Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said in a function that the media should be free, but if the media is free then it can also be misused. If NGOs are independent, then efforts are made to use them in such a way that the entire system of the country comes to a standstill. If the judiciary is independent, then attempts are made to stop or slow down the development work using the legal system.
Gandhinagar: Defense Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday said independent media, social media, NGOs and judiciary are being misused to propagate dangerous and divisive ideas in the name of “freedom of expression”.
Addressing the second convocation at the National Defense University (RRU) in Gujarat’s capital Gandhinagar, Singh said it is also a challenge to see what is being done to destroy the good order in the country, according to the Indian Express.
He said that free social media can be used for well-planned propaganda. Freedom of social media is not bad, media should be free, but if media is free, it can also be misused.
Singh said that if non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are independent, then attempts are made to use them in such a way that the entire system of the country comes to a standstill. If the judiciary is independent, attempts are made to stop or slow down the development work using the legal system. If a country has a dynamic democracy, attempts are made to enter political parties to target its unity and security.
The Defense Minister said that all these are not just fiction, but statements of strategists and are described in detail in the security documents of some countries.
Singh said in his address, ‘Somewhere social media is free, then how to do systematic disinformation on it. Social media being free is not a bad thing – it should be free, the media should also be free – but the media is free, how is it misused; How the media tries to establish and propagate dangerous and divisive things in the name of freedom of expression.
He further said, ‘If NGOs have freedom, then how can these NGOs be used in such a way that the entire system of the country paralyzes them. If the judiciary is independent, then it is an attempt to stop the developmental works by legal means and legal loopholes.
He further said, ‘There is a big dynamic democracy of our country, so how can we infiltrate political parties and attack both its unity and security without being visible.’
He cited the example of some reports, which said that 50 percent of the tweets in the violence in Bhima-Koregaon (in Pune district of Maharashtra in 2018) were from Pakistan.
“Hybrid warfare almost blurs the line between internal and external security,” he said. This is not an era of explicit declaration of war, but an era of continuous war. Be it cyber attacks on banking, transport or security systems, or attempts to create hatred and extremist ideas in society through social media. The Bhima-Koregaon movement which spread across the country. Later it came to light that 50 per cent of the tweets were from Pakistan.
“We generally look at security from two aspects – internal and external. But in the last two decades, it has been seen that the gap between internal and external security is narrowing. In mixed (hybrid) warfare, the line between internal and external security almost vanishes.
Singh said it becomes difficult to decide when the definitions of terrorism and extremism/extremism start to intertwine and their objectives become one.
The Defense Minister said, “Terrorism has come to the fore with major challenges in every dimension of the system and it is not just at the level of bombs and weapons.” I would like to discuss hybrid warfare here. In a hybrid war, the line between internal and external security almost disappears.’
He said that the ‘information war’ is related to the possibility of spreading fake news and hate material in the society through Facebook and WhatsApp.
He also stressed the need for state agencies to work in an integrated manner, as security challenges like terrorism, cyber warfare, human trafficking, money laundering, drug trafficking etc. are interlinked though they appear to be separate. .
Singh said that with the changing times, there has been a vast change in the security related dimensions.
Singh said, ‘We have to be alert about new security challenges. As new technologies develop, so do their dangers. We should understand this truth.
He said the example of Russia banning Facebook’s parent company Meta, describing it as a terrorist organization, illustrates how the meaning of war has changed.
The Defense Minister also stressed on the importance of ‘coexistence’ and said that India has neither merged nor subjugated anyone, but inspired other countries to develop.
He said that even if India becomes a developed and highly knowledgeable country, but till we do not get out of the slave mentality, it cannot be secured.
He said, ‘We should free ourselves from the slave mentality. For this, we need to know the facts of our security history.
(with input from news agency language)
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Categories: India, Media, Politics, Special