Are Indians Becoming Insecure About Criticism?
That Narendra Modi prides on possessing a 56-inch chest is folklore now. But does possessing a 56-inch chest mean hatred towards fellow countrymen, especially, the minorities or does it mean having a thick skin where you can take criticism in your stride?
Unfortunately, for Modi and his army of bhakts and trolls, it is the former.
The events around 26th January make me wonder whether Indians are increasingly becoming insecure about criticism about any happening in the country that could put the government in an embarrassing position?
The months-long farmers protest around Delhi’s borders has received wide publicity and the international media has also covered it in detail. It is natural for global citizens to comment on our events just like Indians commented on the Capitol Hill fiasco in US.
But lo and behold. Our ‘mighty’ External Affairs Ministry took exception to two tweets by pop star Rihanna and teen environmentalist Greta Thunberg.
All Rihanna tweeted was “why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest”, sharing a CNN article on internet blockade around Delhi by the government.
Greta Thunberg also supported the farmers protest and shared a toolkit that discusses ways in which the farmers protest can be supported by lay people online and offline. There is nothing unique or extraordinary about this toolkit since these are commonly used by civil society organization to rally people around a cause.
But the Indian state would have none of it and it publicly issued a statement condemning the tweets by international celebrities on the farmers protests.
It went so far as to term this toolkit as a design to destabilize India and sully its international image. The Delhi Police, which is controlled by the Home Ministry, went ahead and filed an FIR (First Information Report) against the anonymous creators of the toolkit.
Let’s forget that we have far more pressing issues on hand like China squatting on our land in Arunachal Pradesh and Kashmir. Or that we are witnessing a negative GDP growth rate since independence, a first by the Modi Sarkar.
What threatens the sovereignty of India are a couple of innocuous tweets by international celebrities. Is the Indian ego so fragile and easily hurt? How on earth can we then aspire to “Vishwa Guru” status if we can’t even take opposing viewpoints in our stride?
But what made matters worse was the way Indian celebrities copy-pasted the government crafted tweets against the tweets by Rihanna, Thunberg, etc. without applying their mind.
And these tweets had a pattern to it as per this study by Joyojeet et all of the University of Michigan. The study revealed that most celebrities engaged in “collusive” tweeting with common text and hashtags. Also, the tweets followed a time pattern with actors like Sunil Shetty, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn tweeting in the morning at 20-minute intervals.
The sportspersons then took over in the afternoon and the most prominent tweet came from Bharat Ratna awardee Sachin Tendulkar who tweeted that India’s sovereignty cannot be compromised. Now, it is laughable to believe that a tweet has the power to compromise a nation’s sovereignty.
Tendulkar further added that only Indians can decide what is best for India.
Going by this twisted logic, what business did Indians have to comment on the happenings at Capitol Hill in the US. And Prime Minister Modi went so far as to exclaim “Abki Baar, Trump Sarkar” at the Howdy Modi event organized in Houston in 2019.
If this isn’t interference in the domestic political affairs of a sovereign country by a visiting head of state, then what else can this be considered?
The troll army of the ruling party has used the choicest of abuses for Rihanna and Greta Thunberg to silence them but this spiteful attempt has backfired splendidly. Not only are the celebrities defiant and continue to speak out against the government’s high handedness in dealing with the farmers protests but now they have found support from other quarters as well.
This makes me come back to the original question. Are Indians becoming thin skinned by the day? That they are rattled so easily by negative comments on the government’s actions so as to engage in full blown Twitter battle for days on end.
But if you dig into India’s past record, you will realize that being thin skinned is a trait that Indians excel at.
India has consistently opposed efforts to include caste in the definition of racial discrimination by the United Nations Human Rights Council since 2010 while it turns a blind eye to the worst form of human rights violations against the Dalits and other marginalized castes in the country.
Also, recently, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey earned the wrath of the Indian trolls when he tweeted a photo calling upon people to Smash Brahminical Patriarchy.
Eighty percent of the societal ills that India faces today is due to the Brahmin created social order that is not only hierarchical and inhuman towards the marginalized but is also rigid and opposed to any efforts to dismantle it.
A country having global ambitions cannot afford to be so reactionary to criticism. India in its present state is closer to authoritarian regimes like Russia, Turkey, and North Korea. It should in stead aspire to become a liberal country that welcomes and tolerates criticism and discussion of its policies by its citizens and the international community.
Sadly, self-reflection is not what Modi excels at and nor does his legions of followers who are ever willing to kill and get killed in their zeal to protect the pride of Bharat Mata.
