Speaking Truth to Power in a Time of Trolls

- by Punya Upadhyaya, HfHR cofounder

NOTE: THE HINDUS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS BLOG IS A SPACE FOR A HEALTHY EXPLORATION OF IDEAS PERTINENT TO OUR MISSION. THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS BLOG ARE THOSE OF THE AUTHOR AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE OFFICIAL POLICY OR POSITION OF HINDUS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS.

In turbulent times it is tempting to sit back, wait and assume everything will go back to “normal” in due course. The assumption is that some “others” will speak out and balance will be restored. Unfortunately, there is no other, there is only us—and we invite all of us, friends, foes, and trolls—to join us in unequivocally supporting the urge to speak truth to power. This is vital for all of us: sometime in the future any of us may need to speak up against the improper use of social, legal, political, or media power. We all need to work together to build a more just and humane world.

Let us speak to three important examples today – where the act of speaking the truth is being demonized or distorted.

First, the FIR (First Information Report) lodged in Muzaffarpur (Bihar – where the floods surely offer the leaders some real work!) on Thursday against nearly 50 thinkers and activists. Their crime is an open letter to the Prime Minister raising concern over the growing incidents of mob killing. Unlike many polemics, their letter included important facts:

“We were shocked to learn from the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) reports that there have been no less than 840 instances of atrocities against Dalits in the year 2016, and a definite decline in the percentage of convictions”.

Many supporters of BJP/RSS/VHP/HAF et al claim that the number of people killed in mob violence in India is “normal”, “regular”, being “politicised” etc. However, as the open letter states clearly, there is a “definite decline in the percentage of convictions.” And even while there is greater laxity in prosecution of mob lynchings, the police in Bihar, which suffers from this malady of atrocities, have the time to create a spurious FIR against people who just want them to do their job – “stop crime”. The media are complicit in this with their framing of these 50 accomplished thinkers and artists as “celebrities” confusing them and their moral demand with models and item dancers (men and women).

Second, the trolls who are acting against Audrey Truschke, a faculty member at Rutgers who again committed the crime of speaking the truth. As reported in Newsweek:

Hindutva, she claimed, was inspired by Nazism. At a time when people often hear the term Nazi, which she credited with being used loosely, Truschke clarified that when she said Nazism, she was talking about "real, actual, historical Nazis."

"Early Hindutva founders openly admired [Nazi Party leader Adolf] Hitler," she said. "They praised Hitler's treatment of the Jewish people in Germany as a good model for dealing with India's Muslim minority."

Third, the shameful stealing of Gandhiji’s ashes and desecrating his portrait with graffiti in Rewa, MP. While the Mahatma has long been a controversial figure – not least for his work on race, caste, gender, and religion (is there anything left?) there is a genuine veneration for him and his work. This cowardly defacement is the antithesis of speaking truth to power. This reinforces the suspicion that the BJP/RSS/VHP/HAF combine is anti-democratic and cowardly. Of course, they might soon find a patsy, someone who like Godse had “quit” the RSS before his cowardly act. Democracy thrives on dissent – and say what you will of Gandhiji, he engaged honestly and heartfully with those who disagreed with him. Trolls are cowards and we invite you to experience the Hindu virtue of the absence of fear (abhay) and engage in the conversation on Gandhiji’s saintliness and sinning like a real person.

Hindus for Human Rights is deeply troubled by the actions of the trolls and the poor coverage in the media. We encourage everyone interested in the wellbeing of our worlds – no matter our ideology – to demand a more civil discourse, to invite the institutions of the state to be more responsible to the genuine needs of the most needy,  to insist that media spend more time looking at facts and separating them from opinion, and offer all of us the opportunity for reasoned debate. We thank those who are engaging with these issues in the spirit of inquiry – and remind all of us that ahimsa is a real Hindu value, not just one to be given lip service on the 2nd of October. Let us all use ahimsa to guide us in our conversations, especially those with whom we disagree.