Chennai’s Same Old Story!

By Sanjay Pinto

Every ten years, Chennai  witnesses severe floods. In November 1985, I remember cutting my birthday cake in a neighbour’s home. As we lived in a low lying area in a place ironically called  Little Mount, along the banks of the Adyar river, the incessant downpour had submerged many areas, and was threatening to reach our doorsteps. So after placing a few valuables like the TV & music system on the loft, we left our home, carrying all that we could – my books, money, jewellery, certificates. Strangely enough, there was an encore in 1995. And yet again  in 2005, when on the 26^th October, the city received 21 cms of rain in just 2 hours, for the first time in over a hundred years! So going by this ‘every decade’ formula, Cyclone Nilam that the Met office says may bring 25 cms of rain, in 12 hours, doesn’t scare me. The next big monsoon onslaught is still 3 years away!

I’m watching Monsoon 2012, that has brought in its wake, Cyclone Nilam, under very different circumstances . I’m not a TV journalist anymore, with the onerous task of tracking the storm. I now have the luxury of watching it unfold from my window with a steaming hot cup of tea and samosas! I now stay in an apartment building with no threat of evacuation. And my children are yet to enter school.

That apart, it’s the same old story in Chennai, year after year.  Will the gusty winds of 100 kilometres per hour uproot trees that form a  canopy around my building and damage our vehicles?  Will fallen trees block traffic and cause snarls tomorrow as we drive to work?  Will the roads get water logged making commuting a nightmare? Will the many trenches as a result of the incomplete storm water drain construction in the city get inundated and double up as breeding grounds for mosquitoes? The 37 dengue related deaths and hundreds of reported cases are scary enough. Will there be an outbreak of the host of illnesses that the monsoon brings? I often wonder why we have to go through this every monsoon. These are not flash floods. We know what to expect at this time of the year. Why did we dig up trenches if we knew that we wouldn’t be able to cover them before the rain?

It’s easy to point fingers at the authorities. Many incidentally, like the Chennai Corporation Commissioner D.Karthikeyan (who is experiencing the third monsoon during his tenure in the hot seat) are staying overnight in the office to oversee relief work. What about the common man who throws plastic covers on the road, clogging the drains? The dishonest contractors who use sub standard material to lay roads? A facebook wall post is quite apt: “In the West, the water disappears 5 minutes after a downpour. In India, the road does!” The indifferent residents who allow water to stagnate in empty tyres, coconut shells and uncovered overhead tanks?

Talking of the authorities, I  texted our Director General Of Police K.Ramanujam to ask just how prepared we are for the storm. His immediate response seemed heartening: “ The State Disaster Response Force under the ADGP Operations is kept in readiness.” As an NDTV journalist, I had covered the tsunami in 2004. Eight years on, I can say with all the emphasis I possess, that Tamilnadu has met the challenge posed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the lawns of the Raj Bhavan in Chennai during his visit to the State in the aftermath of the killer waves: ‘Convert Disaster Into Opportunity’. The administration today does have a contingency plan in place and some of the best officials to implement it, like Dr.J. Radhakrishnan, who was the Collector of the worst hit Nagapattinam district and now the Health Secretary.

I’m sure there is no need to panic. As I type this, the power is off. How I wish the Tamilnadu Govt had given free inverters along with mixers and grinders! The power failure now is probably a precautionary measure to prevent electrocution deaths. The State’s monsoon death toll stands at 34, many due to electric shock. But with several other districts experiencing power cuts for upto 12 hours a day, a night or two in darkness may not seem too unbearable.

I just hope that by the time my twin babies start going to school, we have a monsoon vacation instead of the summer vacation. We can withstand the heat. The Britishers couldn’t and hence his colonial hangover. A monsoon vacation will make sense, obviate the annual tension over whether schools are closed or not; and the harrowing experience of tiny tots wading through waist deep water in crisp uniforms. Meanwhile, my neighbour has just called to check if schools will be closed tomorrow as well. The guessing game continues! 

(An edited version of this blog of mine was uploaded on www.ndtv.com)

Block & Tackle!

Trolls Are A Threat To Free Speech 

SANJAY PINTO 

How do bullies operate? They target individuals and when their antics are resisted, they call out to their associates who then gang up and pounce on  hapless souls. In real life, such criminals are called gangsters and their modus operandi has its consequences. In the virtual world, they are called trolls, who attack users on twitter with impunity under the cover of anonymity. It’s one thing to have groups of like minded people with a common ideology and by logical extension, even common foes. It’s quite another to exist only for the purpose of lashing out at anyone who has a different point of view, with specious arguments, derogatory below the belt references and scurrilous remarks.

In India, people may not be too open about their political leanings. Even on facebook, most users prefer not to reveal their political views. On twitter,they seem to break free. For instance, the pro Sangh Parivar brigade called “Sanghis” takes on the pro Congress users nicknamed “Congis”; and vice versa, at every opportunity. Trolls don’t believe in putting out correct information about themselves, opting for pseudonyms like ‘patriot’ or ‘real citizen’ or ‘the true Indian’. The only giveaway is an occasional mention of the leader or party they owe allegiance to. What’s worse, they even christen their adversaries with acerbic titles like “Visha Kanya” – conferred on a leader of a party. In this polarised environment, collateral damage accrues to just about anyone who may not belong or subscribe to either of the ideologies but even unwittingly expresses an opinion that doesn’t tie in with their line of thinking.

So when I come across tweets like “Why do people get upset on twitter? If you don’t like what someone is tweeting, Unfollow or Block. Simple. Stop complaining. Twitter is fun” @ warne888 reportedly by Shane Warne, I cannot help retorting that inflammatory, defamatory and intimidatory tweets are not fun. Cricketers may be accustomed to sledging. Not everyone is. I know of cases where victims have gone into depression, even attempted suicide. Because of someone’s “fun.” And if you block one offender, a hundred other handles can mutate like viruses. There was another tweet likening twitter to “Parliament where different groups engage with each other”. Parliament may have privilege. Trolls must understand that twitter can offer no such immunity.  Our cyber cells may be short staffed but Indian laws are aplenty to deal with online onslaught. From defamation to hurting religious sentiments to criminal intimidation, the Indian Penal Code stares offenders in the face. Section 66-A of the Information Technology Act is another provision for the cops to invoke. And like most criminals, culprits here too invariably leave behind a trail. There are clues from their tweets – a website, a linkedin URL, a mobile phone number, interaction with others, their followers, the list can be quite long.

The social media is most definitely a great embodiment of freedom of expression. But it obviously cannot be unbridled, offering a carte blanche to users to let loose, enter any discussion and vitiate the atmosphere. Just like the Indian Constitution has hemmed in ‘reasonable restrictions’ , this right is also not absolute in the American law. The First Amendment does not protect free speech if there is a ‘clear and present danger’ of it leading to ‘imminent lawless action.’ In this context, trolls have no legitimate space as they not merely reflect intolerance but also constitute a threat to free speech.

Remember the college cultural event – ‘Block & Tackle’? It’s a contest where the participant has to defend and oppose a proposition at the mention of ‘block’ or ‘tackle’. You can’t be expected to play a Jekyll and Hyde on the social media. And the Aussie prophylactic suggestion of ‘Block’ or ‘Unfollow’, that entails very high privacy settings will defeat the purpose of your presence on the social media.This platform is getting bigger. Facebook recently revealed that India has 6.5 crore  active users; an eight fold jump in the last two years. We cannot allow misdirected fringes to run amok and pollute platforms that are meant for free, fair and mature discourse.

(This column of mine was published in The Hindu)

The Bare It All Syndrome

The New Culture Of Volunteering Information About Ourselves Has A Flip Side.

 SANJAY PINTO 

From  Lewis Caroll’s ‘cabbages and kings’ to the Vadra update  “mango people and banana republic”, we’ve come a long way, haven’t  we?!  Sashi Tharoor lost his post over his “cattle class” tweet. Robert Vadra didn’t have one but chose to deactivate his facebook account in the wake of a controversy over his wall post. Closer home, an eligible bachelor lost a shot at a ‘bride’ future as his prospective in-laws, known to me,  found a mismatch; not in the horoscope  but between his facebook status update and  information on a matrimonial website! The young man’s privacy settings allowed ‘everyone’ to view his wall posts. His recent update: “ Wow! Eight days of being a teetotaller . Back to booze soon!”  didn’t tally with his matrimonial advertisement  that claimed he wasn’t the ‘spirited’sort!   As for Vadra,  his spur of the moment update has triggered a slightly mean repartee on how an ordinary businessman “acquired”  the country’s most powerful bride. The link has almost gone viral. While I don’t approve of personal and below the belt remarks, one must remember that the social media can sting those who are hyper sensitive or faint hearted. Think before you post ; you never know how or when  it may boomerang.

That said, there are no real guarantees on such platforms. You may have the highest privacy settings but be prepared for surprises. I’m not referring to spam or viruses or links that scream “what the hell are you doing in this video?”  Or “This person is writing nasty things about you.” (Click on the links and all your friends or followers will get the same poser from your ID). Like bacteria thrive in moist conditions, rumours can find no better place than the social media. We saw that during the North East crisis.  But there are also timely warnings shared on sites. Many of us may have seen posts on how all our inbox messages can be viewed by everyone, thanks to new  facebook  settings.  I’m still not sure if this is entirely true in all cases.  With every key stroke, we leave behind a trail. There is an entire data warehousing industry out there keeping tabs. It’s not just for commercial or business analysis.  The social media has given rise to this culture of volunteering information about ourselves. Where we party. Who we meet. What we eat. What we feel like doing. What our career plans are. What our stand is  on a controversy. The list is endless. We bare it all. For all you know, just like confessions made to police officers are inadmissible, we may soon have similar provisions about status updates! Intelligence gathering was never this easy! Telephone tapping may soon seem like an archaic practice! Which is why when some of my sleuth friends ask me how I am, I retort ‘don’t you know?!”

There is no reason to panic. There is every reason to be a lot more circumspect.  For instance, on facebook, you can compartmentalise your contacts into relatives, friends, favourites  and acquaintances.  Posts meant for a particular category can be addressed to only the relevant readers. You wouldn’t want a family update or something very personal  to be viewed by all and sundry; not just all your friends but everyone on the platform if your  privacy settings are weak! Make no mistake. Many  love  to read personal stuff about others. And also flood you with unsolicited advice! On the other hand, it may also not be appropriate to pour out your sorrows and unwittingly convert all your friends into Agony Aunts or Uncles! Or shrinks. Watch your back. Watch your posts. The mangoes needn’t be all that juicy in a "banana republic".

(An edited version of this column of mine was published in The Hindu)