From: bcsabha.kal...@gmail.com To: Arrest Those Who Threaten and Abuse John DayalSign the petition https://www.change.org/p/commissioner-of-police-delhi-arrest-those-who-threaten-and-abuse-john-dayal
========================== John Dayal: Complaints filed for abuse/threats against me; Sept 12th https://www.saddahaq.com/complaint-filed-for-abusethreats-against-me-on-12-september ==================Trolling John Dayal is just another attempt to kill Right To Dissent https://www.saddahaq.com/trolling-john-dayal-is-just-another-attempt-to-kill-righttodissent Full disclosure: John Dayal is my father, but more than that, he is a citizen of democratic India. I am his daughter, and as importantly, another citizen of democratic India. I believe that the Right to Dissent is what makes India a vibrant Democracy. I write this in defense of the right that all Indians should be allowed to exercise freely. If I do not write this post, I fear I may have to write an obituary.I do not wish to wait to write an obituary for John Dayal, my father, an Indian citizen, journalist and minority rights activist. I have seen his activism grow each day, and his savings deplete, because he is too voluble, too opinionated, and too unafraid to be employed as a full-time working journalist that he once was. That was his choice to make. He lives by the choice, and makes a living with the spare writing or speaking assignment that comes his way.However, what should not be a choice is his right to live fearlessly in his own country. His activism does not give permission, to those who do not agree, to unleash threats and abuse online.Late last night, I checked Twitter one final time as I was leaving office, and sawShameOnJohnDayal as a top trend. Twitter abuse for him, and sometimes for me as a package deal, is not new. But this level of venom was. It trended for hours, each tweet and RT a new dose of venom and hate.A few minutes into it, and it was obvious to see that a conversation had turned into an open attack in reaction to these tweets.Disagreements turned into abuse and slander, and of course, incitement for the man to be done away with.Just threatened online? Why is that a problem for a known journalist-activist?Unfortunately, those who threaten and abuse on social media have now begun to act on them. The brutal murders, most recently of academic, activist MM Kalburgi in Karnataka last month, followed by death threats to Mysore-based rationalist KS Bhagawan, are a testimony to the fact.Or, in the recent past, the murders of Pune-based rationalist Narendra Achyut Dabholkar, and how can we forget the murder of activist-rationalist Govind Pansare?The threats were there online, perhaps too mild for us to hear. Till the gunshots rang out.These men lived to their retirement age, perhaps because there was no social media to bring together their attackers. Remember Sabeen Mahmud, the activist who was shot in Pakistan hours after she tweeted a photo of a Baloch activist speaking at a seminar she hosted in Pakistan? She did not get to live into her 40s. Nor did the murdered Bangladeshibloggers.We are not Bangladesh or Pakistan, where bloggers and activists are brutally killed on the streets. We are not ISIS-controlled areas or desert nations where even suspected dissent results in videographed beheadings.Unfortunately, we are coming close. The Right to Dissent, which has won us our freedom from the British, is now under a grave threat.Perhaps the threat was always there; it is now visible because opinions and the attacks that follow now spread like wildfire online. Does anyone remember how UR Ananthamurthy was trolled, and tickets sent for him to go to Pakistan because of his critical writings?Social media is a double-edged sword. It has become a potent tool for web-connected tech savvy activists to share their dissent, opinions and start conversations. The sharper edge, however, is controlled by a dangerous group. We call them trolls, but they are not as simple as that. The trends are started with social media expertise. The numbers grow slowly and steadily, gaining followers and reposts with additional venom.Ask any actor who has dared to express and opinion online. Or for that matter a gender rights activists. Or just go online and see how people who dare say a word against any right-wing organization, are treated.Activists, writers and members of the general public are signing this petition started by Kavita Krishnan of AIPWA, herself a target of hate speech and rape+murder threats.However, my question is simple. Should we, the citizens, be afraid to voice an opinion in our own country, lest the organized army of trolls spots us and launches online campaigns to inspire on-ground attacks? Should we just wait for another murder and then take out a candlelight peace march?I seek your advice on what direction this conversation must now take. Should Right to Dissent be protected? Or should we toe the line and hope the silence does not kill us? TWEET (0) SHARE (570) SHARE REDDIT
