Srinagar, Feb. 25 -- A disclaimer on my part is warranted here (before I elaborate upon my argument and support it): I am neither a repository of intellect, nor do I have a special claim and prosaic but obscure truths in social., cultural, intellectual and scientific domains. What I am is an observer and I may be flattering myself here an analyst of crosscutting themes and issues. This is my vantage point. From this 'perch', I feel sad and bad about the inexorable decline in our intellectual and social standards. Now let me dwell on the central point and theme of this essay. Broadly, a given society's intellectual quest must be to probe for and find truths referred to in the essay, explicate on these and render these as the predicate for ...