-The Indian Express The exodus to the Northeast, perhaps the biggest mass displacement in peacetime, reads like the dark side of the Arab Spring or the reverse of a flash mob. The social and sms media, which accumulate forces for positive change, were leveraged to spread rumours and disperse minorities by the fictitious threat of violence. And the response is totally inadequate. Social media shifted the balance of power from governments and...

-The Hindustan Times In the last few days, digital technology — in the form of short messaging services (sms) and multimedia messaging services (MMS) — has shaken the foundation of this diverse country. Thanks to the publication of hate content on the internet, there have been riot-like situations in many parts of the country. There were rumours of Muslim retaliation to the violence in Assam at the end of Ramzan, with threats...

-The Hindustan Times The country is once again dangerously adrift in a stormy sea of competitive hate politics. The signs are both ominous and familiar — the systematic creation of hatred against people because of their ethnicity or religion; rumours and hate propaganda choking the internet; the public moral justification of violence against targeted communities on grounds of ‘larger’ alleged wrongs; and weak-kneed State action against people and organisations which preach...

-The Hindu The combined power of the mobile phone, the Internet and the social media was on display in the crisis that led to thousands of people from the northeast fleeing Bangalore. What became clear was that rumour-mongers did not belong exclusively to either the northeast or the Muslim community. There were also other groups who may have helped fan the panic. In mid-July this year, a Pakistani news portal, columnpk.com, carried...

-The Times of India Some good news for consumers might be at hand. You would soon be able to find the most affordable alternative to the medicine prescribed by your doctor through an sms-based service. The service, expected to be launched by the government in August, will be available throughout the country. Here is how it works: Once the person sends a text message of the prescribed brand of drug to a...