Ignorance isn't bliss

Ignorance, innumeracy and misinformation make a volatile cocktail in the present troubled times

“Half-knowledge is dangerous,” Vinoba Bhave had chastised me some six decades ago, as I, a typical overenthusiastic schoolboy, answered one of his questions. That admonition is more than merited now with reference to the sudden spurt of violent farmer protests in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, since mostly there is no knowledge and little awareness. This column highlights two major issues. 

What angers farmers? 
 

Clearly, this outburst is not caused by distress due to adversities such as droughts. Most of India recorded bumper harvests of almost all crops. Some analysts have suggested political instigation as the probable cause backed by some evidence,