The politicians in our country are highly insecure today and feel threatened as never before because there is now a consciousness among the youth, especially to save the country from its tarnished and despicable image of being corrupt, open to all kinds of weaknesses including sex, pornography and what have you. Also their proclivities in using the wrong forces to pit one community against another has come into sharp focus.

According to a school of thought the recent trouble in Assam has been the handiwork of disgruntled politicians. In fact, the trouble in Assam has provoked anti-Muslim feelings which could have repercussions worldwide. Despite the insistence of local and indigenous groups in Assam that the clashes are not ethnic or religious, some people have been hell bent in making these clashes ethno religious.

So everything about politicians is sacrosanct. They cannot be satirized nor can cartoons be drawn about them. Vallabhai Patel, Nehru, and Ambedkar took cartoons in their stride and laughed at themselves. When Attenborough first contemplated making a movie on Gandhiji and confided this to Nehru, Nehru told him not to defy Gandhiji but to show him "warts and all". Gandhi had the ability to laugh at himself and so did the breed of politicians who worked selflessly for the country in the wake of the country's independence.

Now let alone laughing at themselves they want others to cry. I fear that if things go on like this then we will have the rule of authoritarian or totalitarian governments and our very blue print of democracy will receive a rude setback. In fact, after these two episodes of attacking cartoonists and social workers the concept of democracy in the country is reeling under the shadow of mobocracy. We have to make a judicious and wise choice between the two. Can we do it?

In a way all the protest movements that are taking place in our country are a reflection of the deep seated disenchantment that has taken roots among both the young and the old. Since the majority of the population of the country is the youth who are not only well educated, but highly intelligent and want to maintain the integrity of the country at all cost, unsurprisingly they are playing a major and pivotal role in such protests.

To strangle their voices is to kill democracy and suppress their intelligent resilience. I do not think they will capitulate, I think that they will resist such an attack on their rights, their intelligence and their freedom of expression. I also feel that the political leaders must not only be sensitive to their feelings but also must channelize them for the good of the country, for social work and for a real empathy for the poor and the downtrodden.