Skip to content Skip to navigation

Mob dynamics

Man is an animal first and a social animal later. However, our ‘social’ status has failed to erase our animal instincts, which lies dormant in our basic dispositions. The urge to spread violence, the need to kill, and the thirst to quench our carnal desires are proof that there is still some animal in us. These urges raise their ugly heads in the form of homicides, rape and molestation incidents, and mob violence etc putting mankind to shame. The dangerous of all is our affinity towards the mob mentality that threatens to ensnare us at the slightest pretext and at the slightest of provocation.


The term “mob mentality” is used to refer to unique behavioral characteristics that emerge when people are in large groups. It is often used in a negative sense, because the term “mob” typically conjures up an image of an aggressive, chaotic group of people. Social psychologists who study group behavior also use terms such as “ herd behavior,” " herd mentality" or “crowd hysteria” to describe similar behaviors. The study of mob mentality is used to analyze situations that range from problems during evacuations to public gatherings that turn violent.


The Beltola violence was an eye opener, a curtain raiser to the mob mentality that lurks in our psyches. It has to or why else would normal harmless people suddenly turn into hedonistic beasts destroying whatever came in their way and disrobe the modesty of a hapless innocent girl. Like a pack of hyenas that fight among one another to get hold of the carcass of the prey the mob pounced upon the unsuspecting victim, in this case a simple village belle who had landed in Guwahati to participate in a rally.


Close on its heels was the GS Road episode where once again mob dynamics came into play and ended up outraging the modesty of another women. This time the roadside alcoholics turned moral police powered by alcohol of course allegedly wanted to teach the girl lessons of morality and decency. The role of the media especially the electronic one raised a thousand uncomfortable questions regarding its role in the incident. The unholy race to be the number one position has made it sacrifice all ethics in the altar of TRPs. All of us have seen the evil faces of the mob, which could be our friendly auto driver, barman, odd job man and sadly even a reporter.


The GS Road episode also brought to the forefront the ugly rapier of male chauvinism bursting our erstwhile bubble of an equal society where men and women were said to be equal counterparts. Assam in fact has been shamed not twice but thrice by the paws of mob mentality for we cannot forget the episode of Cong MLA Rumi Nath’s assault by a similar mob in a Hailakandi hotel. The MLA’s alleged second marriage did not sit well with a section of the public and they decided to punish the allegedly pregnant woman by hurling her with punches and kicks and injuring her in the process. Interestingly the mob mentality is least bothered with the rampant corruption in all fields of our society, or with the injustices with the poor or helpless people, as they are too busy doling out unwanted pseudo and sadist justice to women of the society considering them to be weak. Also note that the mob usually in our case constitutes of some male members of our society who consider it a macho thing to collectively attack and prey on single helpless women of society.


It seems after decades of evolution and breaking away from our animality we have failed to brush off our animal instincts. In fact the study of herd behavior considers groups of all animals, not just humans. People have been observing group behavior of flocks, herds, pods and other assortments of animals for centuries, but it was not until the early 20th century that observers started applying scientific theories about crowd behavior to humans. Several books published in the 1910s discussed mob mentality, along with various ways to minimize or control it.


One reason for herd behavior is that people and animals tend to do what others around them are doing. This usually is because those who join the group in the behavior figure that if several others are doing something, it must be worthwhile, or they would not be doing it.


So much so that a group of five or more people inclines dangerously to becoming a mob. Contrasting attitudes clash among one another giving rise to a volatile atmosphere threatening to break free and unleash havoc in society. Whatever the background of a people, all tend to become one when they constitute a mob.


The male members of society who is either idle or illiterate or afflicted by certain sadist mental illness usually form a mob. A harmless neighborhood going about its usual business may turn into a bloodthirsty mob if the conditions are conducive. The BTAD violence, which has been given a communal color, too is a result of mob dynamics at work. A mob believes in the policy of making a mole out of a molehill. If one person spits venom on a particular issue the ones surrounding him soon follow suit creating a verdant fire out of mere smoke. Next step for a mob is to take the law at one’s own hands and break it left right and center. Sanity flies out of the window as animal urges rule the roost.


Accident sites take on the shape of a mob when people gather and start blaming each party involved in the accidents. Petty thieves or pickpockets become easy prey of a mob if caught red handed. A spur of the moment urge to vent pent up frustrations and let out the steam of failure make mobsters leave caution to the winds and often commit heinous crimes of rape, homicide or mass destruction – a trait often seen in the animal kingdom when a beast is on heat or gone mad. However, ones the animal urges die down the ‘social animal’ returns to terra firma with a thud and once again dons its cloak of civility till the next attack of mob mentality hits it.


No matter how hard we try to camouflage the animal in us or try to run away from our animal instincts they threaten to surge up and destroy our veneer exposing our true colors.

Add new comment

Random Stories

Chemistry seminar at RGU

23 Dec 2013 - 4:05pm | Pranab Kumar Nath
The Department of Chemistry, Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh, is organising a National Seminar on “Recent Advances in Chemical Research (RACR-14 during March 20-21, 2014). The interested...

Media OPD clinic concluded at press club

24 Jun 2017 - 10:06pm | AT News Guwahati
Sight First Eye-Clinic organized the Saturday OPD (outpatient department) clinic at Guwahati Press Club (GPC), where around 45 media workers participated. Organized under the series of ‘Evening with...

Nagaon district administration gearing up for Panchayat election

17 Dec 2007 - 10:54am | Dibya J Borthakur
In view of the ensuing panchayat elections that will be held on January 4 and 9 respectively in Nagaon district, a meeting of all political parties with the Nagaon Deputy Commissioner Dr. J Balaji...

Residential multi-skill and leadesrhip programme inaugurated by Chief Minister

15 Jul 2009 - 1:56pm | editor
A three week long residential multi skill and leadership development programme was launched by Chief Minister of Assam Sri Tarun Gogoi at a brief and solemn function held at the State Museum...

Other Contents by Author

JBF (India), Guwahati Chapter inaugurated an Animal Relief Center for street and stray animals at Chandan Nagar, Survey, Beltola. The aim of the relief center is to provide medical help to the stray and street animals. However it also has a treatment cell where privately owned animals will also be treated and the donations received from owners will be used to run the Animal Relief Center.JBF (India) is an organization promoted by JBF(Scotland), a professionally managed organization working in the field of Animal Welfare since the year 2003. JBF (India) is a member of the Society of World Society for Protection of Animals (WSPA). JBF (India) is also a recognized by the Animal Welfare Board...
Star crossed Assam witnessed yet another assault last night when a powerful bomb planted on the tracks ripped off the luggage van of the Rajdhani Express killing five persons and injuring four others. The 2423 A Down Rajdhani Express was proceeding from Dibrugarh to Guwahati between Naojan and Chongajan railway stations in Golaghat district at about 1.06 am on the ill fated night of December 13.Though the police have not yet ascertained the identity of the militants however they claimed that Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA) militants were presumed to be behind the blast.A Central team is coming to take stock of the situation in the aftermath of the blast. It is alleged that the Home...
Just as the future of Assam’s handloom dreams had found wings in the form of the GI status of the muga silk a sudden turn of events threatens to clip those wings in the bud as reports of heavy loss in the muga sector starts pouring in.This winter the muga farmers are staring into eyes of a financial crisis with the failure of the Central Silk Board’s (CSB) summer muga crop popularly known as the Bhadiya. Officially the loss is estimated to be of fifteen crores this year however the farmers and dealers claim it to be around fifty crores. The cause of this calamity has been stated as weather related.Assam produces three different varieties of Silk viz, Pat Muga, and Eri or Endi....
The role of the media in today’s society is two fold. It reports the goings on of our society as well as tries to reform its social evils. But there is a certain section of the electronic visual media which also attempts to kick off a controversy by exaggerating their reporting which ultimately leads to a public outcry followed by its repercussions.The recent furor created by the Beltola violence where Adivasi rallyists clashed with locals is a direct result of such a trend. Moreover, it also exposed the gaping ignorance of the national channels regarding the region that is termed the northeast.The media’s attempt to sensationalize the incident of the Beltola clash reached...
Violence has revisited Assam with a vengeance. After a comparatively peaceful period once again Assam bleeds. The unfortunate incident of group clash jolted Assam out of its reverie and has triggered a kind of a chain reaction of bandhs, blasts and increased the probability of ethnic clashes. Ethnic clashes were an alien occurrence in Assam till black Saturday dawned upon the people of Assam on the fateful day of November 24.An allegedly peaceful rally of Adivasi Students’ Association demanding the status of Scheduled Tribes status of the Adivasi community turned into a gory battleground for local residents of Beltola area of Guwahati and the rallyists. Hundreds of vehicles, shops and...
Assam tea has reached new heights with the recent conferring of Geographical Indications label ,GI status to the Orthodox Assam tea. Orthodox tea is the second Assam product to bag the GI label after muga silk. The GI label is exclusive to only a handful of generically identifiable products such as Swiss watches, Czech crystals, champagne, Mysore sandalwood oil and Kancheepuram silk.There are certain requirements that the product has to fulfill before getting the GI status. The products should have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are special to that particular state or place of origin to qualify for the GI status.The GI status is going to be hugely...
“The aim of education is the knowledge not of facts but of values,” a maxim which seems to have lost its true meaning in the rampant commercialization of education in our present day. Value education is an important rung in the ladder of education but sadly our schools and colleges fail to provide the same to our students. Today education has been taken over by the syllabus as education ends with the completion of the syllabus, a trend which in turn has given rise to a number of institutes and universities carrying forward the wheel of education in a mechanical sense.Imparting of knowledge has become a business to certain people who claim to provide various courses for...
Now I know you now I don’t that’s the secret game going on between the former chief minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and his estranged party members. After splits, expulsion, reunions, agreements disagreements the former AGP chief is once again surrounded in controversy as his reputation is once again tarnished by the indictment in the “secret killings” case. Constituted in 2005 the justice (Retd) KN Saikia Commission of Inquiry on Secret Killings carried out between the year 1998 and 2001 after studying 35 cases of the nature of secret killing in four phases, in its report held Mahanta the then chief minister as well as in charge of the home department responsible...
The tourism sector of Assam is a boom waiting to happen. Picturesque landscape, cultural heritage, historical monuments and artifacts all are in abundance here albeit in various stages of neglect. A little effort on the part of the government and people can turn the state into a tourist hub. Many steps are in the pipeline to give the all important push to the fledging tourism industry of the state. One such project jointly funded by the state government and the Centre promises to give a new lease of lie to the neglected Ahom era monuments in Siva sagar district, a project which was initiated by Hemoprava Saikia the chairperson of the Assam Tourism Development Corporation. The budget of...
They say “health is wealth” but in Assam “ill health means drain of wealth”. The people of Assam seem to have lost their faith in the medical facilities and treatment provided in Assam. The commercialization of the medical profession has totally disillusioned the common public. Minor ailments require a plethora of health check ups the cost of which burns a hole in the pockets of poor patients. However, the ones who can afford prefer to go outside the state for treatments without taking the chances of wrong diagnosis or pricy hospital bills. The government hospitals are the last resorts of suffering patients who brave the unhygienic, rat infested, garbage heaped...