The Last Time Maneka Gandhi Launched “I am Trolled”

Regina Mihindukulasuriya Mar 03, 2017

It was in July 2016 that Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister for the Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) tweeted that women being trolled on social media can email her.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">Are you a woman who is trolled or abused? Inform me at gandhim@nic.in.— Maneka Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) <a href="https://twitter.com/Manekagandhibjp/status/750294135576207360">July 5, 2016</a></blockquote>

Now, following the rape threats to Delhi University student, Gurmehar Kaur on social media, the Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has planned to soon launch 'I am trolled' as an app. The app will be for women to alert relevant government agents when they are threatened with physical violence on social media.

Unlike last time, this time around the new avatar of troll monitoring comes in the form of an app and is for reporting physical threats made online; not so much about policing verbal abuse. As the Minister puts it, “We have found that women can be as abusive as men on social media.”

Twitter(ers) haven’t got wind of the Union Minister’s plan as yet. At least not in a big way, so it’s hard to say what kind of reaction a fully-fledged anti trolling app will augur. However the last time Union Minister Gandhi tweeted her counter measures to trolling, what transpired was not too pleasant (recations included a parody account which tweeted, “Boys and men don’t come under my ministry, so I cannot help them.”).

Here’s more:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">India is like an episode of "liberalism gone wild." The ultimate special rights state. <a href="https://t.co/TBAnMR08de">https://t.co/TBAnMR08de</a> Please fire <a href="https://twitter.com/Manekagandhibjp">@Manekagandhibjp</a>.— Sankrant Sanu सानु (@sankrant) <a href="https://twitter.com/sankrant/status/750660545196335109">July 6, 2016</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-cards="hidden" data-lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NoCountryForMen?src=hash">#NoCountryForMen</a> Thankyou <a href="https://twitter.com/Manekagandhibjp">@Manekagandhibjp</a> for making it clear that MEN need to join MRAs or take abuses w/o a word <a href="https://t.co/bSwMliWDdB">pic.twitter.com/bSwMliWDdB</a>— Dhongi Monk™ (@DhongiMonk) <a href="https://twitter.com/DhongiMonk/status/750325960952672256">July 5, 2016</a></blockquote>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/visually_kei">@visually_kei</a> Dont think there is an equivalent ministry for us men folk !— Amit Prabhu K (@amitprabhu) <a href="https://twitter.com/amitprabhu/status/750307333918433280">July 5, 2016</a></blockquote>

Last but not least, this:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/Manekagandhibjp">@Manekagandhibjp</a> ji this is setting in a very dangerous trend.Women will misuse this royally.. will end up harming many lives.Pl scrap this.— Shanta Chari (@newagesong) <a href="https://twitter.com/newagesong/status/750605404028055552">July 6, 2016</a></blockquote>