Decoding Social Media Activism: An Interview With Amir Rizvi Abbas Syed

 1. What’s your full name and what you do for a living. 

Amir Rizvi Abbas Syed, Social media activism

2. Tell us a little about your current social media presence.  

3. What are your most frequented sites of choice?

4. When did you first start to use social media as a place to voice your political opinions?

5. You've been blocked from Facebook numerous times, tell us about when and why it happened the first time and your immediate reaction?

6. Tell us a little about the kind of content that seems to get reported quickest in your personal experience?

7. Who do you think is responsible and how does it make you feel about your freedom of speech in these spaces? Has it ceased to exist?

8. Has it ever reached a point where you've been afraid of more aggressive action being taken against you especially when you take into account that political parties have gone to all lengths to even go after young women for voicing the most basic of concerns?

9. What's your take on how the creator of narendramodiplans.com was shut down recently?

It is terrifying! Look at the attack/bullying of Aditi restaurant’s owner by the congress goons! The entire idea of Indian democracy is its approach of being inclusive.

That is why our constitution allowed even those people who were completely against democracy to exist and express their opinion. I mean, look back even to our first general election.

It is awesome to see the number of parties and the kind of parties which contested in it! In my opinion, we only existed for 60 years in a fairly democratic country because of this "inclusive" factor.

Look at Iraq/Syria/Lybia/Egypt; their democracies simply don't have space for dissent. New governments kill the allies of the older regime, that is the reason no democracy is successful in the middle-east.

Indian governments never killed the allies of British raj, the Hindu Rashtra or even allies of Muslim nations. They were all given equal rights to exist. Today, Indian Democratic value is under threat. These things should not be taken lightly. 

10. What according to you is the scope of freedom of speech via social media? Are there any dangers to unchecked amounts of freedom you've come across personally?

11. How do you feel about social media from a purely user perspective though?

12. What according to you is the scope for change/revolution through 'push-button activism' or inciting change (even if it’s just in people's mindsets) through social media in India? It's been known to cause revolution in other parts of the world, do you believe it is possible over here and why?