Silence may not always equate with consent, but a non-reaction from the government to a pregnant observation of the Supreme Court does suggest that something sinister could be in the making. When issuing a notice to the government on a plea questioning the move to set up a mechanism to monitor social media, Mr Justice DY Chandrachud observed that “we will be moving to a surveillance state if every tweet and WhatsApp message is monitored.” True that the comment was not openly endorsed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra or Justice AM Khanwilkar, his partners on the Bench, but neither did they distance themselves from it ~ again, a silence that could mean a lot. For with increasing intolerance, authoritarianism, and governmental inability to take dissent or criticism in its stride, there are reasons to apprehend Raisina Hill is moving towards mono-culturalism, if not totalitarianism. There would be many who shared the concerns articulated by Justice Chandrachud.

It would, at this stage be improper and premature to comment on the petition from a Trinamul legislator that the attempt to set up a social media hub was “intrusive” and a violation of a citizen’s fundamental rights, yet the court’s listing the petition before the opening of tenders for the technical mechanisms envisaged does add to the urgency of the situation. Suspicions abound that in the guise of containing “fake news” and preventing the spread of provocative misinformation, the authorities were nursing “Orwellian” ambitions. And with Parliament having ceased to serve as an effective forum, there was little alternative to seeking judicial safeguards. Any faint recall of MISA or TADA provides grim reminders of how power can be misused ~ by any (or all) government(s).

No doubt there will be robust rejection in court when Mohua Mitra’s petition is taken up on August 3; particular attention will focus on how the Attorney General assists the court, and ~ alas ~ politically-infuenced arguments will dominate the arguments. Yet the common folk will hope that their Lordships elevate the debate and put it in perspective. There can be no easy dispelling of apprehensions given the ease with which sedition charges are being pressed, Muslims frequently told to go to Pakistan, Christians accused of following the Vatican’s diktat (most activists are unable to distinguish between Rome and the Vatican, and are unaware that all Christians are not Catholics). That poison is further spread by the most recent fillip to the allegation of “minority appeasement” against some Opposition parties. Less than lip-service is paid to secularism, and top leaders of the government do nothing to rein in the fringe elements increasingly moving towards centre-stage as 2019 nears. Alas, the Opposition has allowed itself to be lured into the trap with rash comments like “Hindu-Pakistan” etc. It is against that backdrop that a seemingly-necessary move to curb the abuse of social media raises the spectre of “Big Brother is watching you…”