A book on BJP’s social media cell shows how pro-Modi trolling is methodical, rewarding and not the most creative, but the most violent
Narendra Modi himself is the epitome of all trolling; a man proud of his anti-intellectualism, and a votary of action over thought. File pic
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A depressing marker of our time is the viciousness of public discourse. It is nothing like Nyaya-Vaisesika students debating before their gurus or Socrates’ followers taking apart one another’s dialectics. The ancients relied on facts and logical argumentation. How silly. In our post-truth era, the politik has no use for facts, and even less for logic. US President-elect Donald Trump won due to fake news, shouting over his opponents, and surrounding his supporters with a soundproof, reality-proof firewall (also, he faced a terrible opponent with loads of money, but a lack of endgame). In India, much of social media’s post-truth cacophony is generated by the supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. For them, it is not enough that the messiah has won; they are on an endless war against doubt, scepticism and dissent.
If anyone’s to blame, it is probably Modi himself — he is the epitome of all trolling; a man proud of his illiteracy and anti-intellectualism (“after all, what have intellectuals done for India?” is a favourite right-wing line), and a votary of action over thought (though his demonetisation move clearly demonstrates that he does not look before he leaps); a man, who by his own admission, disdains traditional media for social media; a man who, according to claims made by Twitter user @Loneranger9, picked Amit Malviya to head his social media cell in 2013 even though Malviya had adopted scorched-earth tactics against another rock-solid Modi supporter.
Modi had no problem with the dodgy ethics and indeed believed it would be an advantage in his coming electoral fight. (See @Loneranger9’s January 4 series of tweets.)
So it is important to read — if, like me, you’re not one for post-truth — veteran journalist Swati Chaturvedi’s – ‘I Am A Troll’ – (147 pages, Juggernaut). (Disclosure: Swati is an ex-colleague from the Hindustan Times.) It is a long-form investigation into Malviya’s set-up, prompted by a relentless, multi-pronged attack on her.
The attack was not on the grounds of her journalism or her ideological stance; it was abusive and threatened her repeatedly with violent rape. This, of course, means it is not really surprising to see women molested on New Year’s Eve in Bengaluru, or to hear of bands of students in the Delhi University area molesting women and then beating up the cops who intervened.
If politicians justify violation of a person’s body on the grounds that she is Westernised or not properly attired — and it’s not surprising that the likes of Samajwadi Party’s Abu Azmi echo the arguments of culture minister Mahesh Sharma; after all, one can’t exist without the other — then it is no wonder that the BJP’s social media cell comprises post-social misfits.
Swati has been faulted for not widening the scope of her investigation to include trolls of other parties, but that is the point of ‘I Am A Troll’: it shows you how the pro-Modi trolling is methodical, hierarchical, rewarding, not the most creative but the most violent. (The Aam Aadmi Party’s social media cell, also figuring in the book, are more cheeky than anything else.) The BJP’s social media cell is not just a collection of frustrated NRIs venting at the India they left behind; it is an organised group of men venting at the India that is frustratingly resistant to Modi’s idea of change.
In her investigation, Swati interviewed 30-odd anonymous members of the social media cell, most of whom are candid either because they are fully immersed in their mission, or because they believe so absolutely in it that they are blind to any laws that may stand in their way.
Yet, the book relies most heavily on a former BJP digital warrior, Sadhvi Khosla, who left a US job to support her idol, who wanted to become PM; she left the social media cell when her film icons, actors Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan were being nastily trolled (it is a telling fact about the power of Bollywood). She pretty much maps for Swati the organisation, its workings and its modus operandi. It is no surprise when Swati informs us that PM Modi fetes the nastiest of the lot at a function at his official residence.
In addition to this eye-opening investigation, I was intrigued by the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh’s (RSS) far-sightedness that enabled the creation of a social media army. The fact that it set up indoor IT shakhas — as opposed to the early-morning outdoor shakhas they’ve always held — in cybercity canteens and other venues, each comprising 15-odd people or so, was a revelation. They have not just done their groundwork, but also laid the ground for digital warriors of the future. Swati’s book thus comes not a day too late: beware the tides of post-truth, post-print information we are about to be drowned in. And do attire yourself properly.
Aditya Sinha’s crime novel, The CEO Who Lost His Head, is out later this month. He tweets @autumnshade. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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