Beef Janata Party to SuSuSwamy: Death Threat Norm for Parody Pages
In exclusive interviews to The Quint, the admins of both pages reveal that they have received death threats as well.
On Thursday evening, the popular parody page Humans of Hindutva went missing from Facebook. Soon enough, a message from the admin revealed that the reason for his exit was threats to his life.
On Friday, we caught up with the admins of two of India’s most popular parody pages - Unofficial Subramanian Swamy and Beef Janata Party. In exclusive interviews to The Quint, the admins of both pages revealed that they had received several death threats as well. Would they consider shutting shop and going quiet too?
‘Who Will Come to Defend Us?’
On 2 March 2015, the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP government in Maharashtra imposed a beef ban in the state. On the same day, a parody page sprung up on Facebook in protest. With a name mocking the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s affinity for banning beef, Beef Janata Party was born.
In the two and a half years since, the page has garnered more than 200,000 followers. The content is strictly and unapologetically political, and mostly anti-establishment, giving it the tag of “anti-BJP” among supporters and opposers alike.
And criticism has not always been friendly.
How do you deal with the threats? Do they get you worked up, or perturbed?
Ya, sometimes it does get to you. When the threats increased, I took precautions on Facebook to ensure that they can’t get to me. But if they want, I’m sure they can.
Anonymity a Necessity
So what do you do when you get a disturbing threat?
Sometimes, we take a screenshot of the threat message and post it on the Beef Janata Party page, with a caption mocking the threat. Often, soon after we do so, the profiles that had sent the threats disappear off Facebook.
How many people know the real identities of the admins of Beef Janata Party?
Only two or three people know that I run the page. Some of my friends figure out from a similar writing style on my profile and the page. That does worry me sometimes.
How did you react when you heard news of the Humans of Hindutva admin fearing for his life and leaving Facebook yesterday?
I kept wondering, “How did they get hold of his phone number?” And now, with the Aadhaar linkage to mobile numbers, can his other details be found through that? It worries me.
Not Funny Anymore
I ask, “If the threats against you increase, will you stop and delete the page?”
The admin of Beef Janata Party replies instantly, “No. No way.” And then pauses for a few seconds and adds, “Maybe.”
I Have a Family Too: @SuSuSwamy
Unofficial: Subramanian Swamy began its journey on Facebook in July 2014. In the three years since, receiving threats has only been the norm.
How does Unofficial: Subramanian Swamy handle threats he receives on the page?
“What I do is take a screenshot and post it on my page. I make fun of the threat and posting a screenshot online generally makes them stop. Also, several politically motivated people keep reporting me on Facebook. As a result, Facebook has removed 10 to 15 of my posts so far.”
Have you ever thought of deleting the page?
It had crossed my mind a year back. I also have a family, so at times I get worried.
Will you stop?
Maybe not.
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