Twitter fumes as 'Hima Das caste' overshadows gold heroics on Google search
Tampere: Hima Das on Thursday scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to win gold at the IAAF World Under-20 Athletics Championships as she clinched the top spot in the women's 400m final race on the third day of competitions. The 18-year-old Das, a pre-tournament favourite, clocked 51.46s to win the gold.
Her remarkable feat garnered appreciation from all over the country as many renowned personalities lauded the Assam sprinter on social media. But soon after, there was an alarming rise on Google regarding details of her caste.
(Photo: Screengrab)
Google trends showed how caste was the most suggested search topic relating to Das. States such as Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala and few others had the highest search results.
(Photo: Screengrab)
Twitterati took a shot at those who were more interested in her caste rather than celebrating her success.
If you type 'hima das' on Google, the next suggested word you get is 'caste'.
— Makepeace Sitlhou (@makesyoucakes) July 14, 2018
#HimaDas’s journey from rice fields of Assam to becoming a world champion fighting all adversities, Patriarchy, Poverty with determination serves as an inspiration. Yet, we never forget ‘CASTE’. #HimaDas’s caste is the most frequently searched thing about her on google. Shame. pic.twitter.com/dHH0pcnOAt
— Swati Singh (@swatisingh1995) July 14, 2018
Population of Croatia is 41.7 Lacs. They were bombed out in the Balkans war, but they still managed to reach World Cup final. In India, 'Hima Das caste' is the most searched topic about her on Google. ðŸ‘ðŸ‘ðŸ‘
— Er. Ashwin Shetty (@ashwinlshetty) July 16, 2018
How people searching for 'Hima Das Caste' on Google is everything that's wrong with our society. Fans were rejoicing and internet was going crazy with everybody showering praises. But guess what many people were searching for the most? Her life story? No! sadly It was her caste! pic.twitter.com/quXeCUF6RY
— Nandan Pratim Sharma Bordoloi 🇮🇳 (@NANDANPRATIM) July 15, 2018
today feels like I'm in a time-machine and sent to the future. The google search for Hima Das is a lot LESS surprising than people expressing surprise/ shock for that act. .we still live in India, 2018 no? or is it post-caste already?
— Gaurav Somwanshi (@Gauravsomwanshi) July 15, 2018
The caste system is dead, right folks? #HimaDas #RedditIndiaDiscussion: https://t.co/KdODuUwXyt pic.twitter.com/HCmGgnjzBR
— Reddit India (@redditindia) July 15, 2018
Das was a favourite to win gold as she is the U-20 season leader in this quarter-mile event. Das clocked an Indian U-20 record of 51.32 seconds to finish sixth in the Commonwealth Games 400m final in Gold Coast in April.
Since then, she has gone onto improving her timings. She lowered the Indian U-20 record in 400m to 51.13 seconds while winning gold in the recent National Inter-State Championships in Guwahati.
