Two newborn girls die in an ICU from rat bites.
The outrage? The outrage was directed not at the hospital’s negligence or the administration, but at the person who dared to ask questions.
This, as philosopher Hannah Arendt famously warned, is “the death of thinking.” And when thinking dies, nations do not collapse dramatically; they quietly slip into paralysis.
India in 2025 is not a failed state. It is not Somalia, nor Syria.
It is something far more dangerous, a state where citizens are taught to stop questioning, stop thinking, and start obeying.
This is not a cry of despair; it is a wake-up call. Because India still has the capacity to turn around, provided we rekindle the culture of critical thought and courageous speech. The time to act is now, not tomorrow or the day after.
The Quiet Creep of Intellectual Paralysis
Modern authoritarianism does not arrive with boots on the streets and midnight arrests alone.
It arrives slowly, almost politely, with WhatsApp forwards, social media campaigns, and prime-time outrage shows that teach us what to feel, not what to think.
Arendt’s insight was prescient: totalitarian systems do not need mass graves or gulags; they only need citizens confused about what is real.
Is unemployment real, or anti-national propaganda?
Is inflation real, or fake news?
Did the bridge collapse due to corruption or China’s influence?
A democracy survives not because everyone agrees but because everyone is free to argue fiercely and fearlessly. But we are losing that muscle.
Education: From Curiosity to Conformity
While Singapore trains its students in problem-solving and critical reasoning, and South Korea invests heavily in STEM, AI, and creative thinking, India has drifted into an education model that rewards rote memory and punishes dissent.
Instead of asking students to solve real-world problems, we reward those who repeat the “approved” answer. Instead of encouraging questions, we label them as distractions.
The result? A generation that can pass exams but struggles to solve everyday civic, technological, and moral challenges.
This intellectual stagnation is more dangerous than poverty because it ensures that poverty will persist, unquestioned.
The Politics of Blame: An Endless Escape
Every crisis has a convenient scapegoat.
If prices rise, blame international conspiracies.
If jobs vanish, blame migrants, Pakistan, or China.
If infrastructure collapses, blame past governments, Gandhi, or Nehru.
The government keeps the masses engaged in mythology while promising a golden period decades away, the present be damned.
This cycle of blame absolves today’s leaders from accountability, and we, the citizens, accept it because it is easier to be told who the villain is than to do the hard work of holding our own elected representatives to account.
Democracy demands that we look beyond the easy answers, that we interrogate power even if the power wears our preferred party’s colours.
The Silence of the Thinking Class
The gravest danger to a democracy is not the noise of propaganda; it is the silence of those who know better, the educated class.
India still has thinkers, writers, scientists, teachers, veterans, professionals, and people who see what is happening. But many are quiet, some out of fear, others out of fatigue, and many out of cynical acceptance.
When the intelligent class stops speaking, the void is filled by those who shout the loudest.
And soon, silence becomes complicity.
Towards a Culture of Thinking: The Positive Path
If this diagnosis sounds grim, the prescription is clear and hopeful. India has faced far worse crises before and emerged stronger. The answer lies in rebuilding the culture of thinking at every level:
Revitalise Education for Critical Thinking
Introduce debate, logic, and problem-solving at the school level. Reward curiosity, not just compliance. Let students learn to ask why before they are asked to memorise what.
Hold Power Accountable Consistently
Criticism of government should not be a partisan activity. It is an act of citizenship. Today’s ruling party and tomorrow’s opposition must both be subjected to the same standard of scrutiny.
Strengthen Local Democracy
National debates are important, but real change starts with asking questions at the ward meeting, the panchayat, the Resident Welfare Association. A citizen who learns to question locally will question nationally.
Protect Independent Media and Dissent
A democracy without a free press is like a body without oxygen. Support journalism that investigates, not just echoes. Protect whistleblowers. Defend the right to peaceful protest.
Lead by Example
The educated class must speak up not only on social media but in workplaces, classrooms, and drawing rooms. Courage is contagious, and silence is too.
Patriotism Beyond Propaganda
True patriotism is not about blind obedience or wrapping ourselves in the tricolour while ignoring the rot. It is about insisting that our nation live up to its highest ideals.
The freedom struggle was not powered by obedience; it was powered by disobedience. Indians stood up to an empire because they believed truth mattered more than convenience.
In 2025, India does not need more outrage. It requires more clarity.
Conclusion: Choosing Thought Over Fear
Its enemies will not destroy India.
It will be destroyed, if at all, by the silence of its intelligent class and the passivity of its citizens.
But this is not destiny.
We can still choose to become a nation that thinks, debates, argues, and holds its leaders and itself accountable. This is not a task for a few, but a collective responsibility that we all share.
The first step is deceptively simple: refuse to outsource your mind.
Ask questions. Demand evidence debates in good faith.
Because the day we stop thinking is the day we stop being free.
And the day we start thinking again fiercely, fearlessly, relentlessly, will be the day India begins its actual rise. Let’s not underestimate the power of our thoughts and the impact they can have on our nation’s future.