Veteran journalist Ravish Kumar is upset and very angry. He is agitated not only at the rising intolerance in India and the systematic targeting of journalists, but also at society in general and “lazy liberals” for failing to demand freedom of speech and a questioning media. In this in-depth interview, Ravish Kumar talks about how the lynching of a Muslim man at Dadri impacted him, why he went off Facebook and Twitter, and how he’s dealing with the pressures building on him.

So the failure is as much of the liberal/secular parties who didn’t encourage and build on the moderate voices?
Our lazy liberal class was always opportunistic. They never really did any legwork, even today they are not willing to work. Their protest is limited to finger-pointing against the government, but they are never seen amongst the people.

When the Congress will be in power, these liberals will become directors of institutions like the NCERT [National Council of Educational Research and Training], and even after retiring they will remain in director mode. Contrast this with an RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] functionary who will become director when BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] is in power and post that return to RSS work. This is a huge difference in attitude and work culture.

Even after the prime minister said that communalism was poisonous and that we should focus on development first, the liberals have refused to take this message out and corner those who are trying to divide India. Of course, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also largely remained silent on such issues. On one hand he tweets his condolence to Asha Bhosle over her son’s death – it shows that the PM is capable of great sensitivity – but he remains silent after repeated cases of communal violence and deaths. While he did finally criticise the Dadri killing, he could have done it earlier to send out a clear message.

But why have you stopped tweeting since the last two months? You have lakhs of followers, you have a voice on social media.
I have stopped tweeting because social media space is no longer a citizen’s space. It has been usurped by political parties to peddle their ideology and propaganda.

It’s an online lynch mob where anyone with organisational support of 500 can send out 10 lakh tweets and declare me a thief. But this sort of opposition hasn’t ever bothered me. My silence on social media is directed at the coward liberals who are silently watching from the sidelines and are not willing to speak out against this online mob.

Liberals have this amazing quality of being able to go abroad and settle there or find comfort in institutions – but they will never step up and speak. Same is the case with liberal political parties. They never spoke when needed and today have been rendered defunct. Just look at the CPI(M), CPI or the Congress. They are limited to doing press conferences. They are not in a position to go out and tell people what is happening is wrong – because in the past these parties, too, have compromised their principles and that haunts them now.

Not only are the moderates/liberals silent on social media – they haven’t done anything to prevent these lynch mobs from spreading lies about anyone and slander them on platforms like Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp.

This lynch mob didn’t emerge in one day. Is there a method to the mob?
Why is it that all online abusers on Twitter have the same profile? Whenever I have bothered to check, the abuser has a profile proudly claiming that he’s a Sanghi, there is either a photo of Narendra Modi or that of Lord Rama with a bow, there is talk of “Hindu Gaurav”. Now taking pride in your religion is great – but is abusing, spreading rumours, heaping baseless allegations “gaurav”? That too when you have the prime minister of India as your DP? No one has researched this aspect. Who are these people? What is their motivation, who finances them?

Whatever their identity and motive, aren’t they small in number? Why would journalists and organisations be threatened by them?
I disagree. This is not limited to just a Twitter army. There are a large number of people in India today who actually believe in this ideology. You cannot ignore this trend. How is it that you have 300 people abusing you and maybe a dozen actually discussing or debating a topic? This can’t be all manufactured.

What is the most stinging comment/allegation made against you on Twitter?
I guess after a lifetime of hard work and remaining uninfluenced, the one thing I am not ready to hear is that I am a dalal [tout]. Especially from a public that otherwise seeks favours from dalals and come elections lines up and votes for political strongmen without any other consideration for the candidate’s performance or police record.
 

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