India’s trolls are hitting new lows every hour. One was shocked to read the shameful manner in which Mr. Vikram Misri, India’s Foreign Secretary, was badly trolled. What was his sin? On May 10, he conveyed to the nation the government’s decision to accept a ceasefire with Pakistan. The right-wing social media trolls resorted to personal attacks, doxxing, and abuse targeting Misri and his family, particularly his daughter.
India’s online trolling has become a destructive element. It is corrupting social and political dialogue. It has become a weapon of harassment, hate speech, and misinformation for political gain. But this is nothing new. They had already achieved an unbelievably disgusting low in the case of Himanshi Narwal.
Is Trolling BJP’s Gift to India’s Political Discourse?
The rise of online trolling in India’s politics coincides with the 2014 general elections. BJP is a pioneer in using social media platforms to establish a strong digital presence. Hindutva, and attacks on opponents are amplified by the BJP’s IT cell. Swati Chaturvedi’s book, “I Am a Troll”, details how an IT cell allegedly orchestrated campaigns of online abuse against journalists, celebrities, and politicians, employing communal and hyper-nationalistic rhetoric.
However, trolling predates the BJP. The rise of the Aam Aadmi Party and the 2011 Anna Hazare movement highlighted social media’s ability to mobilise people with aggressive rhetoric. The Bharatiya Janata Party turned trolling into a massive, coordinated, and intensely ideological propaganda machine. The BJP’s promotion of Hindutva has created an online environment where “bhakts,” or religious hyper-nationalists, use digital platforms to suppress opposing views. Its efforts are immensely boosted by the social media algorithms, which promote divisive content. Although India’s political climate, marked by historical communal and caste tensions, existed before too, the BJP has skilfully manipulated its polarisation.
Impact on Social and Political Interactions
Online trolling has changed the digital spaces for discussion into spaces of hatred and fear. Once a great equaliser, social media now fosters division, self-censorship, and hostility.
Social Interactions
Thanks to trolling, cruelty is the new normal online. Relentless abuse, such as rape and death threats and hate speech, target public figures and ordinary citizens alike. Women, minorities, and government critics are most vulnerable. Now, even government servants like Vikram Misri have become targets for doing their duty. This moral decay is further exemplified by the online trolling of Himanshi Narwal, who lost her husband, Lt. Anuj Narwal, in the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. Instead of empathy, her grief was met with cruel online attacks, where trolls accused her of exploiting her husband’s death for political gain. This incident shows trolling’s fall to gutter-levels, where personal tragedies are exploited for ideological gain.
The effects of this online toxicity extend to real life, weakening community bonds. Real-world violence, such as the 2013 Muzaffarnagar and 2017 Basirhat unrest, has been incited by troll-driven fake news and altered videos. Mainstream language now uses offensive terms like “presstitute” and “sickular”. This has fuelled hatred and debased public discourse. Existing communal and caste tensions have deepened.
Political Interactions
The effects of political trolling include suppressed dissent and poisoned democratic discourse. Journalists such as Rana Ayyub have been targeted by organised attacks. The government’s labelling of its critics, including politicians, activists, and celebrities, as “anti-national” has had a chilling effect.
Reasoned debates on policies on complex issues like farm laws and economic reforms, etc. are absent. In fact, these issues are trivialised through online hashtag battles filled with abuse and propaganda. The Congress has termed it the “theatre of fear” because belligerent voices have silenced the moderate majority. These developments have deepened polarisation. The entrenched ideological camps avoid sensible dialogue. Our democracy has become the battleground where intimidation overshadows debate.
The Trolling of Himanshi Narwal: A Moral Nadir
India’s trolling culture has plunged to Stygian depths. This became clear with the vile abuse hurled at Himanshi Narwal following the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, including her husband, Lt. Anuj Narwal. Even while grieving, she refused to spew communal hatred. The trolls promptly turned their venom on a grieving widow. More than trolling, it was gendered cruelty in its rawest form.
For these digital vultures, human pain is nothing more than content for ideological warfare. Women, especially in moments of deep vulnerability, are routinely met with sexualised threats and misogynistic abuse. Himanshi’s status as a widow didn’t protect her; it made her a target. Her strength and dignity were twisted into fodder for cowardly online mobs. Worse still, silence from political leaders and inaction from social media platforms legitimised the attack. So grief is off-limits, no one is safe.
This isn’t an isolated incident. The nation is growing numb to cruelty. Trolls now use fake profiles to hijack tragedy, not to mourn, but to score ideological points. Their impunity is guaranteed by apathy. And in that silence, trolling isn’t just tolerated, it becomes a defining feature of India's digital landscape.
Political Establishment Supports Trolling via BJP’s IT Cell?
Swati Chaturvedi’s book, “I Am a Troll,” claims the IT cell uses WhatsApp to direct volunteer abuse campaigns against critics. Sadhvi Khosla, a former volunteer, detailed a calculated campaign of hate speech targeting minorities, journalists, and opposition figures to incite fear and control the message. A study by Baptiste Robert revealed that BJP-linked Twitter accounts, comprising just 5% of the total, produced over 10% of the platform’s activity on major topics. The BJP enjoys unparalleled online narrative control, thanks to its IT cell and extensive digital “shakha” network. The government’s uneven enforcement, targeting dissent harshly but ignoring pro-BJP trolls, points to complicity. Although not all trolls work for the BJP, the party’s system has made this harmful behaviour common and acceptable.
How to Combat Trolling
Combating trolling requires a multi-pronged strategy that addresses not just the perpetrators but also the systems and culture that enable them. Social media platforms must be held accountable for the content they host. They should reform algorithms that reward outrage and improve moderation in regional languages. If hate speech cannot be blocked, it should be removed swiftly. Toxic content should be counteracted swiftly and diligently. Political parties should unfollow toxic accounts. Authorities ought to impose fines on platforms for failing to act on illegal content. Existing cybercrime laws need clearer application while protecting freedom of expression. The fact-checking platforms should get full legal and social protection. This will help challenge misinformation without fear or favour.
Education also plays a vital role. Nationwide digital literacy programs can teach young people critical thinking and online ethics. Initiatives like the Teen Fact-Checking Network offer
a model in this regard. A cultural shift is needed, where citizens, influencers, and celebrities lead by example in promoting respectful dialogue and refusing to engage with trolls. While short-term actions like banning abusive accounts can provide momentum, only sustained institutional reform and cultural change can dismantle the deeper roots of trolling.
Let us keep in mind that trolls are not patriots but vandals. Their anonymous hate does not serve the nation but fractures its fabric. The ideologies they claim to defend are undermined by their cruelty. Trolling is not strength but cowardice disguised as aggression. Hiding behind fake profiles, they erode public discourse instead of building a nation worthy of pride. History will not remember them as heroes but as bullies who sacrificed dignity for fleeting online applause.
Finally, people possess the power to reject this toxic culture, to choose empathy over outrage and dialogue over division. India’s democratic spirit depends on citizens who uplift, not those who enable hate. It is time for people to speak out, demand better from leaders and platforms, and deny trolls the attention they crave. Change begins with us.
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