Mark Zuckerberg is worth $33 billion. I’ve forgotten who owns Twitter, but they must be rich too. This is because of their insights into the human condition. We need to share cat pictures. But is this need unique to our era? Let’s go back to the freedom struggle, when men were men, and the Brits were nervous. How would the titans have used social media?
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We’ll begin with Mountbatten, because that’s how he would have wanted it. Whenever he thought of titans, his was always the first name that came to mind. His PR was magnificent. This was a man who sank his own ship and turned it into a cinematic triumph directed by David Lean. He knew each of his medals personally. He was a gleaming white vision, surrounded by grubbiness. He almost certainly would have invented the selfie. He would have kept us abreast of the good things in his life, repeatedly.
Edwina would have been busy too. She was like Paris Hilton, only richer.
Mobile phones would have made our great men more human. Currently, we only know their greatness. Through Twitter and FB, we would have learnt about the little things.
In the hands of Gandhi, the great communicator, this would have been a powerful tool
Facebook could even have revealed the real reason why Jinnah hated Gandhi, something obvious to any student of history. Recognising this earlier could have prevented a lot of trouble.
Then, as now, social media could have helped great men share ideas. Apparently, Tagore really did meet Einstein. They spent a lot time discussing whether a chair in the room was real. They agreed to disagree.
In fact, we could have gained many insights about the future
Instead of leaders speaking and followers listening, the public could have contributed to the national discourse, just as they do today.
If Bhagat Singh had been on Twitter, we might remember him better than we do. Imagine him as a boy of 14, tweeting after he did this in school.
Memes would have been infused with the power of nationalism. I have used modern themes so as not to confuse you with obscure historical references.
(Shovon Chowdhury is the author of The Competent Authority.)
