Public relations over people

If there is one thing I can say about the Uttar Pradesh Cabinetmdashand there usually isnrsquot much to be honestmdashit is that I can never fault that honourable and erudite group of people for not possessing the right priorities They are the ones we should all turn to time and again for consistent signs of intelligence morality and integrity Itrsquos too bad they donrsquot advertise these qualities as vigorously as they ought to The reason I mention them this week is a new policy that proved their understanding of what genuinely matters in this countrySomeone naiumlve like myself would imagine more attention being paid to issues like child mortality health infrastructure or poor nutrition in the state Itrsquos probably why I will never be Chief Minister of anything What they spent a lot of time talking about instead was a new social media policyLet me get straight to the point and declare that there is nothing ordinary about this policy It is bold in the way that tearing down Rajpath and replacing it with something that looks like a mall can be called bold It is pathbreaking the way demonetisation was supposed to be at least for an hour or so The word lsquodraconianrsquo has also cropped up a few times during discussions about the policy but I believe the whole point of the policy is to prevent anything related to the government from being associated with the word lsquodraconianrsquo so I must leave it at thatFor those of us in Bombay who havenrsquot been paying attention to Uttar Pradesh because we have never had reason to its Digital Media Policy 2024 has been designed to regulate content on platforms that are still allowed to operate within Indiarsquos borders That list may shrink by the weekend but itrsquos what the focus is on for now The big announcement has to do with lsquoantinational materialrsquo which now empowers the government to put an offender away for life To break this down into simpler terms saying something that the government doesnrsquot like now allows the government to lock you away One can only hope this seriousness trickles down to other criminal activities even milder ones like murder or rape After all if godmen can get parole after being caught assaulting women people posting on Facebook ought to be given some leniency as wellWhile I applaud this policy I admit to struggling with specifics For a start I am still in the dark about what lsquoantinationalrsquo means especially given how the term has been trotted out more over the past decade than at any other time since we won independence from the British I imagine the implication is that for the first time in our history as a country we have a government that is concerned with the delicate fabric of society and how nothing can be allowed to damage it It feels like the kind of government that would never do or say anything to pit one group of Indians against another by virtue of what they eat or whom they pray to To do that sort of thing would be decidedly antinational after allThe policy doesnrsquot provide examples of what is or isnrsquot antinational content which leaves room for misinterpretation For example I wonder if we are allowed to criticise a minister for holding a fake degree in Entire Political Science Are we allowed to wonder why a ministerrsquos son is in charge of a national sporting body despite never having been photographed near a bat or ball Will it be an issue if we ask why bridges built in some parts of India fall faster than anything else built elsewhere in the country What about criminal cases against elected representatives or questions about whether these men should be allowed to enter Parliament Are these antinational questionsI expect clarifications over the coming weeks because itrsquos not as if our governments announce policies and make them up as they go along Herersquos the best part payments for influencers account holders and operators who say the right thing and are complimentary of the government Apparently these lucky individuals can earn as much as R4 lakh per lakh on Facebook and double that amount on YouTubeThis may be naiumlve of me but once upon a time that sort of quid pro quo arrangement would have been referred to as a bribe This is a new and improved India though where corruption no longer existsWhen he isnrsquot ranting about all things Mumbai Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet He tweets lindsaypereiraSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper