Let there be no doubt in anyone’s mind that I will continue to be as outspoken against all the forces of extremism, unreason and bigotry as I possibly can.  I have a problem and I will have a problem whenever I see that personal freedom and individual liberty are being curtailed, whether by any social group or by the government itself.  And let me also say that I fully support all the writers and filmmakers who have returned their awards to the government as a mark of protest against the rising tide of intolerance and vicious bigotry by a section of the population which believes that the present union government is not only spiritually aligned, but also sympathetic to their regressively illiberal agenda.  Therefore, I stand by all our intellectual people in the country for showing the courage to face down the bully. 

  And please, don’t try to trip me with guilt by forcing me to draw moral equivalence between one societal derangement and another, like if I condemn this then you turn around and say why don’t you condemn that, why you say this now why didn’t that then?  I am too old for games like that.  Everything in life has a context and we as human beings can’t wade into every battle.  We can only pick and choose our battles that we think are worth fighting for.  I am no fan of the previous regime either, who ruled through the murky system of patronage and cooption of a corrupt feudal elite, and it was necessary to get rid of them, but we can’t replace the corrupt with the reactionaries either.  I would like the Prime Minister Modi to be unequivocal in his denunciation of the fanatics and forces of reaction on both sides Hindus as well as Muslims, and not be mealy mouthed on this vital issue.  He must subject himself to tough questions by the media and not cynically use social media for banalities and one-sided conversation.