Rajnath Singh's response to the F-word will make your day

After the attack on Amarnath pilgrims, Rajnath Singh's statement on 'Kashmiriyat' did not go down well  One of the tweets crossed the line, and demanded to know "who gives a f*** about Kashmiriyat? Time to cull them"  Rajnath posted a powerful comeback through his reply - "I do. Not all Kashmiris are terrorists" 

If you are anyone even marginally popular online, then it is inevitable that you are subject to an endless bombardment of abuses, sometimes in the filthiest language. How you respond or even ignore such messages often defines your online interaction for the day. 

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's Twitter account had such a day and emerged a winner thanks to a thoughtful reply to an over-the-top tweet. 

It all began after the horrific attack on Amarnath pilgrims on Tuesday, 11 July. Reacting to the attack, the Home Minister's Twitter account posted a statement from him, which said -  "The people of Kashmir have strongly condemned the terror attack on Amarnath yatris. It shows the spirit of Kashmiriyat is very much alive."

This statement about unity did not go down very well with a certain section of Twitter, who took outrage at the Minister's statement that not every Kashmiri was a terrorist. Responses to the Tweet ranged from "Sir this is ur illusion..terrorists are helped by local Kashmiris bcoz they hate hindus..wake up sir wake up" to "This condemnation is meaningless. They are responsible for creating an atmosphere resulting in this cowardly attack."

But one of the more unmentionable ones was by Shuchi Singh Kalra, who has a Twitter verified account where her bio stated she was the editor for a major travel and hotel booking portal. Her tweet said - 

"Who gives a f*** about the spirit of Kashmiriyat at this moment? It's not your job to placate. Just drag those cowards out and cull them." 

Harsh words, which perhaps would have been ignored usually, but Rajnath Singh's Twitter account had a reply, and it won hearts and minds. The reply from the account said - 

"Ms Kalra I certainly do. It is absolutely my job to ensure peace & tranquility in all parts of the country. All Kashmiris are not terrorists https://twitter.com/shuchikalra/status/884705667897901056 …"

The reply was naturally an immediate success, getting some 2000 retweets and close to 4000 likes. Ms Kalra initially deleted the tweet, and then perhaps under the barrage of tweets to her account, deleted her Twitter account entirely. A pity perhaps, since it had some 15,000 followers. 

Not that Rajnath's tweet received universal acclaim either. There were many disappointed voices, with reactions like "Sir: I am a hardcore BJP supporter but am deeply disappointed with 'Kadi Ninda' statement of yours. 99% of Kashmiris support terrorists." said Suresh Kochattil‏ a.k.a @kochattil. 

Somethings, it seems, will never change. However, Rajnath's tweet is a powerful reminder that trolls and abusers can be stopped in their tracks if we call them out and bring their actions and words into the light.