Activist says apology is not required

Hyderabad: Twitter apologising doesn’t makes sense in this scenario because we call out oppression be it white supremacy or atrocities on rohingya people, this is not something illegal or anti-national, said Sanghapali Aruna, executive director of Project Mukti who gifted the poster to CEO Jack Dorsey. 

Speaking on Twitter’s apology and disassociating itself, she said, “Everybody is being political and by making the statement they are political. I think there was not much information has been shared around during that one hour meeting, to clarify what exactly the term or hashtag meant. He doesn’t really know and it might be a genuine concern, they didn’t know”.

The poster was given to her by her friend Dalit Diva from the US. “I did gift it because we stand it and with caste apartheid. It is part of project mukti  to addr-ess digital divide and brahmanical patriarchy,” she said. 

She said, “The debate that is happening right now reflects the whole system and how it is working right now. There are oppressive systems and this is how we are generally attacked. Being a platform which has seen hate and misinformation, now the platform knows how the hate speech works and how the misinformation spread out”. 

She pointed that there is so much misinformation about meeting, against the panel members and even the host twitter head and CEO. “I wonder if twitter ever faced so much of outrage from any community as such as they are facing here in India. I think is good example of what we are calling out as brahminical patriarchy because it actually talks about hegemony and power structures in our society and how this oppression affects our vulnerabilities especially women and gender minorities”.

Speaking about the intention behind giving the poster, Ms Aruna said, “it was closed door meeting and gift to CEO because we spoke on many things and what is happening on ground and how the platform can be safer for vulnerable communities that are accessing these platforms. I felt like it would be good to give him the poster”.

Pointing that Brahminical patriarchy is an institution, an oppression they are calling out and not a particular community she said, “I am not sure if they are loudest voices, but it is the loudest right now and this is the hegemony that is there, as you can see Hindutva trolls all across these platforms. You can hardly find dalit or vulnerable communities on that platform Even if our voice comes out, it is not loud. This is the caste divide that we want to talk about  that is there on this platform and make it safer for our communities to use it. I know even women are talking but mostly they are living in the concept of brahminism ”

Twitter apology points out upper caste control: Dalits
While Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's picture with a placard saying 'Smash Brahminical patriarchy' went viral, Dalit activists point out that the discussion continues to be on who is holding the poster, and not on the patriarchal mindset. They find it odd that Twitter apologised for the picture which in fact speaks for millions who do not have access to the platform but are suffering due to precisely this form of patriarchy.  They say if it had been in the United States, would anyone have distanced themselves from a poster against racism or white supremacy? They said the reactions on the platform are evidently dominated by upper caste. Dr Manisha Bangar, socio-political activist, said on Twitter, “There is clear demarcation on the kind of people using social media. The marginalised communities are not aware of Twitter and many other platforms. They are generally in the control of the upper class.  The discourse in India currently is ruled by the upper caste, in universities, judiciary, bureaucracy, babas, reformist, left or right wing organisations.  Talking about women is highly coloured by their perspective and their vision and is essentially Brahminical. Dominant people's discourse is the discourse which runs through the fabric of any society and which becomes the government discourse and that's how people alleviate it. She adds that it is more important to concentrate on the poster itself rather than whether it was right for Mr Dorsey to hold it, or whether it was pushed into his hands. “What’s important is whether the poster is right or wrong,” she said pertinently. Brahminical patriarchy adversely affects not only non-Brahmins but even Brahmins. Jupaka Subhadra, a Dalit activist and poet said, “We welcome the Twitter CEO holding the placard. There are various forms of patriarchy. Upper caste patriarchy has different issues from lower caste patriarchy. Some of the issues like Jogini, child marriages, sati, are still prevalent among Dalits.  Even now, only Brahmin men and women's voices are being heard, but not of marginalised communities. We have to emancipate ourselves from many forms of patriarchy." Dalit Diva, who claims to be a co-creator of the poster tweeted, “As someone who is one of the co-creators of this poster series, it is important to note that when Dalit women raise our voice on twitter.”