Bid Adieu 2019 - Digital platforms make news, could come under closer scanning

New Delhi, Dec 31

The season of festivity and protest that’s carrying India through the chill of winter marking the end of circa 2019 will be also known for being critical for social media platforms.

Senior police officials in Uttar Pradesh probing the anti-CAA protest said in many places the crowd was gathered by using Whatsapp and other IT tools.

Thus, it was not surprising that protestors were less ‘very effectively’ the violence was organised and on a large scale but where protestors gathered in large numbers and police force stood in attendance, the place was comparatively peaceful.

As the year comes to an end, a vital facet of social network came to light and this would herald a testing time as Twitter, Google products and Tik Tok video app and Facebook will continue to be under closer scrutiny by the government.

Apparently, the ruling dispensation has also tried to ensure use of ‘safer data’ as several digital platforms like Whatsapp has been providing a medium not only to speak up against the Modi government but also helped organise the violent protest.

Sample this - the Personal Data Protection Bill that will empower the government to ask Facebook and Google and other IT operatives for anonymous personal and non-personal data was referred to a joint select committee of both Houses of Parliament.

The Standing Committee on IT headed by Congress member Shashi Tharoor was allegedly bypassed.

In fact right from the beginning of the calendar year – coinciding with the election season - Indian Parliament became the fourth legislative body after Singapore, European Union and the US Congress to start a probe on the abuse of political content and conduct of the micro blogging site Twitter.

The parliament Standing Committee on IT headed by Anurag Thakur summoned and grilled top Twitter bosses.

Subsequently, stringent measures were announced by the government.

Digital platforms including Facebook assured that they will offer details of political advertisements on their platform and also announced strategies to strengthen efforts around poll-related integrity.

Things looked normal, yet the social network business flourished in India as more and more Indians developed liking for Digital platforms.

Studies by the industry body Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) revealed in April 2019 that as many as 66 million of IT users in India are children aged between five and eleven years.

By and large India is now second only to China in terms of monthly active internet users and overall the number of Internet users is about 460 million.

The government’s announcement of 5G trial would only enhance IT penetration in the country.

“The age of 5G is coming... we have taken a decision to give 5G spectrum for trials to all the players," Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said on Monday.

Many say the year 2019 vis-a-vis the use and abuse of IT tools such as Whatsapp and Facebook also show that in many places the ‘childhood friendship’ has been hit.

One Trisha, a college student in Bengaluru, complained that due to her support to the anti-CAA protest, her school friends have asked her whether “Imran Khan is her leader and that she could go to Pakistan if not Bangladesh".

Such contents were not rare. Many Whatsapp users have confirmed in person or otherwise about the decision to ‘make exit’ from some Friends group as political differences could spoil years old bond.

“I have stopped using Facebook since December second week,” commented Ramyo Zinyu, a Shillong-based student in northeast referring to the peak of the protest.

Over 20 people have lost lives including in Assam, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh.

But a few users of the IT space still remain optimistic and say Digital platforms are reality of our time.

“Life must go on and so should social network...These IT platforms will continue to toss us from the lap of one controversy to another; but this would generally end us at brighter spots. IT universe is a new university,” says this school of thought.

The government apparatus in UP and the centre have indicated that thanks to IT tools, the Aligarh Muslim University has turned into the new hub of the activities of the Popular Front of India (PFI).

UP police and top political who's who - Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath - have alleged that PFI and other local Muslim organisations played a key role in inciting violence in several parts of Uttar Pradesh using digital platforms.


On this, the role of PFI's student wing, the Campus Front of India has also come under scanner.

Opposition leaders have already said that the new Data privacy bill when enacted into law could be misused.

CPI(M) and Trinamool leaders have said that the clause 'in the interest of sovereignty' could be abused by law enforcing agencies as the proposed law will allow the government agencies exemption from the existing laws about individual freedom and privacy.

During Parliament debate, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the draft law has the Supreme Court’s mandate and was aimed only at safeguarding people’s rights and privacy.

Privacy is a fundamental right but a corrupt or a terrorist do not enjoy such right, the minister has said.

2019 in Review: Youths & minorities finally challenge ‘Moditva’

New Delhi, Dec 30 First time in years the religious minorities especially Muslims are flexing muscles – literally.

'Moditva' as a political phenomenon and with combined magic of pro-Hindutva tilt and push for development as a catalyst looked invincible.

Empowered by sympathetic support of youths in general and students in universities and of course the opposition parties against the newly enacted CAA, the minorities have able to take the battle into the rival camp – the so called ‘Hindu-nationalist zealotry’.

“For me as a youth and as a tribal from north east, we are against immigrants. But we want a government that will not focus on promoting one religion and work against others,” said a Naga youth Neingulie Sakhrie during anti-CAA noisy protest of December 15 in the capital.

The anguish of youths getting onto the streets have transformed Indian politics more than once in the past.

The JP movement also rested heavily on youth power, so was the anti-Mandal Commission protest during V P Singh’s tenure.

Similarly, the youths played a pivotal role in 2011 Anna Hazare-led Lok Pal movement against corruption – which BJP somehow benefited in 2014.

But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s re-election in 2019 had bolstered fringe factions of his political base.

There was already apprehension about protecting plurality in India. Since 2014, episodes like mob lynching against cattle meat sale and movement against ‘Love Jihad’ made news. But in a historic mandate, Mr Modi and his party were given a second term with more number of Lok Sabha seats to run the world's largest democracy.

Mr Modi also became the first prime minister since 1971 to return to power with an absolute majority.
Things looked too good for BJP till the opposition to the CAA gained momentum.

“The people are permanent and an elected government is temporary. So it has no right to enact a law that excludes Muslims,” said a Muslim student during Jamia Millia protest.

Another vocal refrain from protestors has been that the Modi government has tried to push the line that Muslims are ‘not patriotic enough’ and they must be taught a lesson through CAA and NRC.

Such an attitude is not acceptable, they screamed.

Now, the virtual challenge to the ‘Moditva phenomenon’ has forced the BJP leadership to go back to the table to redraw it campaign strategy especially on social network.

The fact that the BJP has been put on back foot is proved as no less than Prime Minister himself has been forced to reach out to the ‘restless’ youths and also use the hashtag ‘IndiaSupportsCAA’ on Twitter.

On December 29 Mann-Ki-Baat radio broadcast Prime Minister tried to strike an emotional chord with the generation next and said the country's youth detests “anarchy of any sort”.

Later in the evening hours, Prime Minister in a tweet wrote: “What is certain is that the coming decade will see those born in the 21st century playing a key role in national progress".

BJP working president J P Nadda held several conclaves with party colleagues to workout campaign strategy to bust the myths about Citizenship Amendment Act.

All these have come in a year that almost gave a feeling that the BJP has attained ‘the invincible’ status in Indian politics.

The year 2019 saw BJP's political detractors and stalwarts bite the dust and saffron party winning an enhanced mandate but the youths and religious minorities – however - combined together to throw up a major challenge to the ruling regime.

The new socio-political situation has made ‘cornered’ Congress leaders such as P Chidambaram optimistic and he says: “In less than a fortnight – December 12 to 24 – the nation found its soul and stood up to the bullies”.

India's 2019 general elections, religious minorities and Opposition parties had thought, could have ‘redirected’ the country's politics from the trajectory it had been plunging since 2014.

But the mandate was different.

The Ram temple movement got a favourable push. Anti-Triple Talaq law was enacted and Article 370 giving special provisions to Jammu and Kashmir was abrogated.

Likes of Yogi Adityanath led a campaign that blamed Muslim youths for waging a “love jihad” by seducing Hindu women to convert to Islam.

However, with 'restless' Indian youths now getting onto the streets and Muslims and other minorities showing a unity of purpose - now a question remains whether street protests will alter India that declined to be altered through ballot.