Everyone knows that the beetle shops, tea stalls and the coffee houses are the hot seats of political discussions. In some way or the other they are truly the best platform for exercising one’s freedom of speech. These are the places where we Indians are convinced or reassured of the existence of democracy. Sometime in a day with every sip of hot tea/coffee, many hot discussions on the fate of the country or on the meanness of our politicians or on the widespread corruption form the matter of discussion. No doubt, sometimes other issues like cricket, anti-rape propaganda, and terrorism also go in making the most animated talks of a day. These talks may be half-backed, rumour-like or biased or ill-informed but they bear the authentic stamp of a human-being’s real-time sentiments and response. They are not like those deliberately and masterfully tailored news pieces that appear in the print or electronic media. Most news items in the media distort the truth according to the news makers’ convenience. But the news and opinions served at the tea/coffee houses are the waves of human responses unedited. And the same human sensitivity can presently be found nowhere except in the social networking sites. The social networking sites enable the common man to reach the millions. This advantage can be exploited to counteract the biased media. A vigorous involvement of more and more people in such sites can help lay bare the truth. The day is not far when it would be more wholesome to depend upon social networking sites to know the reality behind a scene.
In short social networking can serve as a common man’s press whose laws and news are not dictated by the corporate tycoons nor the corrupt officials or politicians. And truth prevails everywhere.
