The story of communal risk in India
Humans are the most evolved and distinct species, just because of our ability to think. One question which comes to my mind is Do we really think? The answer to this question lies in one more question — Is belief rational? To extend this question, in this context of communal risk is one more question — Is religion rational? Indeed it is a belief that has gone out of proportions lately in India.
The first instinct of humans is to defend themselves and survive. Once the survival is guaranteed, there is a fight for limited resources which are available. This fight for limited resources has taken various shapes in the form of nations, states, politics, businesses and religion. There are risks involved in every such war and one such risk which is a threat to India as a nation is communal risk.
What is risk? Over 2.5 million people die of hunger every year in India. Approximately 150 thousand people died in road accidents in 2018. In the same year, 350 people were killed in terrorist attacks. The probability of a person dying of hunger in India is ~7100 times more than the probability of person dying in a terrorist attack. And yet we consider terrorism as a riskier subject than hunger, for our survival. It’s because, the idea of risk in each one of us is formulated by the reports and media. The reason why media does this is to eliminate the risk of failing in their business. The reality of risk is different from our mere perceptions and are largely beliefs of illusions.
Terror groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, JeM and LeT are the most significant practitioners of terrorising people and formulating an enlarged versions of risk successfully. These terror groups have done this successfully with precise impacts like 9/11 attack in the United States and 26/11 attack in India. Media and reporting plays a significant role in enlarging such risks.
Communal risk is one such illusion, which is formulated to create a fear or aversion for other religion. This risk is largely formulated and broadcasted by various media and social media houses. This risk creates panic in certain sections of people and in turn puts pressure on political strata. However sometimes, the political parties formulate this communal risk to eliminate the political risk of losing an election. While the idea of formulating and propagating communal risk is benefiting some media houses and political parties, it is a threat to the sovereignty of the country.
We are living in a complex world where the concept of risk is enlarged for vested interests. However, the incidents of communal violence cannot be ignored altogether. It is better if such incidents are looked into and solved at local level, rather than broadcasting in air to create an emotion of fear and aversion in the minds of the people.
The problem of communal risk is the last one we want in our country. It is very important for the government in power, the opposition and most importantly the media and individuals on social media to not enlarge the problem.The time of crisis is bound to bring the existing social and cultural inequalities to the surface. It is the responsibility of each one of us to behave sensibly and act responsibly.
Live and Let live!
