Information and Communication Technology and Ethnic Riots: Riots in Goalpara District of Assam, India
Aniruddha Kumar Baro
Aniruddha Kumar Baro*, Department of Political Science, University of Science and Technology Meghalaya, Meghalaya, India.
Manuscript received on September 16, 2019. | Revised Manuscript received on 24 September, 2019. | Manuscript published on October 10, 2019. | PP: 2072-2075 | Volume-8 Issue-12, October 2019. | Retrieval Number: L32711081219/2019©BEIESP | DOI: 10.35940/ijitee.L3271.1081219
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
Abstract: The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is a major trend in the contemporary world. Mishandling of social networking and social engineering could instigate and spread violence in decentralized regions. Social networking is widely used around the world in the process of election and for mobilizing people for social issues. ICT is also used for garnering support to a political party or to influence/misguide people in different aspects. In developing countries decentralized institutions are created to reduce inter-group conflict and to have efficient governance system. However, elections to the local bodies are accompanied by inter-group riots which are mostly mobilized by using ICT. The individual and elite level incentives attached to cultural identities can be an influence on group polarization, which may ultimately leads to the occurrence of election related riots. This article examines the relation between ICT and spread of ethnic riots. The empirical data with the help of interviews and qualitative tools is drawn from Goalpara district that witnessed inter-group riots on the day of election to the Panchayat Raj bodies in February 2013.
Keywords: Decentralization, Electoral Incentives, ICT, Riots, Social Network
Scope of the Article: Social Network