THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ongoing developments in the country over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) have found their reflections among expatriates in Gulf countries too. Keralites working outside the country have been engaging in a lot of activities over the CAA on social media, which has become more or less a tool for an average Malayali to vent his anger on various subjects. However, recent developments show that Keralites will have to maintain decorum while using social media to avoid landing in a soup.
Also read: Kerala doctor working in Doha forced to step down for pro-CAA Facebook post
Recently, a native of Karunagapilly in Kollam was arrested in Kuwait for posting a comment amounting to blasphemy on Facebook against Islam. According to reports from Kuwait, Aneesh Dharmarajan was arrested by the Fahaheel police. A post supporting the CAA on his Facebook account ‘Aneesh Dharmarajan Yuvamorcha’ has evoked a lot of responses from various quarters. And in response to a comment, he allegedly replied in a derogatory manner demeaning Islam. Later, when a complaint was filed against him, he was removed from the job of supervisor in a restaurant group where he was working for the past two years. In another incident, Dr Ajith Sreedharan, an orthopaedic specialist in Doha, had to resign from his job after a Facebook post supporting CAA.
It was not long ago that another Keralite working in Saudi was fired for posting ‘derogatory comments’ on women during the time of Sabarimala temple entry row. Deepak Pavithram, a Keralite working with Lulu Hypermarket in Riyadh, was reportedly sacked for making misogynistic remarks about women.
Speaking to TNIE, Ajith Sreedharan said that for an average Pravasi, social media is a tool to overcome homesickness. “But of late, posts related to various issues in India have been evoking passionate responses. I had to deactivate my accounts though the posts did not amount to religious hatred,” he said.
It is true that the Keralites’ love for social media has helped the state during the time of flood with the overseas diaspora coming out to help the victims. Expatriates from across the globe joined hands in sending financial and humanitarian aid. When a lot of people came together to use social media for collecting relief items and even transporting them, others shared emergency numbers and coordinated to connect victims with rescue missions.However, the same social media has now assumed the role of villain as well for many owing to the insensitivity and intolerance of users.
DYFI condemns Kummanam’s statement
The DYFI leadership on Tuesday came out with a statement condemning senior BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan’s attack on film artists. “The remarks made by Kummanam Rajasekharan and Sandeep Varier are not suitable for a democratic society. Such remarks will not be accepted in Kerala,” said the DYFI statement. The federation also expressed solidarity with the film activists.