"The Stool Pigeon's The Coming Race..."

 "As desired by Honourable Lt. Governor of Puducherry and respected Directorate General of Police, a dedicated BSNL CUG (a closed user group) number is slotted for Special Branch Unit, exclusively for gathering secret information from general public."

The above is part of a notice  issued by the SSP (Senior Superintendent of Police) Puducherry on Dec. 4, 2020,  circulated in the Whatsapp circle of which the Lt. Governor herself is a member of. Initially, it seemed like a hoax, or yet another fake news, which is fast becoming a prevalent force driving the Whatsapp herds in droves into hate-filled enclosures. However, a news item in the local edition of Indian Express, corroborated its authenticity, with the heading which read, "Police announces exclusive mobile number to get tip-offs from public in Puducherry". 

The notice encourages the public to stay alert and  not hesitate to report "movements of anti-social elements, activities of banned organisations, sale of drugs, smuggling of arms, ammunitions and explosives..." etc. etc... Surprisingly even 'controversial speeches' has found a reverential slot  in the above  list of potentially objectionable activities to be passed on as 'secret information' to the police. Incognito. Reminds one of Mao Zedong's China, where school children were given incentives, either in the form of points to add to their academic score, or in terms of promotion in CPC's (Communist Party of China's)  junior wing, to inform on contentious conversations and activities at home  which went  against the principles of  'New China'. The erstwhile USSR too flaunted a similar practice, where people remained wary of each other, thus effectuating a superficial socio-cultural order and lifestyle based on fear and mistrust.

 In America of the McCarthy era,  slipping information about one's kins and kiths, suspected of being  communist sympathizers, was lauded as the ultimate expression of patriotism. Neighbors told on neighbors, friends on friends, and even family members turned each other in, in the name of greater national security.

The official term used for this kind of tattletale behaviour is known as snitching. As life with Covid-19 gains acceptance, the culture of snitching becomes part and parcel of one's psyche.  It is a well-known fact that the hotlines provided by various governments across the globe, to inform on Coronavirus rule breakers, however well-intended, have  given rise to legalized snitching. Right from NYC to New South Wales,  officials are overwhelmed by the number of crank calls being made as a means to vent off one's personal vendetta against someone. In Singapore, the government had to urge the people to only tell them about things they had actually witnessed.  "People love this kind of stuff," says Nicolas Taylor, a third year medical student, adding quite candidly, "It presents an easy way to rat out a neighbour you don't like". 

True. And, I shudder to think of its implications in a country like ours. Moreover, this hotline number given out by the highest authority in the Union Territory of Puducherry, is not even for Covid rule breakers, but include a wide variety of activities which may-be-perceived- as -offences. It has a greater degree of subjectivity in terms of judging an action  and does therefore equate to walking on dangerously biased grounds.

In the post-Covid India, already fractured by growing communal tensions, a hotline, like the one 'desired' by the Lt. Governor of Puducherry could easily be misused. Against the onslaught of the digital era, where churning out fake news through sophisticated technology is a piece of cake, such a service,  could do more harm than good. 

Moreover, do we, as people, want to actively be part of and support the idea of an "ever-expanding police state where nothing we do or say is shielded from the eyes, ears, and punishing hand of  the Big Brother?" Are we ready to lose the freedom to express our views fearlessly, unafraid of being ratted out by snitches lurking in the shadows?

To conclude, what we must ask ourselves is this: how effective can a policy which encourages people to turn against one another really be? Especially now when the demand of our times begs community support and solidarity to see us through this trying period in history?