Trolling on Twitter

This meaning I got from “Urban Dictionary”. To be very honest, because of having less vocabulary, I never knew what “trolling” actually is. This word got my first attention when I read one of the most famous television news anchor and reporter tweeted many months back about certain “Hindu Trolls” are behind her and making her life miserable, off course on Twitter. As always I searched Google and found this meaning of troll, which I have mentioned above.

The meaning says “Typically unleashing one or more cynical or sarcastic remarks on an innocent by-stander.” I would not agree with the term “an innocent by-stander”, because most of the people on Twitter who complain about them being “trolled” are certainly not innocent and by any chance they are not at all “by-standers”. First they invite people by tweeting stuffs which can ignite anger amongst the hardcore believers of certain things and when they abuse them back or make sarcastic comments about them, they call them “trolls”. It is not that only so called “internet Hindus” troll, but still not named “internet Muslims” too troll. It is not that these people, mostly journos are offended by “internet Hindus” only, but I have also seen certain Tweeples, as they are known on Twitter, who intimidate Muslims too. I was active on Orkut  till a year or so back and there was something similar happening with India community. You can see a hard divide between the followers of these two religions. Ok, if you are getting a certain image that only religious trolling is happening on Twitter, then I must tell you that you are getting a wrong and half image only. Because there is a trolling on bollywood actors and cricketers also visible, may not be that vigorous but yet it certainly has an existence. Let me give you some examples of few trolling and how people start them.

It started last month, when few ministers from Madhya Pradesh government went “Ga Ga” about cows and its holiness and its benefits.  There is no doubt that those Netas had gone overboard, but that gave fodder to certain media people who describe themselves as “secular” on every public forum. For me being “secular” means respecting all religions with an equal eye. I do not push my nose in its day to day life. But these people on Tweeter thought they got license to make fun of Hindu religion. Though the things which Madhya Pradesh BJP netas said were not totally laughable, yet few of those things like “only cows can help you to save yourself from a nuclear attack” were certainly funny, but these people started making fun of Hindu religion and its religious symbol cow. Few comments were so bad that it even hurt me a lot despite I believe myself a very liberal Hindu. Yes most of those statements were funny but that doesn’t mean I should stop believing that Cows are holy for me as being a Hindu by birth. One lady crossed all the limits. She first tweeted that she is ordering cow beef for lunch and if that was not enough she even put pictures of her dish ready for lunch. I am sure you all will agree with me, that if such action doesn’t attract reaction then which action will? People like me can ignore such actions with pain in heart but not all people are same. Hence one can understand people unleashing their anger on that lady by nonstop tweets to her. Somewhere of course was abusive and then she started to tweet that, people have started to troll her. Her fellow secular friends made fun of those people and “advised” her to block them.

So, the point is that, first you invite trouble by making fun of some one’s sentiments and then you complaint. I feel such things must be avoided. Social networking for me is to freshen up your mind while you are working. It must have that feel, but these things spoil that fun. I know few people with whom I may have plenty of disagreements, yet I have cordial relations with them on Tweeter and on Facebook too. I would advise them to talk with their friends who like to invite trouble time and again and can certainly take advise of people like myself and may others, who can be a religious yet can be liberal at the same time.

As I said that it is not that people on twitter offend Hindus only. There is another faction, who calls themselves “Nationalists”, mostly believing in hardcore Hindutva. These people feel that India should be made a “Hindu State” and also having medieval thinking that every Muslim in this country is either a “Jihadi” or a supporter of Pakistan. They too do the same thing like the example I have quoted above. First they tweet about the stuffs, which I have just mentioned. While being opposed they either spit more venom against Islam and its followers or start mocking or make third rate fun of Muslims. For them if you are Muslim then you must be Congress supporter and that makes you anti-national.

If today’s Social Networking behavior has even a relation remotely with our society’s thinking in general, then I am scared about a huge divide in our nation, waiting to happen. Why can’t liberal Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and others come to gather and make a front where there must be no allowance of making fun of any religion? As a matter of fact there are plenty of liberals across all the religions, but they have to be partisan with their fellow hardcore religious people because of such actions I have talked above. People fear for being left alone if they do not support those hardcore people when their religious feeling is attached from left right and center.  I have many Muslim friends, both online and in real. Few Muslim clients too for which I work for. I never ever felt anything unusual while interacting with them. I remain the same online, as I am offline. Why can’t the media people take a step forward and ask a normal Hindu, or a Muslim or any person from any religion that what exactly they want? Being Hindu, I never liked the media and a popular political term for Hindus, that you can be a secular only if you do not follow your religion. If that is for us then it should be the same for others too. As we know not every second Muslim is a “Jehadi” it is same with Hindus that not every second Hindu who loves his religion is a “hardcore hindutvawadi”. Stop this term “Internet Hindus” it hurts the people like me to the core.

Dessert Storm!!!

My observation suggests that easy way to attract trolls on Twitter is to tweet about Narendra Modi. Whether anti or pro, you will get plenty of response and mostly the trolls.