I had an interesting couple of weeks online, where the usual threats and accusations of being a traitor to the nation were replaced with calls to suspend my accounts on various social media platforms. This wasn't particularly surprising, because a number of people have been trying to shut all kinds of Indians up for years. It's the reason why they don't want some voices to be heard that has suddenly changed though. Apparently, going by the word on the street these days, anyone who doesn't support a particular political party is now automatically a traitor.

There are no doubts in the minds of millions of Indians that we are going through a period of astonishing turmoil in our public lives. When over 200 writers across the country issued a signed appeal earlier this month, the message they wanted to convey -- 'Let us vote against hate politics. Let us vote for an equal and diverse India' -- was extraordinary, because they recognised how close we have come to allowing our collective freedoms to be erased.