For whom the Trolls bell

Indians, at least those who faithfully watch television news every night, have got used to the raucous tu-tu-main-main that passes for intellectual debate. Panellists, especially if they speak for a political party or are sympathisers of this or that point of view don’t just opine but shout, scream and yell. The new breed of spokespersons is a far cry from the earlier type who were, though no less forceful, prepared to hear another point of view. Think Sushma Swaraj, one of the most feisty speakers in the Bharatiya Janata Party corner and then think of any of the Mahila Mandal from the same camp who now fill our television screens night after night.
But even those who have come to accept, if not actually enjoy the noisy goings-on as entertainment, were shocked at what the BJP’s star performer Meenakshi Lekhi said on a show recently. Discussing the Ishrat Jahan encounter, she said, “Here was a girl travelling with men unrelated to her”. The implication of this was blatantly clear to the listener. On another occasion later, she claimed that since Ishrat came from a deprived background, she was a “fit case” for being a terrorist. Clearly, in an attempt to rubbish the case, she was ready to resort to any tactics, however crude.
What this shows is that as the elections come closer and the battle lines become more clearly drawn, the discourse will get only more bitter and will no doubt plumb ever lower depths. A good indication of where we are heading is apparent on the social media, the darling of our digitally savvy middle classes. Here, unencumbered by any conventions, unobliged to observe any decencies and feeling comfortable and protected by (often) anonymous handles while sitting in far-away countries, the vast army of self-appointed defenders of the faith sink to levels unknown even a year or two ago. On this battlefield, the weapons of choice are words, used to criticise, abuse and, increasingly, threaten.
Most vicious are the BJP’s self-appointed army of trolls, as separate from the official party tweets which are staid and civil. More accurately, these are Modi bhakts since they don’t show the same fervour for the party and in fact would go after even the BJP’s own leaders should they show any hint of discomfort with Narendra Modi, as L.K. Advani found out when he resigned from party positions — he was dismissed as old and out-of-date, his contributions forgotten.
This is a volunteer force, a kind of sena that has taken up arms for a cause and have that glint of fanaticism usually seen in true believers. They not only do not brook any denunciation of their hero, but they will also not stand for a less than laudatory comment. Even fair analysis will not do — every mention of their leader must be a hosanna; all else is unacceptable.
Many who are not as enamoured have felt the heat after posting some tweet on the issue of the day which goes against the accepted line.
Some examples that are printable in a family newspaper will illustrate this: “As much as I want Congress 2 be thrown out, I want Nitish Brutus Kumar to be whitewashed in next LS elections badly”; “Acc u, If some one is saffron troll, are u a skull cap troll?”; “Ur rite, May be IB & Gujarat Police should have waited till the terrorists had shot Modi & then could have done the encounter?” and one particularly menacing one, received by two journalists recently: “I pray to god that instead of the innocent people who die in the next attack it may be your son/bloody traitors”.
Never in the history of this country has a man so mesmerised his followers that they are ready to (metaphorically) go into battle for him, though of course from the safe confines of their computer screens. They don’t believe in sane conversations — they expect the same level of hero-worship from everyone. This may please the man, but it should equally scare him or at least saner voices in his party; if, after all this, the BJP fails to form the government, this baying pack could turn against them, since excuses will have to be found for the failure.
No one wants to censor the social media. Even setting “guidelines” by the government will inevitably deteriorate into some form of official control, which is unacceptable. As the recipient of some truly foul and threatening messages, I would like some system of redressal, but the alternative — bringing in the babus — is worse.
The rapid deterioration in the quality of public debate should worry all of us interested in maintaining a certain level of civility in our polity. Indeed, the BJP should do its best to send out a message to its loyalists that their behaviour is bringing a bad name to the party. Mr Modi himself has begun to change his public persona, realising that he has to increase his appeal to moderate elements — why can’t his followers take the lead from that?
P.S: There will be enough people who will, after reading this, immediately call this writer a “Congi paid agent sickularist”, the (mild) abuse of choice. What about the likes of Beni Prasad Varma who abused Mulayam Singh Yadav — shouldn’t he, too, be held to the same standards? He should, but there are two important differences — one, he was pulled up by his party and second, he has no Twits speaking up for him and joining him in ridiculing Mr Yadav. As for the Congress trolls, they simply haven’t reached the exalted heights their Moditva counterparts have managed.

The writer can be contacted at sidharth01@gmail.com