A tweet by an official handle of the defence ministry in J&K about the army hosting an iftar in Doda district was deleted after it came under attack from anti-minority forces and the rabid right-wing lunatic fringe on social media, raising concerns about the abject capitulation of military and veteran circles. The tweet with photos of a dinner with our brethren during the Holy month of Ramzan was an ode to secularism and sent out a strong message that all Indians are equal. These are regular social exercises conducted by the army to win the hearts and minds of the people in areas they operate, but this time around our forces were buried under an avalanche of trolling by the so-called flag-bearers of Hindutva. This raises serious doubts whether our defence establishment is secular or apolitical anymore. Such total surrender to destructive forces online begs the question, “How will an army divided in the mind defend our nation if God forbid there is a war?” Every institution in this country has been undermined by the Machiavellian right-wing in active connivance with the propagators of the saffron ideology within and outside the government. The last bastion of interfaith harmony in the country, our armed forces, has also now been subsumed by these toxic malcontents. Going forward I see very little hope for our country, maybe it is time to seek distant shores.
