This is a socially networked generation. You share your politics on Facebook or write a blog and lash out at whosoever you wish to. That’s the power of the internet. But not every internet or I-phone user is a responsible citizen. Many use this medium to start a virtual war which soon manifests itself on the ground. Irascible misanthropes, religious fanatics and ethnocentric individuals are dangerous categories. They spend most of their time grousing about what’s not working; what’s wrong with the system; who’s punishing their co-religionist and so on. They refuse to acknowledge that things can sometimes also go right. In the hands of such people the internet and mobile phone could become an instrument of mass destruction but with graver results.
A MMS or SMS message could be sent by any mischief maker and go viral within hours. It is often difficult to trace the genesis of such messages. We do not yet have the resources to police the web for hate-speeches and provocative posts. The internet revolution has been too swift. Now the I-phone has become a hold-all instrument that can inflict unspeakable damage. That is how an MMS message sent by someone about the harassment of Muslims in Assam has resulted in North Easterners or people with Mongoloid features to face brutal attacks in Bangalore and Pune. The assaulted included Tibetans as well because of their features. Naturally the students and professionals of North East working in Karnataka and Maharashtra are paranoid and have boarded the first train back to their homes. This exodus might then trigger another round of revengeful attacks against Muslims here. The cycle will go on unless we build inter-community, inter-faith groups to halt the wave of hatred that has taken charge of people’s emotions and kept their reason locked up.
That all this madness should happen on a day when India is observing its 65th year of Independence is rather farcical. What are we really free from when we still carry deep-seated prejudices against fellow human beings and refuse to live and let live? It’s true that Assam is grappling with its influx problem and there is no solution in sight but is a bloodbath the way out? Its time for the state and central government to sit and thrash out this issue and come up with an action plan, the sooner the better.