Often in social media, we find 'secularism' is being mocked as 'Sickularism'.
Critics allege Facebook fails to act against BJP politicians who spread hate against religious minorities
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Every hug has a story or two !! |
It all started with a report in The Wall Street Journal. It claimed that a top executive of Facebook in India had told employees that "punishing violations by politicians" from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party would damage the company's "business prospects in the country."
As expected, the report sparked a major political row. Opposition parties now say Modi's pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has a nexus with the popular social media sites to push the ideology of Hindu nationhood among some 600 million users.
But, as they say, there are wheels within wheels. According to former Union Minister Rajyavardhan Rathore, "There are millions of posts mocking Hindu gods and abusing right-of-centre leaders. But Facebook’s advanced algorithms and community standards fail to catch them. However, unsuspecting common people running pro-right-of-centre pages are suspended with no right to appeal".
So is the report of Modi regime's unholy nexus with Facebook only one side of the story?
The BJP and its associated groups control Facebook and WhatsApp in India, according to opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
"They spread fake news and hatred through it and use it to influence the electorate. Finally, the American media has come out with the truth about Facebook," he said.
Critics allege Facebook fails to act against BJP politicians who spread hate against religious minorities and incite violence. In particular, Facebook is accused of ignoring its own rules against spreading hate to protect its business interests in India.
"One thing is certain. Social networking has become a major tool to discuss communal issues in India. As a result, parliamentary democracy and secularism are also under attack," said an opposition Trinamool Congress leader in West Bengal.
The WSJ report quoted the case of T. Raja Singh, a BJP member of Telangana state's legislative assembly, as an example of connivance. In a Facebook post, he reportedly said Rohingya Muslim refugees should be shot dead and Indian Muslims are traitors. He also threatened to demolish mosques.
The posts violated Facebook's hate speech rules, but there was no action against Singh.
Coming to use of the social network, in fact, Modi's party has won two successive parliamentary polls in 2014 and 2019 by investing a huge 'money, planning and time' in the social network platforms. Before 2014, only the BJP had given importance to their planning to expand its outreach in a country of over 135 billion - mostly Hindus - through social network platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
But for their part, some BJP leaders say the social network platforms in India have been 'pro-Left liberal'and 'generally anti-Hindu".
Of course, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wasted no time to attack the ruling dispensation
BJP MLA T Raja Singh claims that he has no Facebook account and that he cannot be responsible for an account operating in his name. His account was hacked in 2018 and he did not receive any response to the complaints he made about it.
However, ordinary netizens say it is easy to argue that a social network platform like Facebook or Twitter should take action against those fomenting communal troubles.
"To keep an eye on what comes out in Indian social media is a gigantic task due to its scale," said netizen Mofidul Chowdhury.
"Moreover, those who spread hardline statements and views also do so using different styles at times and use double-meaning phrases. Hindus have the advantage of numbers as the majority community in India. Obviously, hardline views against Muslims and Christians find more space in cyberspace."
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The main concern among opposition political parties is that controlled or guided social networking platforms could have a gory impact on India's democracy and strong secular fabric.
Data could be used in umpteen ways to drill home the message that the ruling political dispensation wants to enter the minds of millions of people. Besides running campaigns based on fake news and half-baked truths, data can also be used to send selective messages and target opponents.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded a joint parliamentary committee probe into "this nexus between BJP and Facebook."
Investment interests
Facebook may not have any political ideology but plays the BJP's tunes because the party in power can protect its business interests in India.
Facebook and its three associated social media platforms have some 600 million users in India, more than what they have in the US. While Facebook has 200 million users, the WhatsApp chat service has 300 million and Instagram 100 million.
Facebook has also invested billions in India and plans to make future investments to advance the business in various states ruled by the BJP.
Earlier this year, during the Covid-19 lockdown, Facebook announced it was investing US$5.7 billion in Indian internet company Reliance Jio, owned by India's richest businessman Mukesh Ambani.
Ambani and Modi hail from Gujarat state and are projected as enjoying good personal rapport.
Modi's critics, including Rahul Gandhi, have accused him of protecting top business people like Ambani.
However, Facebook promised action. "We are making progress on enforcement and conducting regular audits of our process to ensure fairness and accuracy," said a Facebook statement.
Not so clean record
"It is no secret globally that Facebook has been hauled up by various government bodies for controlling the flow of facts," wrote former Olympian-turned-BJP lawmaker Rajyavardhan Rathore in a newspaper article.
"In India, too, we have seen examples of Facebook actually filtering out non-left and non-Congress viewpoints through manufactured labels of 'fake news.' They are even accused of using shadow-banning algorithms," he wrote.
In 2014, BJP ideologue K.N. Govindacharya opposed PM Modi's meeting with Facebook's co-founder Mark Zuckerberg until issues such as data protection, taxation and user privacy were resolved.
He also favors pushing the Personal Data Protection Bill. The draft law presented in parliament in December 2019 seeks to provide protection of individuals' data and establish a Data Protection Authority in the country.
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and also "unfettered freedom" to spread propaganda of their ideologically-aligned leaders and organisations.
Several opposition leaders say there was a sustained campaign on Facebook, Whatsapp (also owned by FB)and Twitter by Hindu hardliners on the eve of the brick laying ceremony of a grand Ram temple at Ayodhya on August 5. The mega event - billed as victory of the Hindutva over secularism - was graced by Prime Minister Modi and telecast live in all official and private television.
The big issue is it is a case of Facebook alone failing to act against those who indulge in 'hate posting', when the 'majoritarianism' is the toast of the town. Even Congress and other opposition leaders had hailed the kick-starting of the Hindu temple at a site where a mosque was destroyed in 1992.
Three people killed and 50 police injured as cops opened fire on 'Muslim mob' in Bengaluru
A riot in southern India that claimed the lives of three people could have links to the construction of a Hindu temple at a disputed site in northern India, police and local people suggest.
Three people were killed on Aug. 11 in Bengaluru city when police opened fire to control a mob that turned violent, reportedly after an online post offended the religious sentiments of Muslims.
At least 50 policemen were injured when the mob attacked a police station and set fire to the house of Congress party state legislator Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy. They also burned several vehicles in the capital city of Karnataka state.
"A derogatory post about Prophet Muhammad has triggered the problems. We are looking into all angles," a police officer told media.
The pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party runs the state government and Congress is the main opposition.
Many local people say the arsonists were prepared and a social media post cannot be the reason. "Violence of this scale is not spontaneous as made out to be," a local person told UCA News.
Ranjit Srikumar, another local person, said the arsonists were well armed and knew their targets. It was clear they wanted to attack the person who supposedly posted the message.
Police officials said their men opened fire after other methods failed to disperse the mob. They also suspect the involvement of a Muslim organization in the riot.
Joint Commissioner of Police Sandeep Patil said they had arrested 145 people. Among them is Muzamil Pasha, a leader of the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI).
In December 2016, the SDPI organized a nationwide campaign demanding the rebuilding of Babri Masjid mosque in Ayodhya. A Hindu mob demolished the disputed mosque in December 1992.
In the latest development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi joined a religious rite on Aug. 5 and laid the first bricks for construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
Some local people say the social media posting was just an excuse for the Bengaluru riot. Muslims in the area were unhappy over the start of the temple's construction.
They alleged that Muslim arsonists came holding long machetes, broke down doors, damaged houses and humiliated women and elders.
Muslims form 13 percent of 64 million people in Karnataka. However, they have a strong presence in areas of Bengaluru and other important hubs like Mysore and Mangalore.
In one riot-hit area, Muslim youths created a human chain and protected a Hindu temple.
BJP parliamentarian Tejasi Surya wrote to the state chief minister demanding that the rioters' properties be confiscated and the losses caused to state property be recovered.
Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala blamed the Karnataka government.
"Why did the police not act in time? It is a complete failure of law and order machinery and the rule of law. Was the government sleeping or waiting for violence to happen?" he asked.
However, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said it would be erroneous to blame the entire Muslim community for the arson and violence.
The wrongdoers "must be found, arrested and given exemplary punishment," he said. "But they are not to be equated with an entire community any more than thugs and vigilantes represent all Hindus."
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