In the recent
past, the country has been witnessing
great turmoil
and social unrest due
to a specific
phenomenon, “hurting religious
sentiments”.
Social media posts based on being
communally
targeted at a group and religion,
and proclaimed
derogatory have transformed situations
into communal
violence. Very often, even before
the police
forces can act, mobs react and turn villages,
towns, and
cities into war-torn battlegrounds. The result
of such events
is huge losses to individuals, businesses
and strained
relations between communities that once
lived in
peaceful coexistence.
Every such
incident is fuelled by false propaganda and
fake news,
created and circulated on social media by trolls
and IT cells
of hate-mongering groups who have a tool-kit
of spreading
hatred and creating a rift between communities
for their
selfish religious and political gains.
The recent
incidents in Goa where youth have been accused
of hurting
religious sentiments by posting derogatory
messages
against religions and historical personalities held
in high
respect, are part of the larger agenda to destabilise
the peace
within the State. From filing police complaints,
youth are now
indulging in mob justice by getting hold of
the accused
and publicly humiliating and forcing individuals
to chants
specific slogans. These mob incidents are being
filmed and
spread on social media platforms.
However, if
one had to consider religion as the basis of
the action and
reaction, then it is quite obvious that God
is too
merciful and forgives all that these individuals have
been doing
against the tenets of their own religions. All
those who are
on the lookout for people who commit the
sins of
posting derogatory messages need to introspect
their lives
and analyse if God had been too merciful towards
them while
they have been going about their daily affairs. A
glance at the
newspaper reports everyday will inform you
the rising
number of crimes against children and women.
Molestation,
rapes, murders, thefts – even at religious places,
fatal
accidents due to human negligence and above all
corruption
leading to scams and scandals. And these are not
restricted to
any religious community and are destroying
the nation
more than any derogatory post on social media.
India celebrated
the 75th Republic Day on Friday, January
26, 2024,
however, unlike in the past when the country
would be on
high alert for security because of possible terrorist
attack
threats, now the security forces stay alert to
avoid tensions
between communities and their after effects.
On November
26, 1949, the Constituent Assembly of
India adopted
the Constitution of India, which came into
effect from
January 26, 1950. The Preamble of the Constitutions
states, “We,
the people of India, having solemnly
resolved to
constitute India into a Sovereign Socialist
Secular
Democratic Republic and to secure to all its citizens:
Justice,
social, economic and political; liberty of
thought,
expression, belief, faith and worship; equality of
status and of
opportunity; and to promote among them
all fraternity
assuring the dignity of the individual and
the unity and
integrity of the Nation…”
For a
progressive nation, citizens will have to remind
themselves the
duties that the Constitution has put on their
shoulders to
safeguard the values of socialism, secularism,
democracy and
uphold justice, liberty and equality as the
guiding
principles of existence. Instead of being part of the
mobocracy,
follow the fundamental principles envisaged in
the Preamble.
Beyond political and religious lines, take the
responsibility
to introspect their contribution in making India
great and
course correct their actions towards making the country a ‘Vishwaguru’.
