ABSTRACT
This chapter interrogates the lack of resistance and outrage among avowedly liberal and secular Indians over the dismantling of the formal federal arrangement that existed between India and the Jammu and Kashmir State till August 5, 2019; its dismemberment and demotion into a Union Territory without consulting the state subjects of J&K and in breach of constitutional procedures. Through this reflection, it seeks to understand why, despite the apparent promise and proclamations of the leadership during decolonization, the commitment to ethics and the idea of justice remain tenuous among Indians, particularly the upper-caste elite in India. It draws upon the scholarship of B.R. Ambedkar and D.D. Kosambi among others to reflect on the hegemonic Brahmanical cultural tradition in India that enables an instrumental relationship to truth rendering justice impossible.
