My Response to A Slander Campaign on Twitter
Shrikant G. Talageri
Being in the public eye, even to a minimum extent, leaves anyone, however important or unimportant, open to attacks from trolls and vicious specimens. I myself am also very often criticized and insulted in different ways on the "social media", and it is a part of present-day "social (media) life". Usually (but not always) I avoid responding or even paying any attention to people who have nothing better to do, or who get their kicks in life by criticizing or insulting others. But today I was shown a series of tweets which have to be responded to. The two people indulging in the pastime of character assassination at my expense are known to me: the first Alok Bhatt only by name as he is also a member of the only internet discussion group of which I am a member, and the second, Kushal Mehra, has been my "interviewer" on many occasions.
There are usually two ways in which people choose to attack me on the internet:
1. The more common method is to make condescending, disparaging and insulting remarks, consisting mostly of ad hominem and comments on my person, profession, academic qualifications, assumed ideology, and so on, avoiding completely any point of facts, data or statistics.
2. The other and more uncommon one − this particular attempt at character assassination belongs to this second category − is to make all kinds of comments, without directly taking my name, and presenting the whole thing in a kind of "guess who?" game format. I don't know whether this is out of trepidation that I am some kind of Voldemort ("He who must not be named", the evil wizard from Harry Potter books), or because it makes it easier to slide out of the whole thing with a "but who told you I was talking about you?" kind of escape-route when cornered.
Note the following two tweets (I am giving them not as screenshots, but the tweets typed out in full, because the screenshots did not come out properly):
1. By Alok Bhatt @alok_bhatt
"There is one Hindu intellectual (so we took him to be), whose posts and blog many of us used to read and learn from.
His blog used to be very informative but today admin of that blog has reduced himself to the status of a cheap troll. All he does is cheap trolling, completely unbecoming of him.
It actually makes me feel sad about him and many more like him. Arrogance and jealousy consumed whatever they had built over so many years. Sad and unfortunate loss!
Truth be told, the feeling of intellectual supremacy of many RW thinkers is their biggest undoing. This feelings tends to breed arrogance & that makes them see RSS / BJP as inferior to them.
Contrary to what they feel or believe, reality is that RSS / BJP didn’t limit themselves to thought. Sangh parivaar built further on its intellectual core and created an organisation around that to pursue its ideological goals. Countless souls and unknown workers nurtured and nourished the idea of Sangh and worked tirelessly to take it to masses.
Arguments irrespective, RSS is the only Bharateeya organisation, formed during the independence struggle, that not only survived but kept growing, both in numerical terms as well as influence. Other spectrum of the Indian political thought was @INCIndia - formed by Britishers as a pressure cooker to help manage Indians. From its very inception, it was meant to be a tool of British. As one looks back, enough material exists to help conclude that it hasn’t moved much from that goal of serving British (read western interests). So much so that today an Italian and her progeny calls the shots within that party.
Compared to Congress, @RSSorg and its parivar offshoots like @BJP4India, went from strength to strength and succeeded in achieving its objectives.
So irrespective of what that self proclaimed Hindu intellectual opposed to RSS / BJP feels, today it is a successful movement, that is shaping India’s destiny, as per its ideology.
And the so called intellectuals, as I said above, have reduced themselves to - cheap trolling- an unfortunate and sad loss of intellect!"
This tweet, put up on 22 Oct 2023 at 10.30 A.M., had 60,400+ views, when I received it − and apparently countless abusive comments to it, including the following tweet by Kushal Mehra.
2. कुशल मेहरा @kushal_mehra
"I endorse Alok' thoughts here. I am in awe of what the Sangh does. And I have to say one more line to all the haters of the Sangh: "All you can do is hate the Sangh. Because in reality, you're jealous of what they've achieved. You can't fathom how they work. You are an envious atman, which is the only reality. And you couch that with rubbish arguments." Sangh can make mistakes like any group organisation does. But our society is where it is because of the sacrifice of the millions of Sanghis. And for that I'll always be grateful".
Again, on 22 Oct 2023 at 1.09 P,M., and with 15400+ views when I received it.
Apparently, in response to this, one person also tweeted, quoting Veer Savarkar, "RSS workers are born, they attend shakhas and die without accomplishing anything". But on the whole, there was an avalanche of hate speech directed at the unnamed villain, though actually there was no mystery as to the name: one of the persons responded as follows:
Slander and character assassination against an individual, through innuendo! [Of course, most of the remarks in the two tweets could well apply to Sita Ram Goel (although he is no more) or Koenraad Elst, or many more people, but in this case I was obviously the target].
I will deal first with the tweet by Alok Bhatt, and that will of course also apply to Kushal Mehra, who "endorses" everything that Alok Bhatt says:
Alok Bhatt's fulminations:
The most noteworthy point of whatever these people write and say, as in the case of my opponents in the AIT-OIT debate, is that their whole case rests on making insulting personal remarks against me, and they are not able to pick out and dissect or disprove a single fact stated in any of my articles on the BJP.
For example, Bhatt writes: "So irrespective of what that self proclaimed Hindu intellectual opposed to RSS / BJP feels, today it is a successful movement, that is shaping India’s destiny, as per its ideology". But I have never denied that the BJP is "successful" − whether that "success" is in capturing and retaining power, or in following its alleged ideology is the question! He does not explain exactly how all the following activities of the BJP government are "shaping India’s destiny, as per its ideology" (and exactly which ideology is that?):
1. Giving 70000+ crores (already outdated figures) of rupees of taxpayers' money for minorities-only schemes;
2. Giving massive shares in other (i.e. general and not "minorities-only") schemes to Muslims: "So while our Muslim population is 14.2 per cent, in the last eight years, as many as 31.3 per cent of homes under the Awaas Yojna, 33 per cent of funds under the Kisaan Sanmaan Nidhi Yojna and 36 per cent of loans under the Mujra Yojna have gone to the Muslims. The BJP government has a Pradhan Mantri Shadi-Shagun Scheme exclusively for Muslim girls who complete their graduation before marriage, no questions asked" (Hindus in Hindu Rashtra, Anand Ranganathan, p.xvii).
3. All these statistics are not manufactured by "envious atmans" (a new phrase concocted by Kushal Mehra above): the party itself has put out these (whether true or false) figures to woo the Muslims, on the premise that Hindu voters are already in their pockets. The most recent claim is that through 67 years of pre-Modi rule, Muslims constituted just 4.5% of government servants, but Modi's interventions in nine years have now raised the figure to 10.5%.
4. Moreover, remember, all temple funds, but not church or mosque funds, are taken over and utilized by the government (because of Sections 25-30 of the Constitution, which the BJP government refuses to amend), so all the above schemes (and including salaries paid to maulvis, but not to Hindu temple priests), are financed not only from taxpayers' funds but from Hindu temple funds.
Just these few above points, out of countless points: let these two hate tweeters and their armies of trolls explain how all this is "shaping India’s destiny", and as per which "ideology". And when he writes "@RSSorg and its parivar offshoots like @BJP4India, went from strength to strength and succeeded in achieving its objectives", are these the objectives he is referring to? And the duo accuses me of being "jealous"! Jealous of whom, for heaven's sake: the individual Muslims who are benefitting from these schemes, or the BJP riding to "success" by betraying Hindus?
This venom-spouting man thrice refers to me as a "cheap troll" or as indulging in "cheap trolling", but it is his abusive comments, without any basis in facts or data, which really constitute cheap trolling!
And note his patronizing tone:
"There is one Hindu intellectual (so we took him to be), whose posts and blog many of us used to read and learn from.
His blog used to be very informative but today admin of that blog has reduced himself to the status of a cheap troll. All he does is cheap trolling, completely unbecoming of him.
It actually makes me feel sad about him and many more like him. Arrogance and jealousy consumed whatever they had built over so many years. Sad and unfortunate loss!....
And the so called intellectuals, as I said above, have reduced themselves to - cheap trolling- an unfortunate and sad loss of intellect!"
Be "sad", instead, about the extremely dire fate that the BJP and its hate warriors like the two of you are preparing for Hinduism and India!
I always find it funny when trolls like Bhatt play the childish "I thought he was abc, but now I find he is xyz" kind of dialogue. As I have never written for the gallery, what such trolls say has never mattered to me: it is the appreciation of sane, sensible and honest people that I value. It is the same in my youtube uploads of songs as well: I have uploaded countless beautiful classic old songs (which I had to search for and even pay for many times) and the few thousand views I get are more valuable to me than the millions of views I would definitely have got (regardless of how many other people put up the same song) if I had uploaded some new, raunchy "sexy" songs. When someone writes things like "thank you for this wonderful upload. I was searching for this song since thirty years", I get real pleasure; while insulting troll comments disparaging the songs do not affect me at all (except with a faint sense of disgust that such people can exist). So also my articles and blogs. I like appreciation, but if someone claims to be put off by my speaking the truth, it does not in the least bit matter to me, and I cannot distort or ignore the truth just to try to prevent such people from feeling "sad" and from converting from being supporters to becoming opponents.
Kushal Mehra's mercenary politics:
Kushal endorses all that Bhatt has written, and adds his childish and immature two-bit: "All you can do is hate the Sangh. Because in reality, you're jealous of what they've achieved. You can't fathom how they work. You are an envious atman, which is the only reality. And you couch that with rubbish arguments." Sangh can make mistakes like any group organisation does. But our society is where it is because of the sacrifice of the millions of Sanghis. And for that I'll always be grateful".
Actually, most of my criticism has been directly about the political activities of the BJP, and my main lament about the Sangh has been that it is no more the controlling parent of the BJP but has become its cadre-recruiting and groundwork wing.
Let me start out with the "our society is where it is because of the sacrifice of the millions of Sanghis". Really? Where exactly is our society today, and how exactly is it because of the sacrifices (which sacrifices?) of millions of Sanghis? Alok Bhatt also, earlier, tells us: "Sangh parivaar built further on its intellectual core and created an organisation around that to pursue its ideological goals. Countless souls and unknown workers nurtured and nourished the idea of Sangh and worked tirelessly to take it to masses." Which "intellectual core"? The total lack of intellectual activity, as opposed to organizational ability, in the Sangh Parivar, is an open book, and I really will not waste time in discussing something so stupid.
I have never simply condemned for the sake of condemning. The biggest USP of the Sangh Parivar is the total lack of casteist prejudices within the organization as compared to any other organization in India, and I have repeatedly pointed this out even in my articles criticizing the Parivar. And another USP is the fact that most of its workers are more generally decent and orderly individuals as compared to most other organizations.
That "Countless souls and unknown workers nurtured and nourished the idea of Sangh and worked tirelessly to take it to masses" is another point I will accept: yes, Sangh workers are indeed generally tireless workers in the task of trying to take their organization to the masses. Who can forget Indira Gandhi's remarks during the Andhra cyclone of 1977, that wherever she went in the cyclone-devastated areas the only people she found actively helping the victims were RSS workers? But Christian missionaries, ISIS and Taliban activists, and Naxalites are also tireless and dedicated in their work for their organizations. The presence of an abundance of such tireless workers in any organization is certainly an asset to the organization, but their dedication does not whitewash or justify the ideology or activities of the leadership of the organizations. In Orwell's Animal Farm also, we have the tireless horse, Boxer, whose two mottos are "I will work harder" and "Napoleon (i.e. the Leader) is always right" and which make him the most valuable asset for the Farm. But his hard work and dedication cannot be used to glorify the Animal Farm or its leaders who only exploit him and then abandon him when he has lost his utility. This is what is happening in the BJP today, where countless old Boxers are being sidelined and politically powerful and originally hostile outsiders are taking over the reins of power within the BJP. I don't "hate" the Sangh − I have good relations with countless swayamsevaks as human beings, as I also have with countless Muslims and Christians − it is just that I am not a blind supporter.
But now let me come to Kushal Mehra's personal attack: "All you can do is hate the Sangh. Because in reality, you're jealous of what they've achieved. You can't fathom how they work. You are an envious atman, which is the only reality. And you couch that with rubbish arguments". I cannot and will not tolerate a pure mercenary like this Kushal Mehra spouting this kind of stuff at me. So a little plain speaking:.
Apart from the silliness and childishness of saying that an individual could be "jealous" or "envious" of a full-fledged almost-100-year-old organization, a person can be "jealous" of anyone or anything only when he wants something that they have. There is no "intellectual superiority" in the Sangh that I at least have to be jealous of. There is of course, at present, a very great deal of "political and financial clout" with the Sangh, which certainly explains why a mercenary like Kushal is so eager to make clear the very great "awe" in which he holds the Sangh. But I have never had the slightest inclination to enter party politics or electoral politics, or to take any financial advantage of any situation or issue, so my "awe", if any, is tempered by logic and honesty.
I have never wanted more money than would fulfil my simplest requirements, just enough so that I would never ever have to hold a begging bowl before anyone and so that I would be able to devote all my time to studies on Indian cultural topics. In college, I hardly ever touched my Commerce textbooks, hardly ever attended classes, and spent all my time in the Bombay University Fort library taking notes on a very great range of cultural topics (my ambition was to produce an Encyclopaedia of Indian Culture). In the process I just got passing marks in college. Fortunately, I got a job in Central Bank of India on the basis of my SSC marks before completing college, and ever since then the only monetary income I have ever wanted or got has been my salary (and now pension). So right from my college days (1975 on) till the time my first book was published in 1993, and to this very day, my whole concentration was and has been on studying Indian cultural topics at my own expense and trouble. I never took any promotions in the office, my clerical salary was enough for my simple needs.
Remaining satisfied with my salary from my bank job, I have never tried to make money from my activities. I have always paid my full income tax when working, never taking the benefit of tax saving schemes. I did not want royalty on my books either, but Sita Ram Goel insisted on drawing up a basic agreement on this for my first book. Apart from that, and it is just a pittance, I have never taken (or ever wanted to take) money for any of my writings, talks or interviews: when such talks were in Mumbai itself, I have even traveled to the venues at my own expense and trouble. I have given away many copies of my books for free to people, and finally started concentrating on blogs and articles which anyone could read for free on the internet. And I have always announced that my articles are free to be reproduced anywhere by anyone without even my permission (though I would always appreciate being informed about it). When these articles have been reproduced anywhere, and I have been offered emoluments for the same (e.g. the last such incident being an article reproduced on Opindia.com), I have always refused and reiterated my refusal to make money from my writings. Readers of my books or articles who have ever visited me − or indeed anyone who has ever visited me or knows me personally − will vouch for my hospitality (always at my own expense). I have uploaded countless songs on youtube, but have never wanted to "monetize" my channels although I have received many intimations from youtube pointing out the monetary benefits of doing so.
On the other hand, Kushal Mehra has never offered to pay me any money for the interviews he has taken from me (not that I would ever take such money from anyone), but all his own allegedly intellectual or ideologically based activities have been money making activities. He even sells merchandise on his site (t-shirts, etc. branded with the name of his site). In the modern world, it is natural that people should take every opportunity offered by the latest technological developments to earn money for their family and future, and I find that most of the persons who talk or host talks on internet channels like youtube do all this, so that in itself is not really objectionable. But, he held many such "talks" on his sites where he discussed many aspects of my books, where those who wanted to view his "discussions" had to subscribe and pay money. And I myself never got to see these "discussions" of my own books (the results of years of study all done at my own expense and trouble), since I did not subscribe to his site and pay money to see it!!
Whatever I say, write or do is from my heart, and out of my love for Hinduism and Indian culture, and not with one eye on my bank account. So, the least this man could do is to stop spouting righteous indignation and giving homilies about selfless dedication, tireless work and sacrifices. These are alien concepts to him and, in Alok Bhatt's words above, it is "completely unbecoming of him".
SEQUEL:
Many hours later Alok Bhatt has apparently put up the following tweet:
Well this is very strange:
1. On 21 October, I upload my article on Manipur which ends with "It is not the Meiteis or the Kukis or the Nagas or the Christian missionaries or the courts in Manipur who are responsible for what is happening in Manipur. It is the BJP. And my only reason for writing this article is to place this on record. And, when the inevitable happens in Manipur in particular and the northeast in general, let no minority Hindu (as distinct from majority BJPist) ever forget who is responsible, or forgive the traitors", and, as after every blog, put the URL of the article on the only internet discussion group of which I am a member.
2. This is a group where I have frequently had fruitless debates with BJP supporters who have accused me even of being a Congress or AAP agent trying to influence the other members into voting for the Congress or AAP! Alok Bhatt is a member of the group. The very next day, Alok Bhatt puts up this tweet.
3. Someone on the group tried to suggest to me that Bhatt was not referring to me, and I asked why the person putting forward my name on the twitter thread and getting so many views was not corrected if so. Then follows this above tweet!
To go back to the basics:
1. It is an underhand tactic to abuse a person in a public forum, and getting him abused by others, all the while by not directly mentioning his name but allowing others to bring up the name and then maintaining a smug silence.
2. In my above article itself, I pointed out that this was in order to make it "easier to slide out of the whole thing with a "but who told you I was talking about you?" kind of escape-route when cornered". I have been proved right.
3. If I was not the person being referred to, who was it? Who did Kushal Mehra (with whom I am not on good terms at present) think it was when he joined in the calumny and how was he in the know about the identity of this mysterious person who was not being named? And if it was someone else, what was the immediate provocation on 22 October for the tweet about him?
4. Read the two tweets in full: isn't it very clear to anyone who has been reading my recent articles that I am the target of the tweets?
5. Even if it was supposed to be about someone else, does the sentence "him and many more like him" suggest that I, in spite of my many strong articles against the BJP, well known to Alok Bhatt, am not included in the general category of the "many more like him"?
Even if I am supposed to be "cheap" and "jealous" (and an "envious atman"!) I am not a fool.
