Return of the voice of dissent

Often nights filled with Buccaneer banter end up with a heavy head next morning for most, but not for the admin of the famous parody Facebook page, Humans of Hindutva. In April, after a heated debate with a friend over drinks, he decided to channelise his voice of dissent through satire. “I’m a keen newspaper reader, so was feeling a little irritated about how most people only seem to care about celebrities and cricket,” he says, wishing to be unnamed.  With more than 40,000 followers, the page holds a cult status on the social media. Speaking of the unexpected attention, he says, “I never imagined that the page would garner the attention it’s getting. I just started it for laughs, but when one of my stupid posts, which had Ryan Gosling as a customised RSS child, was shared widely, I had to brace myself for the trolls. Suddenly, I woke up to find hundreds of racist or abusive messages in the post’s comments section. They even reported it and got it removed temporarily, but thankfully, Facebook put it up again,” he says.

Last week, the page was temporarily blocked for three days for a post on General Bipin Rawat and his controversial comment on Kashmiri protesters. In the age of anger, how does one survive the wrath of trolls? “I have a relatively thick skin, so I am prepared for most of such online exchanges,” he adds.

However, each little bold step of dissent, he would receive a barrage of crude remarks, including death threats. “Some people commented that if they ever found me, they would kill me or teach me a ‘lesson’. Then the same individuals wonder why I choose to stay anonymous. Their abuse of mass reporting is far more worrisome, and it’s no secret that these reporters/trolls are on a payroll,” he says.

Following the embargo, he wrote an open letter, “Thankfully, Facebook responded to my letter or perhaps could tell that I was a victim of mass reporting. They reinstated one of the posts and removed the ban. I used to think that Facebook is a faceless corporation that runs on a set algorithm, which can be exploited by trolls. But after seeing them reach out to me and make amends, I feel a little reassured,” he says.

Although he remains undeterred by the incident, he admits having learned a lesson. “The American filmmaker Michael Moore once said, ‘You can’t debate satire. Either you get it, or you don’t’. My poor attempt at satire should not be taken seriously, and I’m tired of explaining the joke to people who don’t want to get it. After arguing with literally thousands of people who claim to be offended by my posts over the last seven weeks, I have concluded that we Indians need to lighten up. We live in a ridiculous country where the jokes practically write themselves. Just open a newspaper instead of going to a comedy show. In fact, I’m offended by the indifference of so many Indians to the plight of their fellow citizens who get lynched in broad daylight for their diet or sexual preference. If you are offended by a joke, then I’m sorry, but your right to get offended doesn’t trump over my freedom of expressing myself,” he concludes.

The page is back on Facebook, and the latest is a parody on the leaning tower of Pisa, taking a dig at Ambuja Cement and the chief minister. He has also shared a video of American satirists, Bill Hicks and George Carlin.