Mob violence a growing concern in India

Instead of blaming WhatsApp, government should work to secure country’s socio-political harmony

Misguided fury and a penchant for violence seem to have become everyday realities in India as mob lynchings, fuelled by fake news, grab headlines routinely. And herein lies the problem: The role of social media in fomenting trouble is supplanting the real matter at stake — the role of the government in dealing with this crisis. As the Indian government conveys its displeasure on the role of WhatsApp to its parent organisation, Facebook, asking it to not “evade accountability and responsibility” for messages that lead to the spread of violence and calling for the company to “take immediate action to end this menace”, the question is: Is India missing the forest for the trees?

The issue is not so much the malleability of WhatsApp and its penetration in India — it has more than 200 million users — as it is about the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) inability to steer the national discourse away from divisive and communal issues. In fact, this inability has been one of the defining features of its governance since it assumed power in 2014. So, instead of placing the blame entirely at Facebook’s door, what Prime Minster Narendra Modi needs to do is examine why the societal fabric of India has frayed to this extent under his leadership.

The brutal killings of innocent people in the name of righteousness cannot be justified in any manner, least of all by indicting a medium that is intrinsically incapable of any outcome in itself.

The task of stemming the proliferation of fake and motivated/ sensational messages on WhatsApp cannot be outsourced. It’s the government’s responsibility to attend to the problem and restore harmony among the people.