TWITTER IS SHOCKED THAT THE HINDUS IN INDIA RAMPANTLY DISCRIMINATE AGAINST LOWER CLASSES ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND TWITTER'S 'UPPER CLASS" INDIAN EXECUTIVES HAVE NOT STOPPED IT.
In India's Hindu society, a discriminatory caste system has been deeply entrenched in the country for centuries, with Brahmins at the top of the social hierarchy and Dalits at the bottom. This is one reason why India is called the most racist country in the world by the Washington Post.
People in the Dalit caste are referred to as the "untouchables," and face rampant poverty, abuse and violence from those considered above them. In the Hindu religion, these people have no 'hope' of ever improving their position in society. They are the irredeemables in Hindu society. They are told that God has forsaken them. I kid you not.
The Dalit community has been subjected to rising levels of discriminatory violence over the past several years. In October, in the state of Tamil Nadu, an upper-caste man beheaded a 14-year-old Dalit girl in front of her mother and was jailed for a caste-based hate crime.
That Hindu caste-based discrimination and harassment also plays out online, frequently on Twitter. After activists had a meeting with Twitter executives to show the abuse, here's their statement:
“Recently Twitter hosted a closed door discussion with a group of women journalists and change makers from India who have actively used Twitter to better understand their experience on the platform. The purpose of the discussion was to get feedback on how our recent policy and product changes in the areas of safety were impacting users in India. It was not in support of any specific external campaigns or causes.
After the meeting, some of the participants shared gifts with Jack and Vijaya and photos were taken. The picture was taken at this moment in time, with Jack holding a gift he had just received (the poster).
The sentiments expressed on the poster do not reflect the views of Twitter as a company or Jack as the CEO, and we regret that this picture has detracted from an otherwise insightful trip to India.
We are proud of the fact that Twitter is a platform where marginalized voices can be seen and heard, but we also have a public commitment to being apolitical. We realize that this photo may not accurately represent that commitment and we apologize for any offense caused.”
Less than 24 hours after the meeting, Twitter sent an email to all seven attendees that said that the company does, currently, prohibit abuse based on caste, even though it’s not specifically called out in the company’s hateful conduct policy.
A Twitter spokesperson confirmed that the company had sent out the email, and clarified that abusing people on the basis of caste would be a type of intra-religious distinction and would fall under the company’s hateful conduct policies that prohibit the targeting of people based on their membership of a religious group. “However, based on the useful feedback Vijaya received on this trip, she is going to discuss with the team whether this should be called out more explicitly,” said the spokesperson.
