DailyPost 1645
TAPPED, STUNG & TRAPPED
Over the years in the machinations of politics the country over, some tools have made themselves critical in the conquest of political goals. These tools work in conjunction with well-established political toolkits used for conquering elections, staking claims at government formation, MLAs resort captivity operations, proving majority on the floor of the house and so on and so forth. The constitution is completely silent on the brilliant playbook Indian politicians and political parties have created. When the rule of law is established in this manner with strange political bedfellows being the norm, who would safeguard the rule of law for the common man and of all the democratic institutions & agencies created so meticulously with extremely pious objectives.
In this whole process of political intrigues, phone tapping has been a great tool and has proven more than it’s worth, any number of times and seems extremely valuable for perfecting the political art of today and tomorrow. Digital technology has made it more convenient in making it public and disseminating it like wildfire, verbatim, to make windfall gains. With best of the laws in place, the methods of beating it down will always be an art, we love to practice. Privacy, secrecy and confidentiality for the crooked has a totally different meaning and application. It can do wonders to their fortune. Where they get a chance they max it.
When the opening batsmen play so well, how can the middle order be far behind. The enablers at times, the civil servants, mainly police officers, use it to their advantage as well. Recent history is replete with such instances. Besides the act itself being reprehensible, the furtherance by way of leaking documents and reports pertaining to it, to the media, has brought the game to its nadir. It seems to be the perfect case of a fence eating the crop. Where does the Indian electorate fit into this power game? Mute spectators to voter, consuming even more adulterated drama, through by now popular curriculum and content creators of the renowned WhatsApp university.
In the digital immersion age when tapping is so effective, how can the digitally more advanced cousin be left behind. The sting operations, the video way, honeypot what it is euphemistically called. You can have any number of interpretations on the legal, moral and political aspects, suffice to say, it delivers instant results. More the number of people have it on their smartphones, or access directly through the clouds – YouTube, it keeps hanging like a Damocles sword on that person, party or government as the case may be. In general too, the presence of all pervasive surveillance entails a level of disciplined behavior, which our political class is averse of. Where law fails, technology catches up for sure. *It did for Trump, it won’t spare anyone here either. If they don’t mend their ways, it would be a long run to find cover, mostly unsuccessful. With whom can we trust our privacy?
OLD TOOLS MIGHT TURN OUT TO COUNTER PRODUCTIVE IN THE TECHNOLOGY IMMERSION AGE.