India is becoming a nation of 'duffers', says author Avay Shukla

NEW DELHI: Indian author and former senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Avay Shukla has expressed grave concerns about the state of the nation, stating that India is becoming a “nation of duffers” and is regressing to the “Neanderthal stage.”

In an interview with journalist Karan Thapar for The Wire, Shukla asserted that India is evolving in the wrong direction. “It is clear that the Indian side of the LAC is one big duffer zone all the way to Kanyakumari,” he remarked, adding, “Other countries evolve for the better, we have been consistently doing it for the worse, and are proud of it.”

Shukla described the “duffer zone” not only as a geographical area but also as a state of mind.

He specifically referred to the northern parts of India—often dubbed the Hindu heartland and the stronghold of the BJP and right-wing organizations—as a key example of this mentality. This region is also home to the Indian national media, which is primarily based in Noida.

He elaborated that the “duffer zone” reflects a mindset characterized by low literacy and high birth rates, combined with an overabundance of religiosity, especially the Hindutva brand of religion that has gained traction in recent years.

“It reeks of intolerance to opinions, ideas, lifestyles—everything. It does not tolerate or accept other forms of language, religion, or thought,” Shukla said. “It is filled increasingly with islamophobia and has a very strong content of regionalism, hyper nationalism. It equates all Muslims with terrorists”.

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The author also highlighted growing Islamophobia in the country, citing recent incidents like the controversial statements made by Madhya Pradesh’s minister about Col. Sophia Qureshi, and the trolling of a naval officer’s wife who called for communal harmony. He further pointed to the merciless trolling of India’s Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and his daughter by right-wing media after the announcement of a ceasefire with Pakistan.

Shukla noted that in the “duffer zone,” anyone who questions the government or its policies is quickly labelled an “enemy of the state,” with the recent example of Professor Ali Khan Mahmudabad being cited as proof of this trend.

He warned that large parts of India are in danger of losing their sanity, pointing out that the “duffer zone” is expanding. The recent events in Karnataka, according to Shukla, are a worrying sign.

Singer Sonu Nigam was heckled for refusing to sing in Kannada and State Bank of India female manager faced nationalist wrath for not speaking Kannada.

Addressing the decline of Indian democracy, Shukla said India has been sliding down the democratic scale in recent years. “We are now a flawed democracy. Not only are the government and institutions backsliding, but societal values are also eroding, which is far more concerning,” he said.

He concluded that once a society begins to regress, it becomes very difficult to reverse or correct the course.