Moreover in reports published earlier this year, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research said the collider presented "no conceivable damage". Butwhat has happened is that during last few days news channels, and I don't fear in mentioning specially IndiaTV & AajTak, have gone overboard with there coverage over this Big Bang experiment and even speculated about its 'catastrophic effect on the world'. People or I would mention the word 'common man' was led to believe that some time on 10th sept, rather say 12:30 p.m. if the experiment fails, the world would end !! "yes!! END OF THE WORLD". For this i would cite some examples how this whole episode, was blown out of proportion and affected the life of a common man, or rather in this case common girls, and they do have their own mechanism of Grey cells, the whole feminine sex in India think in their own peculiar way, ooops, all over the world in fact! This was the scene of a professional college, New Delhi, where a group of girls,names withheld, well educated and from well to do families, doing Bachelor of Journalism and Mass Communication(an irony in itself) were busy worrying and messaging friends and foes about the END of world and were actually shattered by the after thought of the failure of the experiment. Yes! the word had spread, even quickly than a forest fire, and people were feeling uneasy about the whole proceedings. Prayers were being offered and India was deeply affected by an experiment that was supposed to be held many nautical miles away in Geneva. There was a widespread chaos across the country, and the whole India, mostly non-working class, and easily maneuvered by media people, were busy stuck on either of the news channels they thought to be appropriate, generally more the vociferous channel, more the public viewership. And this led to war between the news channel, each trying to get better than other and using every trick in the way to attract more TRP.
The purpose was served, the viewership was at its very high and news channel were busy calculating their increased TRP's, sorry no statistics to prove this, entirely my opinion. So the whole episode served the basic purpose of getting high TRP for news channel, and this heavy intended speculation on END of WORLD idea was a brilliant masterstroke by the Indian Media ! The various interpretations followed and helluva analysis was done over the after effects of failure of the 'Big Bang' Experiment. even a particular news channel went as far as going to Nostradamus's predictions regarding the end of the world and drawing parallels.
So, what next? The experiment went without any ill effects but not in India. we already have the first mishap regarding this whole melodrama. Now, very ironically, according to media reports, a 16-year-old girl, daughter of a farmer Bihari Lal in Sarangpur village in Rajgarh district of MP, died after she consumed some pills on seeing the 'world coming to an end' prediction on the neighbour's television.
BBC Reports:
Bihari Lal said Chaya - the eldest of his six children - had been frightened after watching local TV reports that the experiment would cause the "Earth to crack up and everybody in the village would die".
"We tried to divert her attention and told her she should not worry about such things, but to no avail," he told reporters.
Her uncle, Biram Singh, said Chaya, whose parents are labourers, had seen the reports at a neighbour's house.
The BBC's Faisal Mohammed in Bhopal says Chaya consumed insecticide some time on Tuesday, when her parents had gone to work.
She was taken to Shajapur government hospital where she told police before she died that she had been worried by the doomsday predictions.
Virendra Singh Yadav, the policeman who took her statement, told the BBC she said she had watched programmes suggesting the Big Bang experiment might cause a great earthquake and great holes.
"She said she could not bear to see the destruction of all that was dear to her and therefore thought it was better to end her life," he said.
Police have registered a case of death by poisoning and are investigating.
Now can anyone answer the question :Was it entirely stupidity and dumbness of that little girl that she committed suicide?
The answer is NO !!
I put the blame on media, infact according to me entire blame on media, considering that we are Indians and we, the media, we all know that large sections of society still don't have access to any form of knowledge database or get any specialised education to understand a complicated issue like 'Big Bang' experiment and its after-effects. All a common man understands is what he sees on news channels, and these act as a catalyst in their day to day life. And speaking of housewifes, who form the core of viewers of these news channels nowdays, have a tendency to fall for evry crap that is shown or highlighted. These people, read news channels, are constantly airing series on black magic, vampires, various superstitions; even sensationalising a natural phenomenon such as a eclipse by saying that it means bad omen.And now by prophesising that the Big Bang would bring doomsday can have a disastrous effect on a emotionally weak person,obviously and we don't know what all effects may have occured n various people all across the country.
Now it seems that government has taken some steps as reported and they have asked some news channel to restrain on the coverages of such panic creating news. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has issued an advisory to two television channels -- Aaj Tak and India TV -- earlier this week, for 'showing content that appears to be spreading panic and fear', reports rediff. Also, a ministry official told PTI that the advisory has been sent quoting Sub Rule 6 1(O) and 6 (5) of Cable Television Network and Regulation Act 1995, related to unrestricted public exhibition; and programme affecting children, respectively. The official added that the ministry has issued the advisory to the said TV channels as an act of first warning to the channels on its own, though normally it acts on complaints received from people regarding objectionable content being shown on TV.
But its high time that we take the onus upon us and start spreading awareness among people, all category n class, that news needs to be taken as something informative, and where should we draw the line, in what to believe and what to watch? Its never late to wake up and start a campaign against these so called special reports and over dose & extremes of stupid coverages like these. And government needs to put some limits and censorship on the content, since freedom of media has been a boon undoubtedly, but one needs to be responsible and understand when the boon starts becoming curse!!
