In an open letter published on Tuesday, a number of IIM Bangalore faculty members urged businesses to avoid supporting news organisations and social media platforms that openly broadcast hate speech or incite genocidal acts against a group of people.
To alert business leaders to the precarious status of internal security and the rising threat of violent conflicts in the nation, seventeen faculty members released the statement on their own behalf. They urged the corporations to conduct an internal assessment to ensure their money was going to trustworthy news and social media outlets.
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In order to maintain a work environment that is welcoming to people of all faiths and social backgrounds, the IIM Bangalore faculty members advised corporations to hold timely diversity and inclusion sensitisation events within their firms.
According to the letter, during the past few years, open and visible displays of hatred for minorities have become widespread in political discourse, television news, and social media.
IIM Bangalore
Image Source: IIM Buddy
The IIM Bangalore faculty members claimed that the government’s seeming complacency is evidenced by the police and security forces’ passivity during communal riots and by the acquittal or pardon of those responsible for mass murder and rape during earlier riots.
“These trends concern corporate India, as they point towards an increasing risk of violent conflicts in the country. In the worst case, such acts of violence could culminate into a genocide, which would annihilate the social fabric as well as the economy of the country, casting a long dark shadow over India’s future. Corporate India, which hopes to reach new frontiers of international growth and innovation in the 21st century, cannot afford to live with even a small possibility of such a scenario,” the IIM Bangalore faculty letter said.
Image Source: The Economic Times
The deteriorating social fabric because of increasing hate, dehumanising speech and radicalisation shall inevitably lead to escalating violence and socioeconomic uncertainty, permanently paralysing the future of the country. They emphasised the necessity of social harmony, integration, and peace for India to flourish economically.
“The leaders of corporate India have an important and substantial role to play in curbing the spread of hate and misinformation,” the letter said.
One of the IIM Bangalore faculty member, Prateek Raj, claimed that before giving commercials, corporations typically consider the news organisation’s TRP. The letter pleases the businesses to consider whether their financial support is encouraging groups that foster hatred in society.
Prof. Prateek Raj
Image Source: IIM Bangalore
He said that sensible advertising will, in turn, make the media function more responsibly. Social disruption is not in the interest of the corporates.
“Instances of riots and violence are happening in different parts of the country, mainly because of hatred in the minds of people. Media needs to advocate on how to stop violence and needs to focus on responsible journalism and not irresponsible sensationalism,” he said.
