Are we turning into an INTOLERANT society?

Hi All,

Gone are the days when intolerance was considered repulsive and divisive. Intolerant people being labeled extremists and frowned upon are things of the past now. Welcome to a 'new', 'united' India where intolerance is a way of life and anything counter doctrinal is treated as blasphemy and equated to slaughtering the sacred cow. Be prepared to get labeled as 'anti-national' if you dare to criticise the blatant wastage of the CW games. The same fate awaits citizens who question the anti-Naxal strategy of the government. Except this time the tag attached is that of a ‘Naxal Sympathiser’.

It doesn’t take rocket scientist to figure out where all this is leading to. Tolerance is slowly but steadily getting shunted out of our polity. Intolerance is glorified as the new ‘Unity’. ‘You are either with me or either with them’ syndrome is ominously looming over us and is threatening to make us an intolerant society which refuses to take any constructive criticism and goes even to the extent of condemning varied viewpoints as anti-patriotic.

Offhand I can think of a few reasons why this new attitude has crept in. This intolerance is largely due to the fear arising out of failures and wrong doings. So if someone speaks out against you, label him a terrorist, an anti-national or better still a traitor. Rally popular opinion against him and bury his credibility. Additionally, this serves as a potent warning to anyone who might dream to take this path. There is also a fear among us that diverse, non-homogenous views perpetuate divisiveness and hence we need herbicides like intolerance to weed out divergent views. I feel the final one is the most dangerous of all and needs immediate attention.

I guess this trend is a cause of concern for all of us. Why are going down this path and where is all this leading us to? How do we put an end to this self destructive journey? I am hoping some of you out there might throw in some answers.