Black cat crosses the technology highway too...

 

Came across this headline in a newsmagazine the other day. And it set me thinking on something a friend of mine in police told me - "When a new technology comes, the criminals grab the potential fast and make the best first use of it; the enforcement agencies just play catch up"...

The same can be said of many undesirable aspects of the society - superstitions being one of them. At a time when our intelligentsia and our education policy makers seem to have lost focus on fighting the gamut of superstitions and practices of blind faith persisting in Indian society, the practitioners of these have clambered on to offerings of technology to spread their wares.

Take the example of astrology - a suspect science in itself. What has made things worse is the explosion of the number of crooks in the garb of astrologers out to make quick money in the confusion. Today astrological computations are done on computers so that more 'detailed' results can be given. Kundalis etc are made by computer savvy astrologers so that they ac scale up their businesses. The ease of it is only encouraging people to go for it. After all, getting a horoscope done (if got cheaply) wont do any 'harm' would it?, they would ask. The discouraging part of it is that people who would not have normally gone are now going, simply because of 'convenience'.

Temples of all hues have gone online to ask for donations. Now NRI's can clear their conscience by getting a puja done in their name at a temple in India by donating a sum online. Blessings are then provided online as well.  Tirupathi is a case study worthy example. Faith, cynically, has transcended boundaries. It can of course take dangerous dimensions, when money donated to religious institutions get siphoned off to finance riots. But technology provides a convenient smokescreen. What is not palpable does not sear the conscience.

And of course, how can I leave out arranged marriage portals. I believe, and this is of course controversial, that if there is one institution which is holding up the ghastly caste hierarchy in India, it is the institution of arranged marriage. When marriage becomes a commodity and the various matrimony sites' silly ads flood almost any Indian site that you visit, you know we are losing the battle for an inclusive and diverse society.

Contrast these developments with the 'catching up' part. Type in astrology on Google and contrast the results with when you type in rationalism. The former would take you to well structured sites with very targeted offerings which shows that it has profiled its customers well. The latter would show much fewer structured sites and most would lack coherence and at best would be discussion boards that would need real dedication to get through. The problem with the latter is that you should know the exact aspect that you are seeking to find a relevant piece. For the former, the keywords are enough to get you going.

And in today's information age, if you can be found easily, you are halfway to winning.

And right now, you will have to find essays by Bertrand Russell but people claiming to know your future and your future bride WILL FIND YOU. That makes all the difference...

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