India's intellectual surrender

There was a time when Indian intellectuals and artists - especially those aligned with the left - were seen as voices of conscience in a complex democracy. They questioned power, challenged communalism and championed cross-border peace. Today, many of those same figures stand exposed.

The descent of writer and poet Javed Akhtar is only the most visible symptom of this malaise. Once admired across the subcontinent for his sharp wit and lyrical flair, he now appears consumed by bitterness, with his public appearances punctuated with jabs at Pakistan that echo the very jingoism he once decried.

This is not an isolated case. Across India's cultural and intellectual landscape, a steady erosion of liberal credibility is underway. Those who once wore their progressive credentials on their sleeves are now silent in the face of state excesses — or worse, parroting its rhetoric.

Some still speak of human rights and democracy, but the focus has narrowed and somehow the enemy is always Pakistan. This shift cannot be separated from the broader political climate under the ruling BJP, which has successfully normalised Hindu nationalism across institutions. But it would be lazy to pin all blame on the BJP. Why have India's so-called liberals failed to hold their ground? Why have figures once seen as critical thinkers become apologists?

Even Bollywood, which for decades served as a cultural bridge across the border, has not been spared. While many in Pakistan still admire Indian films, the underlying narratives are shifting where villains are increasingly Muslim, dissent is framed as betrayal and the state is always heroic. To be clear, Pakistan has its own share of problems but there remains, among Pakistani audiences and thinkers, a stubborn willingness to engage with Indian art and ideas, even when they come wrapped in hostility.

What Indians are witnessing is not just a political shift but a cultural one too. In this new India, even artists have become foot soldiers. For Pakistanis who once admired these voices, there is little left but disillusionment. The silence from across the border grows louder by the day — not the silence of censorship, but of conscience surrendered.