Barely has the dust settled on several instances of communal flare-ups that the state has witnessed over the past few months, and we are forced to contend with yet another bout of provocative comments -- in this case via a post on a popular social media networking site that has outraged the sentiments of the Muslim community.
The post, made via an anonymous handle, allegedly insulted the Prophet in language that is unfit for discussion here and has been made from a handle whose name suggests has been made specifically with the intent of testing the reaction of the community.
The handle that goes by a name that essentially means, 'catch me if you can' suggests that the person behind the account is itching for a fight and is merely testing how far he can do, and how much he can get away with before he gets caught. Such a modus operandi is not new and has been in play for several years now. Religious figures and gods are regularly the targets of attacks on social media and such posts remain online for years together.
Even as of this date, there will be posts live in various nooks and corners of the Internet vilifying others' beliefs, gods and religious dogma. Generally, such posts are ignored simply because it is impossible to crack down on individuals who might be hiding in plain sight but take advantage of the anonymity offered by the Internet. Choosing to outrage over such posts, more often than not, does more harm than good.
In this case, a post has been made to provoke and while completely ignoring it, is one option, which will deny the provocateur the reward he is seeking, apprehending him and prosecuting him for the crime is the preferred option. Failure to do so, can and will embolden such elements even further who are operating in an atmosphere of impunity and face very little in the form of consequence.
One is hopeful that the police are able to get to the bottom of this, even if only to send a message that no one can escape the long arm of the law. That said, it is also time, we as a society learn to move beyond the politics of offence and taking offence, no matter what the provocation. In choosing to take offence, we hand the initiative to those wishing to provoke and hand them their reward right on the platter.
It is incumbent upon religious leaders and community leaders to ensure that even though outraged, the reaction is calm and measured. Goa has been lucky to the extent that protests over hurting religious sentiments have been largely peaceful in the offence-taken cases so far. That is however not to be taken for granted.
The kind of communal tension that Goa has seen in the last few months was unthinkable at one point in time, but today it is a reality. If not handled carefully, Goa could soon go down the path other societies have taken. As a society, we need to come together and consciously avoid such a fate before it is too late.
