Advaita Banerjee (name changed) a class XII student of a reputed school in Delhi recounts his experience at being trolled and shamed for publicly criticising a policy. What's more, he was trolled by his own batch mates. It took a toll on him and he was forced to pull down his post and move on. On this note let's try to find out if it's right to troll someone for expressing their opinion on Twitter.
"I can relate Gurmehar Kaur. She was unnecessarily threatened and ridiculed over an opinion she expressed on social media. I went through the same thing during the demonitisation days. I was labeled an anti national ignorant fool by my own batch mates. They didn't spare me in school as well. I was forced to take leave for a few days and later my parents compelled me to take the post down," he recalls.
The recent ABVP violence in Delhi University has seen thousands of students injured, a professor battling for life, ministers and celebrities making unwarranted statements, and a star is born. Although Gurmehar Kaur from Delhi, is not new to this limelight. The 20-something girl raised a lot of eyebrows when she started a video campaign a few years ago saying - "Pakistan Did Not Kill My Father, the War Did". This time her single tweet created a furore. And she suddenly found herself in the eye of the storm.
What Gurmehar Makes Of The Situation
Through various media interviews the young activist says she is being dragged into a controversy but she supports the stand against ABVP. "I merely tweeted about my support to the student union and I stand by it. More firmly now. But someone pulled up the video and created sensation. I am not hassled a bit. In fact the reaction that I have got from all corners has made me believe that it is good to come out and speak up on such intolerance. I am sick of these extremist trolls, " she told media persons.
What Triggered The Controversy
While Gurmehar received a lot of ridiculous threats on social media, she didn't pay much heed to them. But what got to the girl was how she was made fun off by known celebrities. Ace cricketer Virender Sehwag took to his twitter handle to pull a fast one at Gurmehar. He tweeted : "I didn't score double centuries, my bat did". To this tweet, Actor Randeep Hooda applauded and said Gurmehar was a "poor political pawn". A section of the media criticised this as reeking of patriarchy.
Youth Reporters Tell You How To Deal With Trolling
"Don't be scared to voice your opinion or your dissent on social media. No one owns it. You are free to write whatever comes to your mind. Only be careful to not hurt anyone's religious sentiments."
Riya Dhaneja, class IX, Lotus Valley School
"The best way to avoid trolling is to ignore what is being said. You have expressed something, now hold on to your ground."
Aditya Mukherjee, class XII, DPS International
"Ideal way to deal with trolls is to add humour to your opinions. And when you want to retaliate get your point sorted."
Deepika Baijal, class X, MPS, Chandigarh
The only way you can shut trolls is by being very aware and knowledgeable. Trust your instinct and back it up with solid knowledge.
Aarti Subedar, class VII, Vishwa Bharti Public School
Times VIEW
The dangerous effects of whipping up an atmosphere of extreme jingoism is illustrated by this episode. When a young girl (Gurmehar) is so viciously attacked for merely expressing an opinion that was not to the liking of these jingoists, we need to act before it's too late. That even the fact of her being a Martyr's daughter did not give the trolls reason to pause, shows the extent to which the rot has spread.
Do you agree that it has become sort of 'mission impossible' to express your opinion and not get trolled about it? Are we under some sort of compulsion to say yes to the popular opinion? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.