A voice against the celebration of power and the use of force

Ramachandra Guha has written a good article, which is at India Together: Dr K Balagopal, the honest leftist - 15 November 2009:

"...In sum, Balagopal refused to accept, from either State or Maoist, the justification of 'a culture and mentality which celebrates power and use of force in society'.

"...Balagopal was that altogether rare animal, a genuinely independent Indian intellectual, whose moral clarity and commitment to the truth meant that he could not resort to special pleading for any party or interest. The flawed institutions of our imperfect democracy were all subject to his rigorous scanner - the police, the judiciary, the bureaucracy, and not least, corrupt and authoritarian politicians."

I like the phrasing of this sentence, "Balagopal refused to accept, from either State or Maoist, the justification of 'a culture and mentality which celebrates power and use of force in society'."

Ultimately it is on the strength of such resistance to the celebration of power and the use of force that democracy is made secure and our freedoms protected.