{"id":150145,"date":"2021-02-12T00:57:11","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T19:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/?p=150145"},"modified":"2021-02-12T00:57:11","modified_gmt":"2021-02-11T19:27:11","slug":"age-of-andolan-jeevi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/2021\/02\/12\/age-of-andolan-jeevi\/","title":{"rendered":"Age of andolan jeevi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Propaganda Politics<\/strong><\/h3>\n

By Dr. S.Saraswathi<\/strong>
\n(Former Director, ICSSR, New Delhi)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an attack on \u201cinternational conspirators\u201d who were out to discredit India by joining the propaganda against Farm Laws in support of the protesters. Replying to the debate on the President\u2019s address in Parliament, he referred to Foreign Destructive Ideology (his new expansion of FDI) from which the country must be saved and spoke about Andolan Jeevi (professional protesters) who were ready to join any protest.
\nUnion Home Minister Amit Shah has tweeted, \u201cNo propaganda can deter India\u2019s unity\u2026Propaganda cannot decide India\u2019s fate, only progress can. India stands united and together to achieve progress\u201d. The Government is now forcibly drawn to fight a war against adverse propaganda \u2013 a situation developing in recent years and which has become rather serious ever since the BJP came to power at the Centre with majority on its own.
\nA strong suspicion is spreading in the country over global conspiracy to malign India, this time over the farmers\u2019 protest. A BJP MP gave notice to Lok Sabha Speaker seeking a short-term discussion after the \u201ctoolkit\u201d episode involving climate change teenage activist, Greta Thunberg tweeted in support of protesting farmers.
\nSeveral international environmental activists joined the tweet-plan to express solidarity with protesting Indian farmers. Some Western celebrities have circulated comments in support of the agitation which are dismissed by the MEA as \u201cneither accurate, nor responsible\u201d with an advice that facts must be ascertained and a proper understanding of the issues must be undertaken before rushing to comment on issues. It is clear that comments are part of propaganda warfare which has no code of conduct or rules of the game.
\nIt is reported in the media that the Special Delhi Police Commissioner said that the intention of the creators of the toolkit seems to be \u201cto create disharmony among various social, religious, and cultural groups and encourage disaffection and ill-will against the Government of India\u201d and the aim is to wage \u201csocial, cultural, and economic war against India\u201d.
\nTwitter has been asked by the government to follow its order and remove \u201cinflammatory content\u201d on farmers\u2019 protest or face jail term and financial penalty. It referred to 257 accounts that had the hashtag #ModiPlanningFarmerGenocide. Internet suspension was imposed in border areas where farmer groups assembled after 26 January rally.
\nThe art of propaganda was known since ancient times. It is dealt with in detail in Chanakya\u2019s Arthashastra. Use of misinformation and rumours about the enemy is considered a powerful weapon to demoralise the enemy\u2019s army. Extensive use of propaganda is common in religious activities for increasing strength by number and\/or faith. The material used is not questioned for its veracity, but accepted as a matter of faith.
\nModern propaganda techniques have come in extensive use in many countries including India aided by social media platforms. They have grown as powerful weapon for \u201cpeacetime\u201d warfare to such an extent as to tarnish the image of opponents and effectively play divisive politics in many countries.
\nDelhi Police is reported to be monitoring many social media handles pushing hateful, malicious contents in connection with the farmers\u2019 agitation. It will investigate whether an international conspiracy to defame the country is working. Tracking false propaganda is an additional area of investigation for the police.
\nChief Justice of India, Sharad A. Bobde, while hearing a batch of petitions regarding Tablighi Jamat congregation held during the peak COVID -19 period said that there are broadcasts and programmes that definitely have the effect of instigating people not just against one community, but any community. The Supreme Court expressed a strong view that \u201ccontrol over certain kind of news which agitate people to violence and riots is a law and order problem. Preventing it is as powerful as putting up barricades. Preventing instigation is as important as providing lathis to policemen\u201d.
\nRiot is like an epidemic that must be fought before it occurs. Lies and rumours are its food for growth and potent weapons to disrupt peace and order. Propaganda politics helps to sharpen these instruments.
\nThe Supreme Court, the chief protector of rights and freedoms, has to be equally concerned about the damage that false propaganda, inflammatory speeches, and instigation to violence can cause to destroy law and order in a society.
\nPropaganda in politics is selective use of information for political effect. It is necessarily biased as its purpose is to influence feelings and actions. Appeal to emotional reaction rather than rational response being the intention, propaganda invariably clothed in exaggerations, whether in words or in forms, may offer promises, create fear, divide people, build false images, and discredit others.
\nEncyclopedia Britannica defines propaganda as dissemination of information \u2013 facts, arguments, rumours, half-truths or lies \u2013 to influence public opinion. Pre-planning or relatively heavy emphasis on manipulation distinguishes propaganda from ordinary conversation or free and easy exchange of ideas. The Encyclopedia further explains that the \u201cpropagandist deliberately selects facts, arguments, and symbols and introduces them to achieve the greatest effect. To maximize effect, he may miss essential facts or distort them and may try to divert the audience\u2019s attention from other sources of information\u201d.
\nPropaganda politics is at its peak in India today as a major tool of political parties to win popularity and defame opponents, and succeed in political manipulations. Parties do not hesitate to do destructive propaganda in the belief that anything is fair in politics and the end justifies the means. IT cells in political parties are working in full swing preparing and disseminating propaganda material. Information Technology Act 2000 contains some provisions to prohibit misinformation, but laws are not enough.
\nRepetition of slogans, calling names and twisting facts are some common tactics in propaganda. It may appeal to traditions also, make references or quote out of context, and build artificial images of persons and issues. Propagandists generally do not bother about contradicting themselves or changing their positions. They aim at immediate advantage.
\nThe word \u201cpropaganda\u201d immediately raises memories of Adolf Hitler and his Ministry of Enlightenment and Propaganda under Joseph Goebbels. Successful propaganda was the foundation of his rise to power. It is powerful in psychological warfare and it usually starts as misinformation. It can cause social destruction besides physical. Usually associated with bad intentions, propaganda can affect thoughts, emotions, and actions of the receivers.
\nToday, almost everybody is exposed to propaganda hidden in news, and reports. It has grown to such an extent that very soon we will stop believing even truth coming through social media. Its techniques are akin to those used in advertisements and public relations.
\nThe International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibits any propaganda for war or any advocacy of national or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility, or violence by law.
\nFake news and propaganda have some similarities, but have differences also. The former is falsehood, but the latter may contain some truth presented in exaggerated or distorted form with the purpose of winning friends.
\nPeople across the world are now facing the problem of distinguishing truth and propaganda. \u201cBeware of propaganda, and seek truth\u201d should be our slogan today. \u2014 INFA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Propaganda Politics By Dr. S.Saraswathi (Former Director, ICSSR, New Delhi) Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an attack on \u201cinternational conspirators\u201d who were out to discredit India by joining the propaganda against Farm Laws in support of the protesters. Replying to the debate on the President\u2019s address in Parliament, he referred to Foreign Destructive Ideology (his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-150145","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-features"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150145\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}