The term 'public' implies a big or small community of people who have common interests and values. It is a psychological group without any face-to-face contact. 'Opinion' according to common usage is a judgment or belief held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof. Public opinion is the outcome of social interaction involving discussion of a problem affecting the interests and values of the people. Lindeman presents certain typical steps in the process by which public opinion is built up: Consciousness of an issue or a problem, e.g. the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, affecting the oil resources of the World, caused people to polarize into those who supported Iraq and those who supported Kuwait. Developing awareness of the issue or problem, e.g. when the World trade Centre was attacked on September 11th by suicide bombers, the impact of terrorism was explored, assessed and public opinion found the situation to be serious enough to warrant the attack of Afghanistan in an attempt to capture the mastermind behind the act of terrorism. Projection of the Consciousness of the issue/problem: This stage involves meetings, discussions and advertising leading to interplay of opposing stands. At this stage alternate solutions are thought of. When the Jews were persecuted ruthlessly by Adolf Hitler in Germany, several alternate sanctuaries were identified to shelter them since public opinion towards them was positive. Emotional Impulse to meet the need or solve the problem precipitating action, e.g. The Hindu sentiment that was whipped up by the Fundamentalists against Muslims led to the demolition of Babri Masjid, an ancient mosque because of public opinion, though the vast majority of the Hindus were not sympathetic to this act. In each of the above cases the public opinion gathered momentum because it was the opinion of the media or the elite of the community. It was neither a reflection of the opinion of the majority nor was it an aggregation of individual opinions. During the process of public opinion formation, agreement is normally reached through social interaction and communication. When the media of mass communication is effective, the process is hastened and clearly defined. With "Democratization of Information"(Friedman, 61),one can now see, hear and look through "almost every conceivable wall" with great ease due to the proliferation of satellite dishes. Internet, television, newspapers, radio, telecommunication channels and all varieties of communications have converted the world into a global village. Mark Twain has rightly said "It is far better that you fear the media, for they will steal your honor. That awful power, the public opinion of a nation, is created in America by a horde of ignorant, self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditching and shoemaking and fetched up in journalism on their way to the poorhouse." The media is ever ready to influence public opinion and very rarely does it bother about the right and wrong of a situation. The media that whipped up the world frenzy after the attack on the Twin Towers was the same media, which was a silent spectator to the acts of terrorism in developing countries like India for years. In Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar, Mark Antony faced a relatively small crowd of people to change their opinion about Brutus but in today's world he would have swayed millions of people around the globe to his way of thinking with relative ease. Politicians fan the inbuilt hostility towards minorities and strangers to provoke a spirit of devotion and enthusiasm towards their parties. Innate hostility when united with ignorance, stupidity, intolerance and politics produces bigotry. Politicians, religious leaders and other elite members of the society play upon these to build up public opinion pitting man against man, serb versus croat, white against black, Muslim against Christian; catholic against protestant and the list is endless. Media and elite of the society are the two forces, which actively create and sustain public opinion so that their ulterior motives may be fulfilled.

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