Srinagar, Feb. 3 -- Not all violence is physical. Some of it arrives through labels, whispers, and verdicts delivered without evidence. A remark passed as opinion, a rumour dressed up as concern, an allegation repeated often enough to feel true. In our society, reputations are increasingly damaged faster than facts can surface, and certainty has become a substitute for inquiry.

This is not an abstract concern. It is a growing social pattern. Across neighbourhoods, workplaces, schools, and digital spaces, judgment has replaced understanding, and accusation has replaced due process. The cost is not merely individual suffering; it is the corrosion of social trust.

The psychology behind this phenomenon is well known. Human beings are uncomf...