Dare not pick a fight with the Godfather of Internet India- Snapchat’s India Remark

The week before the previous saw a drawn battle between Snapchat and the people of India. The row was caused as a result of the comment by the CEO Evan Spiegel who termed India as a poor nation and not worthy to expand into. The comment received the ire of the Indian youth who were primary users of the app and led to an epic number of uninstallations of the app. This and also the low rating on the play store may have been a big blow to the app which had become quite a trend among youngsters. 

But the entire fight did explain one clear thing. The Internet and its many technologies which form the backbone of many businesses in the current world are significantly impacted by India. And it has a good reason because the Internet penetration in the country is far better than any other country in the world. Also there is hidden potential in the rural India which has a mere penetration of less than 30% (about 200 million users). Also the Smartphone penetration in rural India is less than 20% which is poised to increase in the coming decades.

India’s youth has an inquisitive nature that prompts them to try out various apps that come out. The Silicon Valley and various other IT hubs in the world are earning profits in the Internet business using this user base that is abundant and immense. In such a case careless remarks made by the core marketing person of the company comes as a massive shock to the world. In the Internet world the news spreads even faster than a wild-fire. Such news could have been the death-spell of a flourishing business. And particularly one expects some maturity in chatter coming from a CEO as compared to a normal employee. In this case apparently the employees were sensible enough to put the limelight on their boss’ words.

The fight was a one-sided affair as the people are the principal stakeholders in a transparent world. Gone are the days of closed-room corporate meetings that were exclusive. The average stakeholder knows more than the owners of the company and is free to choose whom to support and whom not. Well it is better late than never; even now the tables can be turned and the company can choose whether to let a good forest burn due to a careless fire or put out the fire before it turns on them as well. 

Drug mafia killed Manish; not Africans: Racial Attack on Africans in Noida

When we listen about a racial attack we automatically think that the victim was an Indian in a foreign country. But now people of Greater Noida have learnt this from their foreign counterparts that racism can be used for terrorizing people. The attack on Nigerian students was a shocking incident with explicit videos showing people hitting them with chairs. And now the attack on a Kenyan woman is another incident that is beginning to raise questions about law and order in the capital. 

But the shocking fact is the main reason behind these attacks. The death of school student Manish has led everybody to believe that it was due to overdose of drugs. The African suspects that were arrested were released due to lack of evidence. But the people believed that it was due to the Africans that the drugs are being cycled within teenagers and they decided to attack the unsuspecting individuals in the most brutal manner. If we compare these attacks to those of terrorists they look the same. Terrorists use the same techniques to raise fear in the general public and raise inhibitions in the society.

This can also give rise to crime as some people might use this excuse to commit some other crimes and lay the blame on the attackers. And also lately there have been a lot of unconstitutional activities that have rocked the country; the attack on an airline official by an MP, the rape of a school student and now this one. 

The actual culprit behind all this is the drug mafia that is trying to waive off the issue in the light of these attacks. The mafia will try to do more of these attacks in an attempt to divert attention from the real reason of the death of the student. For if the drug chain is discovered that will be a huge blow to their industry.

Mainly the parents must understand that by giving their child some money, they are not only increasing their freedom but their responsibilities as well. The parents must be trained to find out symptoms related to drug abuse in their children. This would help them identify any abnormal behaviors and mitigate such incidents as that of Manish’s. The police can get involved with schools to train the students and parents alike about the ill-effects of drug abuse. Beating up some innocent students will not be the answer to stop drug abuse; the society must nip it in the bud.