DailyPost 371
DO PUBLIC INTELLECTUALS MATTER?
Public intellectuals as known genre is missing in this country. The intellectuals are referred to at times in TV & other debate. These belong to a creative class ; the writers & their ilk. Some of a different type get into activism get packaged by the nature of activism, they get into. Distinctly, we also have Think Tanks trying to influence public policy in an informed, researched manner & in public interest.
These, scientists & lots others are intellectuals in their own right, taking either their vocation & passion further . Amongst all these varieties, it is difficult to distinctly remember as a group Public Intellectuals. They can be from different fields; rational, researched & empirical, putting forth opinions, blueprint & roadmap which the nation needs. This would be facts etched in stone, beyond vested debates. An antithesis to the Talk Shows euphemistically termed as TV debates.
These are the people who can bring sanity to the national discourse without being branded. Courage of conviction will be the real change agent. The national discourse itself would get translated into an empirical formula, fit enough to deliver. We can then see light at the end of tunnel & also get familiar to the people who can take us there. They would be the harbingers of change.
What defines public intellectuals is the lack of vested interest & a history of demonstrated capability of delivery. We have sufficiently been damaged by mediocrity & vested interests. When nothing else seems to matter, for sure Public Intellectuals will matter, they ought to fulfill their role in the public space.
Public Intellectuals have decided national destinies, may it be Greek Philosophers or the stalwarts of Renaissance, Reformation or Enlightenment. They have defined our thought & our world. Scientists & innovators of today belong to this space. Only they can provide a national roadmap in this messy scenario.
THE RELEVANCE OF PUBLIC INTELLECTUALS DECIDES THE RELEVANCE OF THE NATION.
Sanjay Sahay