The one area of social life which neofascism specifically, single-mindedly, and shamelessly seeks to destroy is education. It is not just a question of ignoring education, or privatizing it and starving it of public funds; it is a case of deliberate, wilful destruction.

Neofascism’s attitude in this respect is the diametrical opposite of that of the Left, especially the Communists. The country is dotted with numerous educational institutions started originally by Communist leaders. There was a fond belief among the pioneering Communists that if people were educated then they would almost naturally get attracted towards Communism, which was seen as representing the highest expression of social consciousness. This belief, coupled with the conviction that to appreciate Communism one had to understand not just bourgeois society but also bourgeois theory, meant a general passion for education (not just a sectarian promotion of one’s own ideology). This passion for education in general set the Communists apart from most others during the anti-colonial struggle.

The fascist and neofascist attitude is just the opposite of this. Fascism and neofascism differ from other right-wing movements in having a “theory” of their own. This “theory” which provides the basis for their “othering” of some hapless minority and fomenting hatred against it within the majority, is derived from the pronouncements of some of their own forerunners, but not supported by any evidence. In fact fascists and neofascists abhor evidence of any kind. They cling to their pernicious “theory” precisely by shunning all evidence and closing their minds to any authentic scientific inquiry that must be based on looking for and interpreting evidence. Educational institutions whose raison d’être consists in their being terrains of scientific inquiry represent therefore a danger to the “theory” of the fascists and hence a threat to the ideology of fascism and neofascism; they are looked upon by fascists not just with suspicion but with outright hostility.

The assault on education in the current period therefore comes from two sources: there is the familiar neo-liberal assault, which, by imposing “austerity” on the government, and forcing the privatization and hence the commoditization  of education, converts it from an activity of critical inquiry to at best a mere acquisition of skills. Then there is the assault from the neofascists who also see any critical inquiry as being dangerous, and who, apart from denying education to large masses of the population, willingly acquiesce in the transformation of education into a mere acquisition of certain skills at best. Education, from being a means of enlightenment, is thus converted to a skill acquisition activity reserved only for the children of the elite. This, as we know, forms the thrust of the New Education Policy of the BJP-led government.

There is however a further subterranean stimulus behind the neofascist attempt to destroy education, which is particularly relevant in the case of India. The neofascists are not just opinionated but gullible individuals who happen to cling stubbornly to a vacuous “theory” with sinister implications. The remarkable thing is that leading neofascist echelons are themselves typically aware of the vacuity of their “theory”; they keep pushing it however as a means of manipulating their own followers as well as the masses at large into accepting it. Neofascism in other words is characterized not just by a sinister, false narrative; it is characterized above all by bad faith, by a desire on the part of leading neofascist echelons to manipulate people into accepting this false narrative. Neofascism is not just sinister; it is engaged forever in “selling” this sinister false narrative to people knowing it to be false.

The educated segment of the population does not easily fall prey to this manipulation. Many of them go along with the neofascists because they are coerced into doing so; many others support them because of the blandishments offered to them by the neofascists. Still others support them on class grounds, because of the class outlook and class positions that the neofascists propagate which are to their liking. But the general feeling among them with regard to the “theory” of the neofascists ranges from utter scepticism to outright hostility. More importantly, most of them, including those who support the class positions of the neofascists, have an awareness of their “bad faith” and manipulativeness.

Such “bad faith” and manipulativeness arouses among  large segments of the educated population a feeling of revulsion towards the neofascists, whether or not it is explicitly articulated; and the neofascists are well aware of this. The educated segments of the population in other words are aware of the laborate charade put up by the neofascists, a charade that has no pretence to verisimilitude; and the leading neofascists are aware of the educated segments’ awareness of their bad faith. This gives the neofascists a chip on their shoulder vis-à-vis the educated segments of the population.

The personal insecurity, the inferiority complex, of the Hindutva leadership vis-à-vis the educated elements is a palpable but significant phenomenon in India. The contrast that this has with the general adulation for the “leader” among other segments of the population becomes particularly galling for the leading neofascist echelons.

The immense hostility of the leading Hindutva elements towards the educated segments arises because the latter see through their bad faith and manipulativeness. The anger of the leading Hindutva echelons, especially of the “leader”, vis-à-vis these educated segments finds expression in phrases like the “Khan Market gang” or the “Tukde Tukde gang” that they use for intellectuals and for educated segments in general.

There is a further point to note here. The more distinguished the educational institution, the more outstanding its products, the more likely are these products to see through the chicanery, the vacuity, the “bad faith” and the manipulativeness of the neofascist Hindutva elements. The more hostile therefore are the Hindutva elements themselves towards such institutions, and the more keen they are to attack these institutions which they see as impediments to their ascendancy. This is why paradoxically, and most ironically, the neofascists, and the government dominated by them, have been most assiduous in attacking the very best educational institutions of the country. Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jadavpur University, Hyderabad Central University, Delhi University, Viswa Bharati, and Jamia Milia Islamia are without doubt among the finest educational institutions in the country, institutions of which the country can be genuinely proud; and these are the very institutions that have been in the forefront of Hindutva assault. Not satisfied with this, the Hindutva elements have also extended their attack to other outstanding institutions, which are not academic institutions but where creative minds are also engaged in the process of critical examination of society, such as the Pune Film Institute and the Satyajit Ray Institute of Film Studies. The case of the last-mentioned institution is particularly shocking since Hindutva goons affiliated with the RSS simply descended upon its campus and started beating up students!

It may be thought that while the Hindutva government may be attacking modern educational institutions, it is actually in favour of promoting traditional Indian educational institutions, that labelling it as “anti-education” as such is both incorrect and unfair. It is significant however that during the twelve years of Hindutva rule, even as established modern educational institutions like the JNU, JU and HCU have been under relentless attack, not a single institution imparting education in traditional Indian studies (or kindred disciplines) and aspiring to excel in this area has been set up or nurtured into prominence. It does not take long for an institution of excellence to become known: JNU had become reputed internationally within a decade of being set up. If an institution promoting traditional Indian studies had come up, its reputation should have spread by now. This has not happened for the simple reason that no such institution has come up during the period of Hindutva rule.

The foregoing has an important implication. Every single day that the Hindutva government remains in office, there would be an attempt at pushing the education system into extinction. It is not a question of “Give the BJP government some more time and they may do something about improving the education system”; whatever they do about the education system would only push it towards its further destruction. A pointer to their attitude to the world of letters is the condemnable support given by the Chief Minister of West Bengal to hoodlums destroying book-shops set up by the Left Front near Puja pandals across that state.