INDIAN social media — or at least the parts of it that are most visible in the current crisis — is a curious mixture of hate and threats of sexual violence with a healthy portion of rabid nationalism and disinformation, peppered with emojis perhaps intended to make up for the absolutely stunning lack of humour, style and taste.

Take, for example, one of the most popular ‘jokes’ doing the rounds; here we have an Indian social media user posting: “Any Kashmiri girl feeling threatened can come to my house at night. You will be safe and well hosted. A divided India will lose, a United India will win & thrive.” Now, if you’re ridiculously well-meaning and/ or naïve you may mistake this as patriotic altruism, but a quick look at the replies, including that of the original poster, would disabuse you of any such notions because he adds that ‘hijabis’ are his priority and that the girl who takes up this offer may not be alive in the morning.

So, this is a rape and murder threat dressed up as edgy humour and it’s unsurprising to anyone who has dipped in this particular cesspool that the replies are filled with laughing, crying and laughing-till-crying emojis. Many of the appreciative replies are in fact from women, who apparently find the rape of the........

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