I
have been thinking of writing a blog for quite some time. I even wrote few but
could never post them. It is just somehow I never felt the need to voice myself
until Saturday’s violence at Azad Maidan. We all witnessed how miscreants
desecrated the Amaran Jawan Memorial during the protest against Muslim massacre in
Assam. The whole issue has a huge scope for debate however I don’t want to
comment anything on any of the communities involved. Rather I want to speak
about something which is even more important.
As
an active user of social networking websites, I come across number of
objectionable material intense enough to provoke communal tensions. I had even talked about it with some of my
friends. But I never thought of writing about it in a blog, until the images of
two miscreants sullying the Amar Jawan memorial were published in Midday. It really
disheartened me and prompted me to broach the controversial topic. I have been
stumbling into several offensive writings and morphed images for long and often
worried about the impact it would have on the youth. I came across images and
videos which could have been tampered or distorted to provoke the masses. Any
rational person could decipher the intention behind them and still I found them
being circulated through as many mediums as possible. And now the protest is being followed
by a series of counter retaliation via social networking sites intended to
vilify the other community by posting equivalent offensive materials.
It reminded
me of the current Government’s move to ask internet companies like Google, Facebook,
Microsoft to screen the objectionable material before it is posted on the
internet. It had created havoc among the cyber people and others alike. It was
regarded as Government’s attempt to save its face from the defamation it was confronting while liberals
called it violation of right to freedom of speech. Also its practicality was questioned as millions of people in India generate internet content every
day. I don’t want to wield the topic in that direction and end up talking about need of
cyber monitoring especially when I know that there is legislation in place for
the same. Face book has a facility to report a post and so do YouTube and other
websites. Intermediaries Rules 2011 under India's Information Technology Act
compels the service provider to take off provocative or derogatory content
within 36 hours of being notified of the content. In spite of that the
perpetrators could complete their motto by circulating the provocative
material.
It
makes me think what might have kept people from just clicking a button in order
to flag inappropriate material? The circulation of hatred and rumours could
have been lessened, had people been more sensible. Perhaps nobody wants to
become controversial and get recognised by bringing wrong to public notice. And so instead of being a hero by saying no to
hatred we preferred to be a coward by letting spite spread.
I am
leaving the topic here but would like to request people to be responsible while
being on the internet. Please let us be prudent when we share information. We just can’t believe everything we read
online. We must ensure the sources and validity of the content before sharing. This
reminds me of an Economics’ class on monetary policy in which I was taught about
a monetary tool called “Moral Suasion”. It is a qualitative method by which
Central bank urges other banks to adhere to the policies by behaving morally.
And in the same way I too urge people to behave sensibly on the internet in the
interests of society at large.
Peace.
Love. Integrity.
