3 weeks ago
Letters: Trolls, 'Anti-National' Labels and Banerjee Convoy Attack
This article is a collection of letters readers sent to a newspaper.
One letter talks about actress Anne Hathaway, who is pregnant with her third baby.
Some people on the internet said her baby belly was fake, like the ones used in movies.
To prove she was telling the truth, she wore a top that showed her belly.
Other letters talk about the word 'anti-national,' which is sometimes used against people who ask the government questions.
Student protesters at Jantar Mantar were called 'anti-nationals.'
Many readers think the word is used too much.
Another letter talks about Mamata Banerjee, a former chief minister.
Someone threw mud and stones at her car while she was visiting a family whose relative died in police custody.
Readers say the people who did this should be caught and punished.
Online users claimed actress Anne Hathaway wore a prosthetic belly at a film premiere; she responded by wearing a crop top that revealed her baby bump.
Readers condemned the 'anti-national' label used against student protesters at Jantar Mantar, citing historian Ramachandra Guha's article.
Mud and stones were thrown at former chief minister Mamata Banerjee's convoy in North 24 Parganas while she visited a custodial-death victim's family.
Letter writers urged Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari to bring the attackers to book and accused police of remaining silent spectators.
The letters also noted egg attacks on Trinamool Congress leaders and an alarming alleged increase in custodial deaths.
- Who
- Anne Hathaway; letter writers from Mumbai, Calcutta and other cities; student protesters at Jantar Mantar; historian Ramachandra Guha; and former chief minister Mamata Banerjee
- What
- Readers' letters addressed trolling of Hathaway's pregnancy, the use of the 'anti-national' label, and a stone-and-mud attack on Banerjee's convoy
- Where
- North 24 Parganas for the convoy attack; Jantar Mantar in New Delhi for the student protests; letters were sent from Mumbai, Calcutta, Dhanbad, Siliguri, Barrackpore and Nadia
- When
- The attack on Banerjee's convoy took place on Sunday, August 10; Guha's column was published on August 8
- Why
- Online users doubted Hathaway's pregnancy, critics argue the 'anti-national' label is used to suppress accountability, and public anger centred on custodial deaths and political conduct
Critics of the government and online trolls
Government supporters and online skeptics
'Anti-national' label on protesters
Critics of the government and online trolls
The label is overused and weaponised against those who demand accountability; it is used to suppress dissent and democracy.
Government supporters and online skeptics
The student agitation is portrayed as being backed by foreign powers, justifying scrutiny of protesters as 'anti-nationals'.
Attack on Mamata Banerjee's convoy
Critics of the government and online trolls
The attack is a reprehensible collapse of public order; police were silent spectators and the culprits must be brought to book.
Government supporters and online skeptics
The attack is a consequence of Banerjee's own 15 years of politics and past attacks on Opposition leaders, though it remains condemnable.
Anne Hathaway's pregnancy rumors
Critics of the government and online trolls
Conspiracy theories about an expectant woman's body reflect a chronically online culture and are a new low in trolling.
Government supporters and online skeptics
Online skeptics insisted her belly button looked unreal and her bump resembled 'the fake ones they use in movies.'
Key facts
- Section
- Letters to the Editor
- Main topics
- Anne Hathaway baby bump trolling; 'anti-national' label debate; attack on Mamata Banerjee's convoy
- Anne Hathaway
- 43-year-old actress, pregnant with her third child
- Attack incident
- Mud and stones thrown at Mamata Banerjee's convoy in North 24 Parganas on Sunday
- Attack context
- Banerjee was visiting the family of a custodial-death victim
- Reference article
- Ramachandra Guha's 'Anti-national', published August 8
- Earlier incidents
- Egg attacks on several Trinamool Congress leaders
- Demand
- Investigation and action by Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari against the culprits








