When justice is abandoned, who will speak for the forsaken? Amidst the bloodshed and grief of Manipur, trolls waste no time in launching vicious assaults—not on the perpetrators, but on those striving to shed light on the crisis. This is the fight for truth against propaganda.
BY Navin Upadhyay
I’m relatively new to covering the Manipur crisis, but as a journalist, I have long kept a keen eye on the events unfolding in this beautiful land of lush green hills, swift-flowing rivers, and abundant flora and fauna. The ethnic violence that erupted on May 3, 2023, has left a deep scar on the people, turning their anguish into a bitter, lingering taste. And amidst this turmoil, a new species has emerged—the five-paise trolls of Manipur..
Yes, I call them five-paise trolls because they have no morals or ethics. In their blind hatred, these perverts will not even spare your parents, your sons, and daughters. Their forked tongues talk of peace but spew deadly venom. These poisonous rattlesnakes are ever ready to pounce on you for saying anything even slightly disagreeable. All these months, I remained silent, but sometimes we need to confront these vile creatures lest they take our silence as acceptance of their disgraceful propaganda.
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In my more than three decades of journalistic career—one I have upheld with the highest standards of ethics and morality—I have received both bouquets and brickbats. That’s only understandable. After all, I never claimed to be a neutral journalist. And why should I? Neutrality in journalism, I have realized, is often a euphemism for ignoring the crimes of the powerful against the meek. Should a journalist merely report on a crime that takes place before his eyes as a neutral observer, or should he passionately track the culprit and see that justice is done? I belong to the second category—objective but not neutral. But to these hateful trolls, objectivity is unacceptable.
One day, I was aghast to see my picture, along with Major Digvijay Singh Rawat (Retd.), a prominent voice on Manipur and a Kirti Chakra awardee, morphed with a naked woman, accompanied by unprintable abuses. That was my first introduction to the filth that these five-paise trolls are capable of spewing. They dig into the deepest pits of their rotten minds and fling their dirt at you at the first opportunity.
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That was just the beginning. I kept ignoring it, but my respectful replies, my pleas for decency, and my attempts to engage them in constructive dialogue did nothing to stop their tirade. I even offered my platform to initiate healthy discussions on the way forward for Manipur. I invited both sides—even these five-paise trolls—to come forward and express their views. But these forked-tongue creatures saw ulterior motives in my efforts, accusing me of using the tragedy for personal gain, of hatching a devious strategy to boost my views. These illiterate trolls fail to understand that you don’t make money by gaining a few hundred views on Twitter (X). But their minds are so full of bias and hatred that they see an agenda behind everything. They refused to engage in meaningful discourse, yet continued to hurl abuses every time I raised a red flag or exposed their masters.
And that is what baffles me the most. How do these trolls find the time—no, the audacity—to spew such venom when Manipur is drowning in blood and grief? More than 250 lives have been lost to bitter clashes, homes reduced to ashes, mothers and son burnt alive in ambulances, women stripped naked and paraded through the streets like trophies of war. The air itself is thick with suffering, yet these five-paise trolls, instead of demanding justice, choose to hurl abuses at those who dare to raise these issues. Where is their humanity? Where is their conscience?
For nearly 20 months, Manipur has been abandoned—by the authorities, by the nation, by those who should have stood up for its people. And yet, when a few voices attempt to shine a light on this darkness, to force the country to confront this tragedy, these trolls come crawling out of their holes to attack, to slander, to silence. They are not warriors of any cause, nor defenders of any truth—they are the foot soldiers of propaganda, attacking the very people who still have the courage to care.
Then a friend offered me a perspective—these trolls lash out because they cannot bear the weight of truth. Their attacks are not a reflection of my words’ weakness but of their own discomfort. And now I understand—when these five-paise trolls spew hatred, when they hurl abuses, it is merely a reaction to the impact my words have made. Their outrage is proof that the truth has struck a nerve.
So go on, trolls, do as you will. I won’t be deterred. Your fury only reaffirms that the truth is being heard.
Have a great day, five-paise trolls.
