Speaking of democracy

Making sense of the good, bad and often strange trending topics online

Speaking of democracy

Making sense of the good, bad and often strange trending topics online

Supporters of Anna Hazare blocked more than just streets across the country in support of the crusader.
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Twitter timeliness went berserk in the wake of the Gandhian's detention.
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For filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, the move reminded him of the days of the Raj: 'Indian Sarkar turns its back on democracy.'

Actress Minissha Lamba tweeted: 'Happy Independence Day! Great going arresting Hazare. Show the world how ready we are to be a superpower!

India NOT shining.' Piyush Zarkar asked: 'We got independence 300 years after fighting the English; can we expect a Jan Lokpal Bill in one year?'

And, in the midst of all the invective, this sane tweet from Andrew Buncombe: 'Amid the Anna Hazare drama, a reminder that Irom Sharmila has been fasting for more than a decade.'

Sticks and stones
One group of khaki-clad men that came in for more criticism than most others was the police. In the words of Ramesh Srivats: 'Delhi Police officially ended Independence Day a few hours ago.' Arpit Loya added: 'Police do not give permission for peaceful protests. Did Gandhiji ever take permission for any of his protests?' And, as Saurabh Joshi pointed out, 'It is noteworthy that the executive is designating Delhi Police as the sole authority for dealing with the Hazare-led protests.'

Your own little slogan
After Tweeple were exhorted to share three words they found particularly inspiring or interesting, some of the examples that cropped up included 'Believe in Yourself', 'God is Good', 'Treat Women Right', 'I'm With You', 'Live Love Laugh' and, inexplicably, 'No Hands Please.'

The last word
When he isn't working on the soundtrack to yet another Bollywood blockbuster, singer-composer Vishal Dadlani takes time out to draft interesting tweets like this one: 'Whoever wins this battle, we get an imperfect law - either a draconian law prone to misuse (Anna's draft), or a toothless one (Government's draft). Quite right.

Lindsay Pereira is Editor, MiD DAY Online