Inflammatory speeches, intentional or otherwise, senseless reporting of events and even a casual remark communicated, now over the mob.is capable of creating unrest of dangerous proportions, and, has done so, time and again, writes Prof. H C Pande
Motorola has been responsible for the production of, though unintentionally, the catalyst of mob violence, the mobile-phone. Interestingly the first letter of each of the nouns is m, suggesting, may be, a divine connection. Any invention is a double-edged sword for use or abuse, development or destruction, and, with the demented democracy, or, the designing desperadoes abounding, the destructive use of the device is more than visible.
The need to organise public meetings, or press conferences or TV interviews or distribution of pamphlets is over, and now rumour mongering ,rampages, and riots are just a call away.This device does not need Uranium or Plutonium, or, for the delivery of disruption, a F-117 Stealth Fighter. All that one needs to do is to press a button and the delivery is there, at the speed of light.
In the information society, here is the hand-held equivalent of a nuclear bomb, capable of delivering deadly destruction anywhere and every where.The situation is indeed alarming, as, unlike the International Atomic Energy Agency supervising the use of the fissionable material, the freedom of communication of information worldwide, does not brook any supervision when, in fact, the information being communicated could be far more destructive than an atomic explosion and loaded with mischief, outlasting radioactivity. And again, unlike the nuclear bombs located in, maybe, a couple of dozen places, this little devil is present in every country, district, neighbourhood, and household, available with billions of people.
The consequences are indeed grave for societies that are burdened with multiple fault-lines, be they social, economic, religious or cultural. India is a sitting target, where the fault-lines can be seen with the eyes closed. Volcanoes erupt when there is enough magma, the molten rock, and, strata movements cause significant pressure in the region causing flaming lava to pour out along the fault-lines.The magma of discontent, due to backwardness and prejudices, accumulated over centuries of foreign domination, is simmering down with the development of the country, however, it is yet to solidify. The situation is still fluid, and even a little movement of the social, economic, or, religious strata can create pressure for the lava to flow out from the fissures engulfing the area with fire.
Inflammatory speeches, intentional or otherwise, senseless reporting of events and even a casual remark communicated, now over the mob.is capable of creating unrest of dangerous proportions, and, has done so, time and again.
It is imperative that a mechanism of filtering out or controlling, the flow of mischievous information be put in place till the time that the fissures have healed substantially or in full measure. What is mischievous may be a matter of opinion,but surely,what breaks up a society or a nation can be identified without doubt.
(Prof. H C Pande is Vice Chancellor Emeritus , BITS, Mesra)
