“While both are dear, Piety requires us to honor truth above our friends” – Aristotle
As a secular humanist, I often witness the deep, persistent backlash from the political right, a conflict fueled primarily by profound, seemingly endless misunderstanding. Yet, I don’t assign blame easily. In fact, we owe a debt of gratitude to many right-wing groups and organizations for the consistent, centuries-long effort required to preserve our diverse traditions and cultures. My disappointment is reserved for the extremist elements who move beyond preservation and into aggression. These are the individuals who resort to ridicule, insult, and humiliation, particularly against those of different races, religions, or cultures, in a relentless assertion of superiority and dominance. I perceive them as stubbornly uncompromising, resistant to critical thinking, and openly arrogant. I believe the roots of this behavior are fundamentally neuro-psychological. Our beliefs are shaped entirely by the environment and stimuli we are exposed to. The conflict often mirrors the tension between our rational, critical mind (often associated with the prefrontal cortex, which handles logic and decision-making) and our emotional, tribal instincts (driven by the limbic system, which controls the fight-or-flight response). I perceive that those with progressive or liberal beliefs may have a more developed capacity for rational inquiry, while some conservatives and far-rightists seem to operate from a more reactive, overactive emotional state. This tendency creates quick, fierce emotional bonds to their traditions. Anyone perceived as challenging those bonds is met with instant aggression, which is the core driver of the “Us vs. Them” mentality.
The responsibility for transcending this division falls to us, the citizens. If our education system fails to encourage the spirit of inquiry, we must take charge of our own development: educating ourselves rightly, engaging in rigorous fact-checking, and developing scientific temper throughout life. This is the only way we will progress toward a more tolerant, peaceful, and prosperous society. While the psychological roots of polarization are universal, nowhere do they feel more immediate and frustrating than in the current political climate of India. I find myself deeply disappointed by the trajectory of our politics. Many politicians argue over trivial issues, resorting to insults and what can only be described as cynical tactics to consolidate votes. They appear to lack vision and a willingness to face critical scrutiny. The ground reality for the average citizen is often harsh. While the government may spin narratives through media propaganda, our lives have become significantly more difficult, especially since the challenges of the last decade, including the post-COVID landscape and global conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Palestine conflict. I often look back on the period around a decade ago with a certain nostalgia. The nation was at a peak during the UPA era, especially with the collaboration between a great economist like Dr. Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister and a visionary scientist like Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as President (2004–2007). Their contributions remain invaluable. I believe the National Congress could easily reclaim its status if it resolved its challenges with dynasty politics. Its tendency to sideline great, loyal, and visionary leaders, like Dr. Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee, and Shashi Tharoor, created internal disillusionment, which the opposition Janata Party leveraged effectively.
Turning to the present, my personal reading of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections is that a significant number of people voted for the Janata Party out of helplessness, feeling they lacked viable alternatives. Voters are dissatisfied, caught between the politics of appeasement on one side and views bordering on extremism on the other. I hold a genuinely mixed view of the current ruling party. Prime Minister Modi’s vision and contributions deserve praise, though they require a more solid ethical foundation. Key figures like S. Jaishankar and Nitin Gadkari are making praiseworthy progress, particularly in developing infrastructure and navigating complex international relations. However, I often find many state and local ministers to be arrogant and shallow. More critically, I personally dislike the political ideology of Hindutva. It feels like a distorted, highly toxic political strain of Hinduism, one that shares worrying characteristics with other nationalist extremisms. I also view the activities of the RSS and other Hindu nationalist organizations with skepticism. Their complex history, including their association with controversial events, such as the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi in 1948 and the demolition of the Babri Mosque in 1992, is deeply concerning, as is their failure to clearly define the concept of a “Hindu nation.” The most difficult position is the neutral one. In a time when opinion is so polarized, those of us trying to hold the center feel isolated. Rightists might accuse us of being anti-national, and leftists might label us fascists. No one chooses the middle path, and that means those of us trying to hold it often feel isolated.
Ultimately, my secular humanist view leads me back to a moral imperative: we must strive to adopt what is righteous for ourselves and society, and reject falsehoods, whether they come from political or religious figures. Just as there are authentic spiritual guides like Gurus who provide right understanding of scriptures, there are also “false prophets” in the marketplace, both spiritual and political, who use divisive language to incite social instability and violence. This phenomenon is universal. We have a powerful guideline for discernment, one that speaks to the results of a person’s actions, not their claims:
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.” – Matthew 7:15
Good trees bear good fruit; bad trees bear bad fruit. If a leader, a party, or an ideology claims greatness but produces hatred, humiliation, or division, then its nature is clear. It doesn’t matter what names they invoke or what miracles they claim to perform; if they are evildoers, they stand outside the realm of righteousness.
Notice – This article is a chapter from Glimpses of My Worldview (2025). It is being republished here on my blog as part of a complete serialization of the work.