Dr. Narjeet Kaur
India is a multifaceted country, with numerous religions and political opinions thriving. A cliché statement to make but Facebook, for which India is its burgeoning market, apparently knows this sentiment pretty well. According to some reports Facebook has categorized India as a Tier One country when it comes to the risk of heightened "societal violence."
By way of explanation, the social media company estimates India hypothetically as a bad case as Myanmar and Sri Lanka where Facebook has been used to kindle and endure inter-religious violence. Despite accepting that India is susceptible for social violence, Facebook has almost gone on mute when it comes to obliterating and curbing Indian groups and people spreading fake information and hate speech.
The political speeches of Bhanu Pratap Singh JagirDar are nothing less than political venom against the Sikh community. The words used, the phrases uttered and the sentiments played upon are something that should have been taken down instantly, instead this account is thriving with unlimited support from so called ‘Hindutava Bachao’ political parties and others agreed that politics is being played the most on social media platforms like Facebook, and that all have a right to practice their respective ideologies but using a public platform to cause a divide between communities is totally unacceptable. It has now become a rewarded occupation to defame others on social media and no action is taken against such people. Facebook has become , it seems, at the core of abetting deadly attacks on minority groups amid rising communal tensions across India.
Also it is really surprising to see how the Sikh organizations and DSGMC have also chosen to ignore these communal divides being created by such people. Instead, the Sikh organizations should invest their time in the education and up skilling of our own youth.
The still active account of this man shows that Facebook India’s attitude towards hate speech is utterly frivolous, unsympathetic and indifferent. Such speeches pose grave dangers for the cohesion of a democratic society, the protection of human rights and the rule of law, but nothing concrete or tangible is being done to curb it.
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