Director General of Assam Rifles Lieutenant General Vikas Lakhera has cautioned the youth against malicious social media campaigns that can destabilise society. He urged the youth to stay vigilant against such campaigns circulating on social media platforms.
Lieutenant General Lakhera made these remarks while addressing the Annual Maj Bob Khathing Memorial Lecture in New Delhi. The lecture was organised by the Assam Rifles in collaboration with the United Service Institution of India (USI). The event commemorates the distinguished contribution and enduring legacy of Major Bob Khathing, a legendary military leader and statesman whose life and service remained closely associated with the Northeast region and the cause of national integration.
The theme of this year’s Memorial Lecture was ‘Weaponisation of Social Media Platforms in the North East to Spread False Narrative against the Security Forces and Suggested Lines of Effort to Counter the Same.’ Subir Bhaumik, a distinguished author and commentator on the Northeast and its security and strategic affairs, delivered the lecture. He discussed the evolving information environment in the Northeast and the growing use of social media platforms to spread false narratives and propaganda against the security forces.
The lecture examined how the weaponisation of social media could influence public perception, create distrust and adversely impact the credibility of security forces. It also focused on the emerging challenges posed by misinformation and coordinated narrative campaigns, while suggesting practical and effective lines of effort to counter the same.
The event brought together senior military officers, veterans, strategic affairs experts, academicians, media professionals and scholars, providing a platform for meaningful discussion and exchange of views on the evolving information environment and its implications for the Northeast region of India.
Major Bob Khathing played a key role in establishing Indian administrative control over Tawang in 1951. He has a memorial set up by the Arunachal Pradesh government at Tawang, and his historic expedition and efforts to establish Indian administrative control over Tawang are regarded as a significant contribution to national integration and the consolidation of India’s Northeastern frontier.
