of the 19th century large number of universities had been established and subsequently modern India witnessed a sudden surge in the section of intelligentsia. This cult played an important role in paving way for modern India. With passage of time all those who were literate and had a position or a platform to be heard were taken for granted to be a part of intelligentsia. Lately, the concept has gone so haywire that, anyone who opposes the policies of Government in general is considered to be intelligentsia.

Whenever the Government or Administration proposes a plan of action, the intelligentsia jumps in to criticize it. Needless to say there is always more than one way of adoptable procedures, each with a set of advantages and disadvantages. Hence each procedure invariably qualifies equally for criticism and appreciation. The advancement in technology has given them lot more scope, than required, to create a havoc of criticism. The print media, Televisions, FB, Twitter and Blogs are flooded with the opinions till the actual issue is deluged. The public is garbled with their logics to the extent that it just stops blinking an eye in response. The cult has acquired expertise in misguiding the society.

Recently there have been a spate of unfortunate and untoward incidents and the intelligentsia made hay while the sun shone. To begin with, is the unfortunate case of Nirbhaya. The whole world convulsed in agony and despair at the utter humiliation and torture meted out to the girl, by a group of crude uncouth ill-bred persons lacking culture. In this group, one was a minor, who was the cruelest of all. We witnessed a furore over the lack of security, inefficient policing, the weak public transport system, lacuna in implementation of rules and candle light protests. Amidst all these activities, one vital issue was debated over and over again, whether the juvenile be punished for this adult crime or not. The basic issue that should have been tackled by the intellectuals’ groups was, to bring out a solution of how to combat such situations, how to breed morality into the young boys, how to make the girls secure and safe…But all this was lost in a kerfuffle and hoo-hah. Further in a later development a British journalist released a documentary ‘India’s daughter’. The documentary invoked strong reactions for wrong reasons. Instead of hanging our heads in shame for the infamy and opprobrium, we were pointing fingers at the rest of the world and supplying rape statistics with natural seaminess.

Next in line is the Porn ban imposed by Government. The uproar and protests from this cult were unprecedented and unexpected. The digital media vehemently blared with cacophony. The participants in the TV debates, insistenly and noisily proclaimed that government had infringed upon the privacy of the citizens. In their opinion true democracy does not resort to banning. The self styled management gurus and social pundits urged the government not to ban porn but to ban ogling, leering, abusing, molesting, groping, humiliating. This was appalling! Does this make any sense? The imperativeness of intelligentsia was quite apparent. Concisely, they advocated banning anything else, other than what the government had proposed. In their enthusiasm to oppose the governmental moves, they appealed lot more bans, practically impossible. Their protagonism holds true only when the masses have come of age. They are mature enough to understand the pros and cons of the pornography and the related sites. And until this happens, it is the duty of this sect to lead them through this journey, for the larger social benefit.

Last but not the least important to quote here, is the role of intelligentsia with respect to the recent controversies involving Godmen. The country is full of several self-proclaimed bogus Godmen and Godwomen who claim special powers to amass fame and money through deceit and cheating. People with insecurities and gullibility fall prey to unholy practices of persons in holy robes. In a recent episode a Godwoman was charged for harassing a lady. At the same time some of her photos went viral on the net. The focus shifted on the photos and the serious charges were sidetracked. One of the prominent singers tweeted that the authorities should not sue Godmen or Godwomen but the followers who accord them the status of gods or goddesses. Does that mean that a thief should not be punished just because the house owner put a lock that could be broken easily? People who have influential effect on the general public should be careful with their public comments.

The role of intelligentsia is to nurture rationality in the public, to guide the masses, to show them the logic, to bring forth a solution and build a robust and strong enough a society which is neither innocent nor insolent but is able to withstand or overcome intellectual challenges or adversities.