‘Intellectuals allow aversion to Modi to colour their views on Indian democracy’

Salvatore Babones, a sociologist, says ranking bodies reflect the biased views of the India experts who form their panels.

- ABHINANDAN MISHRA NEW DELHI

Professor Salvatore Babones, a sociologist, teaches political economy of the Indo-Pacific region at the University of Sydney, Australia. Babones, who was in India recently, has written on issues faced by India and his book, "The New Authoritarianism: Trump, Populism, and the Tyranny of Experts" was named "Best on Politics 2018" by the Wall Street Journal. During his recent visit to India, Babones shared his views on the multiple issues that impact India's perception at the global level. He spoke exclusively to The Sunday Guardian on what, in his view, has changed in India in the last few years.

Excerpts:

Q: You have said, "India's intellectual class in its public persona is anti-India. In their hearts, I am sure, they are very proud patriots. But when they go out in the public arena to talk about India, they are certainly not highlighting India's accomplishments." Assuming that what you say is true, what is the reason behind this stance? Are the reasons personal, professional, ideological, or political? A: Most intellectuals (like most other people) tend to be self-in

dulgent. We all tend to think that what we think is not only right, but also objective. But unlike other people, intellectuals have a professional responsibility to work systematically toward an objective analysis of the world.

What I see in writing on Indian democracy is that many intellectuals seem to allow their personal political preferences to influence their (supposedly) objective analyses. They are, in effect, allowing their aversion to the Modi/BJP government to bias their evaluations of Indian democracy.

Q: Is this "criticism", which you believe is mostly baseless, a new phenomenon? Does it have to do with the coming of the BJP to power? Was this "baseless criticism" not common before 2014?