Gandhiji's Facebook

War cost a fortune, millions of lives, social disruption etc. For some of us, this must have been an once-in-a-lifetime experience to witness and for most of us, fortunately, it is all hearsay.

Invading Iraq was a collosal waste of innocent lives and resources. Iraq and Afganistan wars have cost the American taxpayers over USD 1 Trillion (estimated). The total GDP of all the 52 countries in Africa is over USD 1 Trillion !! How about that?! Incredible!! The US Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, made a lot of sense in delivering this punchline:

“In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should ‘have his head examined,’ as General MacArthur so delicately put it,”

All you can say is "What on earth were you thinking?!"

This kind of a military invasion is an entirely different ballgame played by the mightiest and resourceful superpowers and, as a result, we are witnessing the pain and suffering of humanity. And, the best part is that it is not over.

In 2011, we have started witnessing another kind of invasion which is, one way or the other, more aligned with Gandhiji's "ahimsa" and "satyagraha". This is a virtual invasion of not just one country, but an entire region. One need to get a visa and cross the border of a country. Thanks to the internet, especially the Facebook. All one needs is a computer-linked-to-net.

Just imagine, one fine morning a bunch of enthusiasts pick a country, creates a forum and starts stiring the human emotions. There you go. A revolution begins.

It sounds that simple. Well, it is, indeed, not that simple. However, think "Invasion of Iraq" and you might concur that it is simple. Thanks to advancement of human race in Communication Systems.

Just to get a fundamentally contrasting perspective, let us shift gears to the British Raj in India over 64 years back. It is incredible to imagine that world which was so disconnected and disconcerted with out Internet or Facebook.

And now, imagine spreading the nationalist fervor to the masses, mostly poor and illetrate, with no internet or facebook. Well, one needs a solemn power to accomplish that. That is how best we could describe Gandhiji's power, grit, determination, desire, ability, patience, perseverance.

Gandhiji spread his message partly through the press, writing and editing both ‘Indian Opinion’ and ‘Young India’. Gandhiji was a prolific writer. For decades he edited several newspapers including Harijan in Gujarati, in Hindi and in the English language.

Internet might not have made much sense considering the economic status of Indians then. And no wonder, it took Gandhiji over 30 years to ignite a collective spirit in India (1915-1945). But, in today's world, Gandhiji's ideals are being semi-automated, so to speak, through facebook and it takes just a few months - not decades - to kindle the human spirit.

It took 30 years then. Now, perhaps, a few months!! Now, that is an improvement that humans can be proud of. Thanks to Gandhiji's Facebook.

Relevant blog: The Untamed Web ==> http://readingthegreen.blogspot.com/2011/01/untamed-web.html

The Untamed Web

For over a century, propaganda war has been one of the greatest weapons among the countries and blocks. From Hitler to the WMD gaffe, the mighty and the powerful have used the media to convince the masses across the world about stories that never happened. In retrospect, it appears as if the past and future events were premeditated, orchestrated and implemented with impeccable precision. Thank God, the premeditated and orchestrated outcomes of such events are not predictable.

But, since the dawn of the internet era, the clout on the propaganda game is shifting towards a small group of people from different countries and ethnic groups. They might be small, but their collective power has helped topple governments and shutdown biggest corporations. They might look different and speak different languages. But, they all have a common goal: Fight against the unjust. And, the superpowers or the rich or the powerful can do nothing about it. Thanks to the Web and Social Networking. It is called the Cyber War.

This is how it works to wage a Cyber War.

All you need is to mobilize an intensely fast-paced Internet forum with hundreds of determined activists and a simple piece of software called a Low Orbit Ion Cannon. Activists choose targets by consensus, download the LOIC – initially developed to help Internet security experts test website vulnerability to DDoS attacks – and start firing packets of data at the targeted website.

• Role in Tunisia’s “Jasmine Revolution”.
• Wikileaks-inspired attacks on Mastercard and Visa.
• Attack on Zimbabwe government (seen as enemies of free speech).
• Attack on Estonian government (due to a row between Estonia and Russia)

There have been reports about Tunisian inspired demonstrations in Yemen and Algeria. I can imagine a group of activist working day and night to facilitate demonstrations and add fuel to fire. Most of these activists claim that they do not have bad intentions and they consider themselves as good Samaritans fighting for the weak against the unjust powers.

Pen is mightier than the sword. Cliché, but it is apt for any generation, as it reflects the power of the human mind and spirit. Books and Newspapers are used to rekindle the human spirit, but the power of it has lost its thrust and reliance, as most of the World events are perceived by the public as orchestrated. Thanks to the Corporations that have tamed the offline media.

The Internet has evolved as an effective online platform for Social Networking. The intuitiveness and accessibility of the Internet for the masses has made it so powerful and intensive to stir the human spirit across boundaries.

Thanks to the untamed Web. At least, it is untamed for now.......