I outrage, I'm tired of being told to shut up on the internet

Of late, on every WhatsApp group, get-togethers, family functions, I come across a bunch of well-wishers who tell me I am “creating unnecessary problems” with my political posts on social media. They tell me I should be silent as creating a noise won’t solve any problems. And I respectfully disagree.

Recently, I had shared a post by a friend on how Muslims in India face a bigger trouble for not standing up during the national anthem as they are convenient and easy to label. My close friend told me nothing of that sort happens and that I am exaggerating the situation and he hadn’t seen or experienced anything of that sort.

Maybe he forgot Salman Zalman, a philosophy student from Trivandrum who was arrested as early as 2014, and labelled a terrorist for not standing up as the national anthem was played. This was much before the Supreme Court passed it as a law.

First of all, if you haven’t gone through something, it doesn’t make it untrue or unreal. Then there are arguments like these incidents are "few" and "rare". Well, two or a million, a condemnable incident has to be condemned always. And that noise is much needed in a democracy.

Sometimes, the discussion moves on to statements like "democracy is a farce" and "no amount of debating and posts will change the outlook of people". The intention is not to create a revolution through social media posts or writing (though in many cases that has happened), get that clear.

My intention and, ideally, yours should be to get the message across, show your protest and educate others who are not aware of such happenings. Creating a discourse is always the first step towards change of any sort.

Recently, there was a widely shared post by a girl in Kerala who broke stereotypes of arranged marriage and set an example to many in her community. She spoke of the obstacles she had to face and even had a few tips for parents. I saw even the most conservative people applaud and share her experience on Facebook. Every candlelight march, every Change.org petition and every passionate tweet and post can affect change, big or small.

The last argument is "such posts create unnecessary attention and the wrongdoers, including the government feed off it". In short, demonetisation, beef ban or even the national anthem debacle need not be talked about because we are providing unnecessary attention to the Modi government. And as an unresponsive, passive and pushover citizen, how are we making things any better?

At times, when every political party does social media campaigns, do you really think mass opinion on Facebook and retweets go unnoticed?

Finally, my apolitical friends, I do not have problem with your silence or ignorance. But do not wear it like a badge, sit in the fake ideal world you have created and judge those who have strong opinions and are trying to create conversations that the system is trying so hard to quell.

Without outbursts and protests — verbal or otherwise, we will be reduced to nothing but an ancient dictatorial civilisation. That is the ultimate danger of being silent and unresponsive.

Also read: Slow clap, Centre to issue guidelines on how differently abled should respect the national anthem