There are more than 532 million WhatsApp users in India (July 2022 figures), which is 40 per cent of the population. Most of them belong to some WhatsApp group or the other, usually to multiple ones. It would not be incorrect to state that the country, socially and politically, is divided into innumerable WhatsApp groups, which now provide the bricks and mortar for our society and polity.

The sheer diversity of these groups is mind boggling, encompassing various categories of citizens, all dedicated to their particular niche — RWAs (resident welfare associations), bloggers, business entities, political parties, vloggers, civil services (both serving and retired), yoga, trekkers, civil society, family groups and many others.

These WA groups are an unparalleled medium for exchanging news and views — and therein lies the problem. Ever since the right wing juggernaut started rolling in 2014, we have been divided as a nation as never before, in our ideologies, political loyalties, religious proclivities, levels of inclusivity and tolerance. It was inevitable that these divisions would spill over into the WA groups too, but the level of toxicity and venom that has accompanied this process was perhaps not anticipated, and presents some of us with a moral hazard.

The right-wing elements, bound by a common Hindutva thread and an unquestioning adoration for the Supreme Leader, are by far the more aggressive components of these groups, supported and egged on by the BJP's IT cell, a fawning media, fake news, an omnipotent and over-arching government whose spokespersons provide fresh ammunition to these 'bhakts' on a daily........

© National Herald