NOTE: Please remember that following ‘answers’ are NOT ‘model answers’. They are NOT synopsis too if we go by definition of the term. What we are providing is content that both meets demand of the question and at the same time gives you extra points in the form of background information.
Internal Security
Q1. Examine the role of social media in fueling hate crimes in India. How does it affect the internal security of our country? 10M
Introduction
The recent beheading of a Hindu tailor, Kanhaiya Lal, in Rajasthan’s Udaipur has raised the issue of hate crime in India once again. Most hate crimes reported in India were targeted toward Dalits between September 2015 and December 2019 followed by Muslims. A total of 902 crimes were reported because of alleged hate – varying from caste, and religion to honor killing and love jihad.
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Social media plays a significant role in shaping democracy and active participation of people in decision making but in recent times social media has become a tool to disseminate hate speech and fake news, thus rising cases of hate crimes.
Role of social media in fueling hate crimes in India.
- Promoting rumours – fake information or news spread through social media has real-life implications. For instance, recently online rumours regarding anti-national elements, and cow slaughtering through Facebook, and WhatsApp led to lynchings in rural areas.
- Unable to find originator – Social media become a popular tool to disseminate hate messages, especially based on religion. The way the message spreads ( reaching large audiences in a short period)makes it difficult to identify the source and hold the user responsible.
- No cross verification mechanism- Social media like Whatsapp, Twitter, etc act as a platform to spread fake news and hate speech, but there is no cross-verification mechanism by such platforms. People especially in the Rural section too accept them without any cross verification of the facts and then indulge in violence.
- Polarizing political ideology – A study shows that more than 60% of information spread by political leaders through YouTube is false or has no evidence. Social media also acts as a channel for communication.
- For example, during the election campaign of the recently conducted Delhi legislative assembly elections, a leader enticed crowds with the use of communalizing and violence on social media platforms. Following this, a young man translated these words into reality by opening fire on protesters.
- Wider penetration – India with around 30% internet penetration, already has more than 240 million users of Facebook and more than 200 million users of WhatsApp. With this wider reach, social media is playing a significant role in both fighting hate speech and magnifying it.
Hate crimes not only affect the community, society, or individuals but also affect the internal security of India in the following way.
- Raising mob lynching instances – For example, in Recent Maharashtra’s Amaravati chemist murder case for spreading the news on WhatsApp, In Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district 22-year-old boy was stabbed to death by members of another community.
- Escalating communication issue – The Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 were triggered by a fake video that incited communal passions.
- Spreading Misinformation – In 2020, Misinformation spread through social media caused the Delhi riots which fueled a rift between Hindus and Muslims, breaking law and order.
- Rise of lone-wolves – Where individuals not backed or part of any organization or network are motivated to carry out targeted killings, all in the name of religion.
- In a 2020 Supreme Court decision in the Amish Devgun case, hate speech was linked to the violation of unity and fraternity and breach of human dignity, which constitutes an essential facet of the right to life and liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
- Igniting extremist sentiments.
Way forward
- The government is to create a legal structure which is citizen-centric, prioritizes securing life, preserving human rights, and provides speedy justice to the vulnerable sections of the society.
- Clear definition of Hate crime, mob lynching in specific laws.
- NCRB has to restart the practice of keeping data on hate crimes, which was discontinued after 2017.
- Need for a massive campaign that sensitizes people toward media consumption and helps them differentiate between free speech and hate speech.
Additional information
INDIAN LAWS AROUND HATE SPEECH
According to the IPC’s sections 153A, 153B, 295A, 298, 505(1), and 505(2), any spoken or written words that incite hostility, hatred, or insults based on race, caste, ethnicity, culture, language, region, or other factors are illegal and subject to punishment.
153A: It punishes the encouragement of hostility between various groups.
153B: It penalizes allegations and claims that are harmful to national integration.
505: It penalizes rumours and disinformation that encourage hostility among the community.
295A: To fight hate speech, Section 295A makes it illegal to disparage someone’s religious beliefs by using language with malice or intent.
Part VII of the Representation of People Act, 1951 classifies hate speech as an offence committed during elections into two categories: corrupt practices and electoral offences. That can be ground for disqualification.
Inciting and encouraging untouchability by words, signs, or visuals is punishable under section 7 of the Protection of Civil Rights Act.
Q2. Discuss the threats to the security of India from cyber-attacks. Also, enumerate the counter measures taken by the government in this regard. 15M
Introduction
According to data from CERT-IN, cyber crimes in India have witnessed a 572% increase In the last 3 Years.14 lakh Cases In 2021 were Recorded By Govt compared to 2 lakh cases in 2018.
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Being difficult to trace, anonymous nature, Borderless attacks, and ease of attack, cyber-attacks pose various threats to the security of India.
- Cybercrime – It is mainly targeted against individuals, firms, etc. Cybercrime is one where a computer or network may have been used in the execution of a crime or it may be the target.
- Cyber warfare – Cyber warfare consists of attacks on computer systems of a country or institutions of a country to disrupt, damage, or destroy infrastructure.
- Cyber spying – Cyber spying, or cyber espionage, is the act or practice of obtaining secrets and information without the permission and knowledge of the holder of the information from individuals, groups, or governments for personal, economic, political, or military advantage using methods on the Internet, networks or individual computers through the use of proxy servers.
- Cyber terrorism – Cyber terrorism is often defined as any premeditated, politically motivated attack against information systems, programs, and data that threatens violence or results in violence.
- Illegal data mining – Data has become the “new oil” in the 21st century. Growing online transactions, which generated large amounts of data can be illegally mined by cybercriminals for economic gain.
- Access to critical information infrastructure – It includes telecommunication networks, online payment gateways, and electronic stock trading, destruction of which shall have a debilitating impact on national security, economy, public health, or safety.
Countermeasures are taken by India against cyber threats.
- For Critical information infrastructure (CII)- Creation of the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre, the national nodal agency in respect of CII protection. It was envisaged to act as a 24×7 centre to battle cyber security threats in strategic areas such as air control, nuclear, and space.
- Establishment of Defence Information Assurance and Research Agency for cyber security issues of the tri-services and Defence Ministry.
- For the Financial sector – CERT-Fin will work closely with all financial-sector regulators and stakeholders on issues of cyber security.
- Establishment of cyber security infrastructure
- CERT-in – The main function of CERT-In is to provide early security warning and effective incident response. It is also a national agency to collect, analyze, and disseminates information on cyber incidents and takes emergency measures for handling cyber-attacks.
- IT act 2000 – This act provides a legal framework against cybercrimes related to “electronic commerce”.
- National Cyber Security Policy 2013 has been framed to create a secure cyber ecosystem, ensure compliance with global security systems and strengthen the regulatory framework.
- Others
- I4C (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center) was set up in 2016 to look into every kind of cybercrime.
- The Indian Common Criteria Certification Scheme (IC3S)is to evaluate and certify IT Security Products and Protection Profiles.
- Cyber Swachhta Kendra was introduced for internet users to clean their computers and devices by wiping out viruses and malware.
- Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative was launched to spread awareness about cybercrime and build capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.
Conclusion
Even though the government has taken various measures to curb cyber-attacks, recent cyber threat incidents like the Pegasus cyber-attack, attack on India’s COWIN app, etc show loopholes in India’s cyber security framework. Research and development, Funding, and capacity building in cyber security are the need of the hour for GOI.
Additional information:-
Ethics
Q3. How do you define transparency in a digital era? Substantiate with examples of how information sharing and transparency in a government can act as a weapon against corruption. 10M
Introduction
Transparency and information sharing form the two most important pillars of good governance in a mature democracy. They are indispensable in the quest for good governance – be it timely execution of projects, fight against corruption, or arbitrary exercise of power.
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Transparency in a digital era.
- To fight against corruption, hold public servants accountable, and gain the trust of the public, the government pursues a greater level of transparency.
- Transparency in the digital era goes beyond the openness of procedures of government and actions, and decisions; rather it includes publishing data about their internal actions and establishing digital inquiry lines to public officials employing other forms of transparency using digital means.
How information sharing and transparency in a government can act as a weapon against corruption?
- Information sharing or access to information – It refers to the exchange of data among government bodies, organizations, and also the general public, thus minimizing the options for corruption.
- Government enacted RTI in 2005, data.gov.in to promote open data government and to curb the chances of corruption.
- Eg – An RTI filed by a non-profit organization revealed that the Delhi government had diverted Rs 744 Cr from funds earmarked for the welfare of the Dalit community to the Commonwealth Games.
- Participative governance – It is a bottom-up approach to achieving transparent governance. It facilitates the participation of people in decision-making at the grassroots level through the decentralization of powers to the local bodies.
- The 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments which provided constitutional recognition to panchayats and urban local bodies are the most important part to reduce corruption at the village level, ensuring the government schemes reach beneficiaries at the lower level.
- The social audit also acts as a check against corruption as people themselves review the plans and projects.
- Eg- Social auditing has helped improve the reach and quality of welfare measures like TPDS, ICDS, and MDM schemes meant for the poor in Odisha’s most backward districts.
- Accountability mechanisms – ED, Lokayukta, judiciary, media, and civil society organizations at the society level, etc act as a tool to bring accountability of the government / public servants for their actions and decisions.
- Apart from these RTI, citizens charters, grievance redressal mechanisms, etc are also tools to hold the government accountable to curb the corruption changes and their effects.
- Eg – The enforcement Directorate raid in Jharkhand over misappropriation of MGNREGA funds by IAS officer Pooja Singhal and others.
- Whistle blower’s protection – It enables individuals to disclose illegal and unethical practices of organizations by protecting their identity.
- It maximizes the chances of reporting unethical corruption practices in government departments.
- The government enacted the Whistleblower protection act 2014 – Which allows any person, including a public servant, to make a public interest disclosure before a Competent Authority against misuse of power by any public servant.
Conclusion
Transparency and information sharing are key tools to build accountability and trust in public offices. These empower citizens, foster their participation in public affairs, strengthen participatory democracy, and usher in people-centric governance.
