In the present political and social climate, intellectuals, liberals, media persons, and artists are not being vilified because of the things they are saying.
They are the villains because in the eyes of the science caste, they were never supposed to amount to anything. They were supposed to be amusements, sources of entertainment, and cautionary tales for them to scare their children with so that they never choose the arts.
In many ways, this "ye sab toh koi bhi kar sakta hai" thinking permeates our entire culture. People don't think art is worth money. People tell designers to work for free because it "can't possibly be that hard".
But the worst possible consequence of our attitude towards the humanities is currently playing out in the political and social arena. Our "educated middle class", thanks to a lack of education, is screwing us over.
@sandipb @vimoh
1. Developed societies follow what is right & fare, not what is envied / liked by others
2. In developed societies, sense of (false) pride, morality & few other imaginary feelings, do not trump freedom & equality
3. Except a thin cream of the ultra rich, statuses (in Indian context) aren't something they understand, which makes us look down upon another
4. Wealth for them is what it can do for u, not how much is sitting in ur bank or u r wearing on u.
5. In India my life is mine & ur life only makes sense if it goes with my sense of morality, pride, status, faith & politics - all which I define & is in my head only.