When Religion Becomes a Weapon
Image by Gemini AI Social media was meant to connect us, but in recent years it has become a powerful amplifier of sectarian anger and abuse in India. I have chosen to lie low on Facebook, the only platform I used actively. I have an X account meant for blogging-related activities. My Instagram account is used only to connect with my former students. These platforms are all dreadful places, that’s why I chose to sit in the shadow. The kind of language people use on these platforms to uphold their religion and gods and their “glorious ancient culture” is alarmingly shocking. Apart from the abusive and crude language are the various kinds of distortions. Often the context is removed or altered in order to make someone’s utterance sound antinational or anti-Hindu. There’s a lot of doctored media circulating in these spaces. Specific persons and communities are identified and attacked. W ho benefits out of all these? As far as I understand, only politicians of a particular party and ...
