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The Tolerance Battle, Aamir Khan & Social Media

Mala Bhargava Nov 25, 2015

Intolerance is the new beef. In India it has become typical for one issue or the other to become a reason for intense bickering, for one cannot call what takes place debate, to the point of absurdity.

Lately, the issue has been one of whether India is a tolerant country or not, the supporters of the present government ferociously rapping anyone on the knuckles for saying it isn’t.

Ironically, that very action supports the argument that it is not tolerant at all, but right wingers have perfected ways of hijacking the dialogue with warped and circular logic saying that if India were intolerant, you wouldn’t be in a position to express the idea that it is intolerant in the first place. This will probably only make sense to Indians and baffle the world outside. It would be humorous if it weren’t for the fact that the debate turns into all-out war, particularly on social media. In fact, one might say we have a new form of war o our hands – a social media war.

Two hapless victims of the tolerance-intolerance war will still be reeling at what just happened. Actor Aamir Khan, speaking at the function for the Ramnath Goenka Awards for Journalism, televised for good measure, said that there was an atmosphere of gloom in the country. Even of alarm at the fact that it was not easy to express what you felt. He said his wife, Kiran, actually spoke of whether it would be wiser to leave the country and of what kind of environment she would be bringing up in. That match lit up the ever-present pool of petrol surrounding most debates and discussions today. The supporters of the Modi government were inflamed. Fellow actors Anupam Kher and Ravina Tandon who absolutely could not and would not tolerate this talk of intolerance led the charge on social media.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Dear <a href="https://twitter.com/aamir_khan">@aamir_khan</a>. Did you ask Kiran which country would she like to move out to? Did you tell her that this country has made you AAMIR KHAN.</p>— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnupamPkher/status/668853344342024192">November 23, 2015</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wonder why they didn't feel fear when bombs ripped the heart of mumbai.. Or our security was breached #26/11-gosh!no point same argument</p>— Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) <a href="https://twitter.com/TandonRaveena/status/669052195703132160">November 24, 2015</a></blockquote>

Supporters readily took up the baton and anyone who as much as dared look as if he or she were agreeing with Aamir Khan would get a barrel of abuse, ironically proving his point. The fact that there is a sense of intimidation in the air is quite clear by Godrej having quickly distanced itself from Aamir Khan with a tweet pointing out that their contract with him ended in March.

In the past 24 hours there have been calls on social media to boycott Khan’s latest movie. But it was perhaps the other hapless victim, SnapDeal, that will not have seen this coming. The hashtag “BootOutSnapdeal” began to trend on the network, calling for users to uninstall the shopping deals app and give it a lowered rating on the Play Store. Aamir Khan is the brand ambassador for Snapdeal.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BootOutSnapdeal?src=hash">#BootOutSnapdeal</a> suspends COD option

Friends our campaign is working

Hit them hard <a href="https://t.co/ipsyLb7NRM">pic.twitter.com/ipsyLb7NRM</a></p>— Suresh Nakhua (@sureshnakhua) <a href="https://twitter.com/sureshnakhua/status/669456444329172994">November 25, 2015</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Wannbe endorsers must know there will consequences of their anti-India stance. Companies will think twice in hiring them. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BootOutSnapdeal?src=hash">#BootOutSnapdeal</a></p>— हम भारत के लोग (@India_Policy) <a href="https://twitter.com/India_Policy/status/669426974503387136">November 25, 2015</a></blockquote>

Snapdeal distanced itself saying it is neither connected nor plays a role in comments made by Aamir Khan in his personal capacity.

Proud To Be Indian
Aamir Khan on Wednesday came out saying neither he nor his wife has any intention of leaving the country. The superstar said he is “proud to be an Indian”.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Aamir said “First let me state categorically that neither I, nor my wife Kiran, have any intention of leaving the country. We never did, and nor would we like to in the future. Anyone implying the opposite has either not seen my interview or is deliberately trying to distort what I have said. India is my country, I love it, I feel fortunate for being born here, and this is where I am staying.”

“Secondly, I stand by everything that I have said in my interview. To all those people who are calling me anti-national, I would like to say that I am proud to be Indian, and I do not need anyone’s permission nor endorsement for that,” said Aamir.

He also put up his statement on his twitter page.

Snapdeal Distances Itself From Aamir
Snapdeal, which had become the scapegoat in what has been a particularly virulent war of words, amplified ably on television channels, had earlier in the day distanced itself from Aamir Khan the man as opposed to Aamir Khan the model.

Snapdeal went to plug itself saying "Snapdeal is a proud Indian company built by passionate young Indians focused on building an inclusive digital India. Everyday we are positively impacting thousands of small businesses and millions of consumers in India. We will continue towards our mission of creating one million successful online entrepreneurs in India.”

Despite calls to punish Snapdeal, the app retains a healthy 4.1 rating and is still installed on enough mobile devices. It is unlikely that the backlash on its brand ambassador’s remarks will harm the company in the long run as issues such as these tend to die out and are replaced with fresh fodder to fight over. The beef issue was replaced by the intolerance issue and in the next few weeks the intolerance issue will be replaced by something new. But it is certainly an ugly side of social media in which mere opinion is enough cause for attack – at times even death threats and suggestions that the opinion holder be raped.

In the boiling cauldron of belligerence, the government maintains an above-it-all silence. But perhaps they should worry over whether it is just possible that its own supporters will one day spin out of its own control.

Mala Bhargava

BW Reporters Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.