Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday stirred a row in the House when he defined three categories of people: Student, idiot, and andhbhakt [blind follower]. He said that he had arrived on the categories after talking to a student.He said that during his interaction with a student, she defined a student as “someone who has an open mind. “One who accepts he doesn’t know everything. Students understand that the universe is constantly changing, dynamic. And the student understands that knowledge is also always changing,” Rahul Gandhi quoted the student. “I asked her what is the most value of a student, and she said humility,” he added.“She said there is another group of people. They are absolutely convinced they know everything and they believe the universe is static. They believe they are God. They are arrogant. They don’t listen. So I asked what do you call these people. She said she calls them idiots,” Gandhi said during his address.“She said to me there are two categories: a student, who can be a lawyer, doctor, unemployed person can be a student. It is even respecting the rest of the universe. I asked what about these idiots. She said they don’t listen.”“I asked what is the goal of a student. She said that the student runs after the truth… She said the student wears the truth on his or her chest proudly. It is written here. The other type requires an image and as that image is not true, the idiot is trying to pretend he is God, he has to create a massive image. I thought this is a student and an idiot. I asked her where is the third category. She asked which category. I said ‘andhbhakt’. She said the ‘andhbhakt’ is convinced another person is God,” Rahul Gandhi said.Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More