A year or so after Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey triggered a huge controversy for holding a placard that said ‘Smash Brahminical Patriarchy’, the platform is now being accused of being ‘Brahmanvadi’ by prominent people on social media.
Columnist associated with Shekhar Gupta’s ThePrint initiated the matter when he accused Twitter of being Brahmanvadi for not awarding him with a Blue Tick yet. Dilip Mandal has gone on to urge people to trend ‘Brahmanvadi Twitter’ on the social media platform.
#ब्राह्मणवादीट्विटर ट्रैंड कराते हैं. सिर्फ दो घंटे के लिए. इस बार हिंदी में.
— Prof. Dilip Mandal (@dilipmandal) November 3, 2019
Now, other prominent people, including Lalu Prasad Yadav’s political party RJD, has jumped on the bandwagon.
We must uproot Brahminism- Dr Ambedkar
Any caste or person can be a follower of Brahminism. Brahminism is basically a system that is against justice, equality and liberty. Those who support and encourage Brahminism are against humanity, dignity and equality. #ब्राह्मणवादीट्विटर
— Rashtriya Janata Dal (@RJDforIndia) November 3, 2019
Media troll Prashant Kanojia, too, joined in the trend. Amusingly, he is the same journalist who had tweeted likening Dalits to animals.
ट्विटर पर बहुजनों का परचम लहरा रहा है। उत्पीड़न और अत्याचार के लिए आवाज़ बुलंद करना होगा। कमंडल को तोड़ना है, तो मंडल लाना होगा। #ब्राह्मणवादीट्विटर
— Prashant Kanojia (@PJkanojia) November 3, 2019
Dr.B.R.Ambedkar:
“I am the most hated man in Hindu India”Ambedkarites:
We are most hated group by @TwitterIndia #JaiBhimTwitter #ब्राह्मणवादीट्विटर pic.twitter.com/aTuSSvDAqF— Dilipkumar vaghela (@TheDilipVaghela) November 3, 2019
The trend perfectly captures everything that is wrong with the current brand of Dalit Activism. Like Feminism, it has now been reduced by a section of privileged Dalits to foment hatred between castes. Trends such as these serve no purpose other than creating tension in society without any good reason. The people indulging in such antics are only proving themselves to be rebels without a cause.
If you are working for The Print, it can be safely said that the person is leading a much better life than most people in India. Raking up the issue of Brahmanvad over Twitter’s verified badge only reveals the phoney attitude behind the activism and those who are indulging in it. There are real caste divisions within society that need to be addressed here. Accusing Twitter of being an agent of ‘Brahmanvad’ over the issue of blue ticks is not one of them. Such reckless activism serves no purpose other than driving communities apart.
While it is true that Dalits even today face real issues that need a social remedy, blue ticks are not one of them. Social media itself is a privilege that a significant section of India still cannot access. Even among social media platforms, Twitter stands out particularly as one that is not representative of the Indian population.
Dilip Mandal, who started all of this, has forty-six thousand followers on Twitter, Kanojia has well over forty-two thousand followers and RJD, which is a political party, has over one lakh sixty thousand followers on the platform. An overwhelming majority of people on Twitter cannot boast of such high numbers. They receive a huge number of interactions as well on Twitter from all sections of society. The latter two are verified handles. For them to claim Twitter is an agent of ‘Brahmanvad’ for ‘not verifying certain handles’ is nauseating, to put it mildly.
It is safe to say that Dalits, at this moment in time, have a great amount of political power. We have a Dalit president after all. But more than that, they wield real political power. Mayawati, the former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, rose to prominence in politics based on her Dalit identity. No party can win elections without catering to the Dalit vote-bank. The BJP overturned the Court verdict on the SC/ST Act to favour the Dalits, much to the disgruntlement of other castes. It is a testament to the political power of Dalits that the ruling party risked alienating Upper Castes in order to gain their favour. Therefore, it does not make much sense to claim that Dalits have no power over matters.
Read: 25 crimes that prove that the Dalit-Muslim unity is nothing but a farce
Moreover, the Indian Constitution guarantees Dalits reservations in jobs and educational institutions. Untouchability, too, is criminalized in the strictest of terms. Thus, it would be wrong to suggest that no efforts have been made to uplift them or to offer them reparations for historical injustice. Not just the Indian state, even the academia has opened its arms to accommodate Dalits in the fold. They enjoy great support in academia and unfortunately, academia, too, often engages in weaponizing victimhood instead of fomenting a culture of goodwill and harmony between all sections of Indian society.
With time, however, privileged members of the community, who have benefited from the goodwill of the Indian state, instead of bridging the gaps between castes are trying to fan divisions in order to keep the community distanced from their co-religionists. Unfailingly, such people always are always adherents of a very particular political ideology. Needless to say, it is the Left. And this particular brand of politics seeks to reduce Dalits to being vote banks for certain political parties.
All Hindu organizations, including the RSS, are making continuous efforts to bridge the gaps between different castes. Hindu organizations conduct numerous outreach programs to generate a genuine sense of goodwill between all sections of society. And the efforts have started bearing fruits as well, at least in the political arena. Dalits have voted for the BJP in huge numbers since 2014. Hindu consolidation in politics is a reality.
The people who are trying to create divisions within Hindu society with trends such as ‘Brahmanvad Twitter’ always make an attempt to claim a monopoly over communal harmony and secularism. In the name of secularism, such people claim Dalit-Muslim unity and preach communal harmony while, at the same time, fomenting tensions within Hindu society. Liberals, it appears, want Hindus to live in peace with Muslims, which is a good thing, but they do not want Dalits to live in peace with Brahmins. And that is dangerous for any society.
It is an unfortunate reality that Dalits have been greatly betrayed by such people who have used their misfortune for their personal benefit. It is also a sad fact that Dalits have been greatly betrayed by the prominent political leaders from their own community who claim to represent their interests but in reality, are only furthering their own. It is indeed a tragedy that a person like Jignesh Mevani, who has been branded as the messiah and new age Dalit leader, who could have used the power he has earned over a period of time to bridge the gaps between castes uses it instead to fuel caste tensions while furthering his personal political ambitions.
The objective here appears to be pretty clear. Such people who enjoy a better life than most people in India, regardless of their caste or religion, want to become the face and only representative of the Dalit communities at large. It is based on a desire to utilize their position to enjoy all the benefits that come along with such a privileged position. If they have to drive entire communities apart to achieve their objective, they appear to have no hesitation to do so. Unfortunately for them, Dalits are rejecting their message entirely.
In the larger scheme of things, it has always been the desire of entities inimical to Hindu interests to drive Dalits away from other Hindu castes in order to weaken Hinduism and ultimately, relegate our civilization to the museums. The more Hindus try to come together, the more intense do their efforts get to drive us apart. When the sole objective is to drive Hindu castes apart, even something as innocuous as blue ticks on Twitter will be made to serve the purpose.
It is a testament to the strength of Hindu society that despite numerous efforts to the contrary, Dalits always have and will continue to identify themselves as Hindu forevermore. Despite best efforts by adversaries to pan-Hindu solidarity, Dalits have been incorporated under the umbrella of Hindutva and they have enthusiastically contributed to the political consolidation of Hindus in huge numbers. Going forward, one believes that they will continue to do so.
Despite best efforts by adversaries, the divide between Hindu castes continues to be bridged more and more with every passing day. And this will definitely continue going forward as Hindu organizations have devoted a great amount of time and continue to do so to foment a feeling of goodwill between different castes. It is a testament to the growing sense of solidarity between different castes that even blue ticks on Twitter are being used to generate ill-will between castes. It’s only in times of desperation that people resort to such antics on social media.
