As a 2017 CSDS-Lokniti report noted: “as levels of education increases the likelihood of holding conservative views also increases.” The use of ‘conservative’ here is a euphemism for right-wing authoritarianism. The survey probed the public on the most contentious political questions of the day: should the government (or caste/ community) punish those who eat beef; do not say ‘Bharat Mata ki jai’; do not stand up for the national anthem; or engage in religious conversions? On each of the four questions, a clear majority of Hindus supported the punishment of the individual not just by the State but also presumably by the mob. In fact, the educated classes displayed the greatest penchant for coercive violence, not to mention a higher level of sympathy for dictatorship and suppression of speech than found among the cohort of illiterates.
Asim Ali, ‘Imprisoned minds’, Telegraph India
