Fearmongering.

Prafulla Kumar Mohanty

Those who thought civilization has conquered fear should think again. By killing the dinosaur, tiger and other animals and keeping the hapless ones in our zoos and making them fun exhibits the same people guiding civilization definitely thought fear was overcome.  By controlling all pandemic epidemics we thought fear was gone. The fear of war too has now been made less horrific. But terrorism has revived all myths of fear. The Covid 19 ( corona virus) however has taken us back to our primal fears of death. After the atomic deluge in Hiroshima mass death  became the most fearful thing that could happen to man. But now most countries have WMD (weapons of mass destruction) as  'deterrents'. Attack by brute force whether planned or accidental however, cannot be ruled out despite civilizational efforts. The United Nations, however, has proven effete- at best it is a debating club and at worst a financial burden  on nations. Fear perhaps, cannot be eradicated however man tries to muster courage. Fear is the beginning of wisdom but modern fear may not grant time to ponder, cogitate, analyse and devise counters. Today fear is like denatured rain, may fall on any human space.

But more than the fear of death by virus or atomic weapons a new fear grips the world now. The fear of fake news which many fear mongers manufacture out of thin air. Lies are spread at lightning speed by the new technological toys in our hands. Lies certainly are more exciting than truth or facts. If I say the Taj is a magnificent monument, it may not excite anyone, for almost everyone accepts the Taj Mahal  as a monument of beauty and also as a heart warming symbol of love. But if I say after all the Taj is a mausoleum  built by a ruler exploiting a dominated population, there  will be excitement. The statement is not a lie or truth, it is somewhat different from the unarticulated feelings of most people. The statement, however, innocuous it may be suddenly stirs up the nerves of controversy for which people have time. Who made the statement? If it is a Hindu, the conclusion  immediately will be that it is a 'hate speech'. It is meant to offend the muslims. The pomp of the Mogul Emperor is challenged and mocked at by a non-believer. This is a mischievous communally charged statement.... and so on. The social media will start buzzing and others will join in to create chaos. In fact any statement that one makes about a public figure, monument or person it will go viral in the social media. You may ask why should someone's statement is discussed at all? If people in a free democracy are free to express their opinion let them speak, why twist the statement and squeeze out communal juice out  of a statement ? This will happen because people would see religion in it. And religion is the greatest  dividing factor in the world.

But how to explain fearmongering taking out a meaning out of nothing? In India the Citizenship Amendment Act has been passed  to give citizenship to the persecuted minorities of the neighbouring Islamic countries. CAA is an Act to give citizenship to others  and it has nothing to do with the present Indian citizens. But lies were spread to create fear in the minds of a community  which challenges the government by illegally occupying a public road in Delhi in the name of saving the 'constitution'. The lie of Indians losing citizenship is so potent a truth for the organisers of the protest that they are not prepared to accept any assurance by any authority. How to explain this? Perhaps lies are more trustworthy and people decide their course of action on those lies, sacrificing values of their own as well as those of the communities of the country. Also they flout laws clinging on to the lies.

Drona in the Mahabharata heard that his son Aswasthama was dead.  He asked others and also Krishna, who said cryptically "Man or elephant Aswasthama is dead".  After hearing that he gave up his arms and was killed. Now the question is why didn't he enquire whether man or elephant had died? Krishna truthfully said about the death of Aswasthama, the elephant. But he added the lie about man, Awasthama. The lie was accepted by Drona. Man immediately believes lies and acts. ISIS motivated the people to die for religion with lies. Man is prone to believing lies with which he fearmongers. The social media is now a convenient medium to spread lies which lead to disastrous consequences. Social media users become town criers of lies. The sinister hidden evil in man comes out to create lies not to save life's dignity but to destroy human goodness. Fearmongers sadistically enjoy the crisis they create by their lies. If the Internet is not regulated by strict adherence to civilizational norms lies will develop a life of their own and vanquish truth to submission. Fearmongering be damaned.