MemeMachineGo!

The South Indian film actor Raj Kumar had a long and respectable career and quite a devoted following. Although most Americans may not have heard the name or seen any of his films, his death affected many technology firms who outsource their IT operations to Bangalore. Riots in that city, attributed to “distressed fans”, forced most businesses to close early and send their workers home for the day.

This raises a couple of interesting thoughts. First, on the unintended consequences of globalization. The death of someone who is famous in one region but virtually unknown in another can now affect the business of people who have never heard of him.

But more provocatively: what’s the problem in Bangalore? News reports tell of a “wave of violence across the city, as mobs torched and stoned vehicles and businesses, including a Microsoft research institute.” Raj Kumar portrayed heroic, respectable characters, and was revered as an “elder brother”. He doesn’t seem like the kind of person who would have been happy with this violence. How does this translate into burning cars and an attack on Microsoft?

Even some of the people in Bangalore are at a loss to understand this, as quoted in the Reuters report: ” ‘It is a natural death. Why are the fans getting violent? It is out of fear people are closing shops,’ said a street vendor near one of the city’s main bus terminals.”

Mobs provide a convenient excuse for angry people to get violent. But there has to be some underlying cause for their anger. I suspect that the mobs in Bangalore were really protesting something other than Raj Kumar’s death. There’s a deeper story here for someone to explore.