The irony of changing communication technology and license gun

At a time when the telephone was for few privileged people, when owning a television set counts the living standard of a family and when handwritten letters were just a means to communicate with distant friends, physical contact was the only means to know and understand a person. School days were the finest moment in the lifetime of an individual. It was during these days that he or she knows a person, makes friendship and explores the unknown physically. Leaders were emerges from among a group of people who were physically in touch. The quality of a person is easily known. And it was not that tough for society to control any unwanted hate crime as the means of communication made by any individuals were easy to trace. Perhaps the rate of violence of any kind particularly during election time might have been confined to only a clique of people where the law enforcers won’t have any complicacy to put under control.
Times have changed in the late 90s and more complicacy is being faced with the growing advancement of information technology. Physical meeting is becoming history as people are more used to doing it virtually using the various form of communication technology. Good or bad information is flooding into our laptops and smartphones. People today are driven by ideas of something that are circulated in social media. The irony is that the dark force is seen as more influential to social media users than those circulating the values of life in the same platform.
Every scientific invention is for the welfare of human society. Saying so there are always dark sides to any invention. Atomic energy serves a lot for society; however, it can also be used as a destructive weapon for human kinds. Samuel Colt, the American inventor, and industrialist invented the revolver; it was for the protection of the individuals. And again the irony is that the invention when fallen in the hand of the criminal creates chaos and lawlessness in the specific society. This can be easily cited in the context Manipur. When mushrooming insurgency started threatening life of some privileged sections of people in the last couple of decades, the then government-issued licensed gun for self-defense. Again as it was easier for any persons, irrespective of whether those persons are worth issuing license gun or not, government machinery have already issued gun license to many people. An unconfirmed report said that there are no persons, who are close to politicians, who do not have a license and a gun, no matter they are train or not. Even doctors, who are supposed to save the life of a person, do have license as well as a deadly weapon. The contractors and the small-time contractors are no exception. Bank managers, almost all political workers, even some police constables are reported to have their extra license gun. But for what?
Well coming to the second point, the state of Manipur has witnessed more crime created by license gun users in the last 1 or two years and the momentum of misusing the licensed gun during this time (Election Time) is worrying. If one remembers, the road rage at Tiddim road where a teenager fired his pistol causing dead to another youth is on record, a bank employee out of anger fired to a group of teenage youth on the minor argument at Naorem Thong some years back leading to the death of another youth and not the least the killing of a person by another using his license gun and trying to kill another aged person at Noaremthong DC road area are some of the example of the dark side of using license gun.
Now with the election just in the corner, workers of political parties started firing license gun towards their opponent workers of another political party at various assembly constituencies of the state, if not all. The scuffled and the firing from another party injuring some few workers who were supporters of another political party (Candidate) are also other examples of misuse of license guns. The present scene at Heirok Assembly constituency is even worst. Common people who want to live in peace spent sleepless night with the indiscriminate firing almost every night. Besides, many are living with fear on assuming which gang belonging to a political party will come to threaten them. All is not well, in this election campaign; the people of the state may face the worst in this election and may continue after this election. Because hate speech which is provocative in nature is being spread on almost all social media platforms.
There are many informative ideas and knowledge being circulated at social media, which a new medium of communication technology and which is developing too fast. Many use it for the welfare of their knowledge as well as for their personnel experience. It is not a difficult task for anybody to get in touch with any friend – either they are known to him or not. We can’t simply ignore or stop using the Social media platform. So, it is better to be careful and judiciously use the medium for the benefit and welfare of the people and society.
Remember, it is human nature that some people use social media platforms with extreme freedom. These people write anything either by using fake accounts or any other means which may be provocative and misinform so that it incites anger to other innocent users. Let us not make this platform a tool to provoke anger and create enmity among others. Let all users make sure that ideas and misinformation shared on facebook do not influence yourself or any other who are near and their ones.