Science and Technology as promoter of communal harmony in society.

1. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AS PROMOTER OF
COMMUNAL HARMONY IN THE SOCIETY
Kushagra Gupta
https://guptakushagra26.wordpress.com/2018/02/10/science-and-technol
ogy-as-promoter-of-communal-harmony-in-the-society/

2. If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character
If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home
If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nations
When there is order in the nations, there will peace in the world
~~Confucius
Varied conception of what constitutes righteous conduct gave birth to
different religions in the history of Mankind. Religion provides a value
system to conduct one’s worldly life and guides oneself towards spiritual
enlightenment in diverse ways. Despite the diversities, one common
thread running across different religions is the promotion of universal
values such as love, compassion, honesty etc.
However, narrow interpretation of religion to suit one’s vested interests
has resulted in religious fanaticism and communal discord among
adherents of different religions and sects. Rising intolerance among
various communities towards each other manifests itself in the form of
communal riots, genocide, terrorism etc. A case in point is the deep
Shia-Shunni schism in West Asia & Middle east which has resulted in the
polarization of nations across communal lines and has led to one of the
worst humanitarian crisis in Syria. Similarly the rise of ISIS has become
one of the gravest threats to international peace and harmony in present
times.
One of the major reasons why radical elements gain traction is the
developmental deficit. Deprivations like poverty, illiteracy, lack of
employment opportunities, huge income disparities etc are largely
responsible for discord among various communities in society.
2

3. Due to uneven distribution of benefits of development, it becomes easy
for communal elements to target vulnerable communities and breed
communal discord. For instance, it was due to limited opportunities
available to Muslim community in education and employment that made
them easy prey to British machinations of ‘Divide and Rule’ in later half of
19th century. It ultimately led to the partition of the subcontinent and the
ensuing communal riots which led to unspeakable atrocities committed by
& against each other by both Hindus and Muslims.
Unbalanced regional development is yet another important cause of
communal disharmony in society. It leads to migration and consequent
opposition by local communities in the name of ‘Sons of the soil’ doctrine.
If we look at back home, in the Indian society the issue of communal
harmony refers to primarily inter-religious harmony and tangentially with
inter caste, inter class harmony. For logical coherence communal harmony
can be thought to consist of two components – hard & soft
Sir Syed Ahmad Khan described India as a “federation of communities”, in
such a federation it is imperative that interest of one community is not
threatened by members of another. The other component of “soft” aspect
is the attitude of members of one community towards the other. The Hard
component of communal harmony deals with law and order maintenance,
intelligence gahtering/counter propaganda & absence of actual physical
violence and intimidation.
3

4. Today at international level, a rising penchant for protectionism is being
witnessed. The recently conducted referendum in Britain favoring exit
from European Union shows that communities are willing to break the
common bond if their self interests are at stake.
In the 21st century, all these incidents bring to light the need for
employing Science and Technology for bringing communal harmony in
society. Science and Technology has multitude of roles to play in
addressing the root causes of communal discord in society.
Now if we analyse the interaction of new age technologies with communal
problems, various threads appear in horizon. If the historians of the future
will divide our human society into various ages, the present time would be
called the Age of Technology. Rapid advancement in IT, communication
system has altered the way of our lives in a single generation. Today
almost all the aspects of our lives are influenced by Technology in one or
the other form. Science & Technology are seen as “Brahmastra” of every
problem from formulation of polices to healthcare to even societal issues
like Gender discrimination.
Until Renaissance it was considered that earth was the centre of universe.
Church interpreted universe in ways that suited its own interests. Any
attempt to provide a scientific interpretation of universe that deviated
from church proclaimed doctrine was considered heresy.
With the advent of scientific revolution, many irrational beliefs and
practices came to an end. It provided conducive conditions for inter
communal engagement on conflicting issues.
4

5. Eighteenth century Industrial revolution in Europe was a liberating
experience for communities hitherto bounded in the shackles of
feudalism. It resulted in interaction among communities and set in motion
various movements that united workers across the nations. It resulted in
peaceful and prosperous conditions in society that ultimately laid the
ground for democratic principles to be incorporated in political systems of
nations.
How Science and Technology can keep a check on communal discord?
Technology has enabled rapid sharing and access of information on an
unprecedented scale. It has provided tools such as the internet, mobile
phones, telecommunication channels which have expanded avenues for
freedom of expression.
It has liberated communities from regressive practices by throwing open
the doors to best practices from different cultures, traditions and
religions. For instance, Ideas sharing through social media has been
instrumental in spreading awareness about liberal interpretation of
religious scriptures in modern times.
Rigveda says “aano bhadra kantu” which means that let good thoughts
come to me from all directions. Rapid advance in communication
technology has made this wish of Brahmin offering prayers to Sun on
Ganges bank thousands of years before possible as one no longer
depends on next day’s newspaper of BBC to know what is happening
around the world.
5

6. But Media, and particularly social media, are proven powerful vehicles for
amplifying and spreading inflammatory speech. False information and
rumors – especially when amplified through these mass communication
channels –have a powerful impact, escalating tensions between
communities. For instance, Muzzafarnagar riots and mass exodus of north
eastern region people belonging to NE parts of India from Bangalore after
attack on Rohingya Muslims in far away Myanmar was largely attributed to
social media abuse.
Primary threat, hence, appears to be unregulated fear mongering using
web/message/social media platform. These work on perceived bias &
strengthen to exaggerate communal tension. So economic migration
becomes “genocide” & “de-population” (e.g. Kairana incident) creating a
mental animosity between good law abiding citizenry of various
communities. Mass media has also given opportunity to certain bigoted
televangelists to condescend religious practices of other communities. A
call for regulation of such activities becomes a “Kurukshetra” of communal
interests.
Yet the spread of new technologies also give citizens great opportunities
to counter dangerous speech, promote respect for and celebration of
country’s rich diversity, and positive relations among various groups.
Technology can enable educating youth for tolerance towards other
religions.
Technology can be used for attitude and behavior change, collaboration,
dialogue among various communities. In a world where a lot of people
6

7. face violence and intimidation as well as inequality and seem to go
unnoticed, technology has provided the space and the tools to unearth
these problems and opportunity to solve them promptly.
The current technological revolution is based on the free flow of
information/knowledge. Knowledge. Knowledge forms attitudes; hence
information about various instances of communal harmony allows us to
form positive attitudes.
Technology has bought into limelight instances such as a “Ram Mela” in
Lucknow whose east is 100% Muslim, as a Hindu girl volunteering to teach
Quran to poor Muslim kids. These no doubt promote amity & goodwill a
core aspect of communal harmony.
Communal harmony is directly linked to the security conditions, both
internal and external, that prevail in a society. Science and technology
facilitates maintenance of security in both direct and indirect ways.
Various sophisticated surveillance and preemptive security measures such
as CCTV cameras, robots, UAVs etc have been effective in dealing with
elements that disrupt communal harmony.
Science and technology helps in maintenance of law and order in society.
For instance, various kinds of religious processions very frequently lead to
communal confrontation and clashes. Often these processions on
religious occasions are seen as a show of strength, which could itself
become a cause for provocation.
7

8. Using data analytics on social media, early warning and crisis response
mechanism can be evolved. The use of technology, like Video/Audio
coverage of events and processions could also act as deterrent against
acts of communal violence.
Pune police in recent varkari processions used spatial location of mobiles
to determine density of people present in an area for better crowd
control, so instead of deployment of resources on anecdotal or historical
basis it could be done on a real time basis based on data analytics, also
traffic diversion and other arrangements could be made more intelligently
thus leading to least disruption to normal life of citizenry.
In the old city of Jerusalem which is a flash point of triangular religious
claims of Christians, Muslims & Jews, law enforcement authorities make
extensive use of cameras and infrared sensors to predict any potential
aggregation of people which might disturb peace.
Science and Technology have a positive impact on the economy. The IT
revolution has created a ton of jobs. Joblessness is the fuel that creates
communal fire & technology driven development is its extinguisher.
Moreover technologies like JAM trinity allows for better functioning of
government schemes, lifting people from all communities our of poverty,
another positive for communal harmony because as they say “only poor
are crazy, rich are merely eccentric”.
Technology has allowed for “curative” solutions to incidents of communal
strife. Sting operations were crucial in sentencing the accused of 2002
8

9. riots. The very sense of justice being achieved calms down the any
communal fervor which might explode in future. Moreover technological
surveillance has also helped agencies in taking precautionary measures
against communal disturbances.
This primarily includes taking action against those who incite hatred
during the elections. Surveillance has helped bust ISIS sleeper cells, &
propaganda agents in India. Moreover jamming of mobile network is a
great solution to prevent spread of rumors during time of communal
strife.
Not only the cyber or virtual world but Science and technology offer
solution to communal issues in the real world as well. Science and
Technology can provide solutions to the problems such as food and water
scarcity, environmental degradation, lack of access to basic amenities
which breed conflicts in society. It is said that next biggest wars on earth
will be fought on the plank of resource scarcity, particularly that of food
and water. Use of scientific methods for water conservation and
enhancing agricultural productivity can address the conflicts arising out of
resource scarcity.
Environmental degradation is yet another cause of concern that has the
potential to trigger conflicts within global community. Events triggered by
climate change such as sea level rise, frequent floods and droughts,
degradation of land and water resources etc. can cause massive migration
of communities from one part of the globe to another. This breeds
communal unrest and violence. Science and technology can address these
9

10. problems effectively through renewable energy, water desalination
technology, development of GM crops and climate resilient agriculture etc.
Science and Technology further aids in communal harmony by reduction
of caste and community barriers through cross-cultural exchanges and
inter-mingling among various communities. The unleashing of forces of
globalization has significantly diluted caste and communal identities
through use of technology.
Matrimonial websites have facilitated inter-caste and inter-religion
marriages that promote understanding of religion and culture of different
communities thus creating conditions for tolerance and mutual
cooperation.
Something as simple as Yahoo chat rooms, facebook or whatsapp bring
people together across the divide of religion, caste & nation and often
challenge their pre conceived notion about each other. Technological
advancement and consequently cheap access to music, movies,
photography & literature of “others” help break the myth of “us” & “them”
being different and it is not uncommon to find people getting married
using such technologies.
New social media apps like couch surfing, dating apps & file sharing
devices also aid and abet this process of integration albeit slowly &
imperceptibly but in a deep way. Science and Technology has also made it
easy to express oneself more freely and voice dissent without fear of
victimization. It has brought more transparency and accountability in the
governance structures. It has created solidarity among various groups
10

11. across globe in fighting for common causes such as LGBT rights, feminist
movements, minority rights etc.
It has the potential to liberate communities from regressive practices that
breed discontent and violence in society. Recent upheavals in Turkey and
Bangladesh have demonstrated how technology can bring positive change
in the mindset of youth through blogging.
Science and Technology can enable forging strong ties among
communities and nations for their mutual benefit and cooperation.
Collaboration among nations in science and technology research projects
such as CERN, NASA-ISRO cooperation on Mars Mission, Global Solar
Alliance etc. promote peace and harmony among nations. It promotes
cosmopolitanism and global citizenship that promotes harmony among
people from different communities. It leads to dilution of parochial
communal identities that are a major cause of discord among
communities.
Science & Technology indeed offers us solutions for the communal
problems but we also have to realize that its roots lie in the social and
political issues. The ability of technological solution is limited.
Communalism is at its strongest at the time of election. To counter its
divisive politics it becomes imperative that electoral reforms like more
stringent action against hate mongers i.e. ban from contesting the
elections is taken. Institutional reform like the intra party democracy &
reduction in role of money and muscle power in fighting the election are
11

12. few perquisites for other solutions to work in the field of communal
harmony.
The most urgent area of intervention where technology can’t help much is
improving the criminal justice system (not in delivery but intent)/. For this
to happen police should reform and be made autonomous so that
communal elements are not let off due to political pressure.
Secondly but not less importantly is judicial reforms like infrastructure
upgrades, fast track procedure to ensure speedy justice for perpetrators
of crimes as well as relief to innocent citizens who happen to be under
trial.
So in summation one can say that the solution of communal problems lie
within us. Scientific advancement does offer us solutions but it is also a
double edged sword. New technologies are like a fire which we can use to
pull a torch out of it to destroy our neighbor’s home or we can cook a
meal to share it with him.
So what makes him choose later over the former? It is the ethical
framework of our society. If we as citizens not only preach but also follow
values such as inclusivity, fraternity, equality, compassion, no amount of
foreign propaganda or bigoted leaders can, perhaps, have an impact on
communal harmony.
However, a failure of our collective ethics will mean that communal
harmony will be sacrificed at the altar of political gains, extremist
12

13. ideologies, self serving groups and no amount of scientific advancement
will be able to stem the rot.
13