The season of intolerance is back, and this time it is not intolerance to politics or political remarks. This intolerance is towards a joke, just like some Christian organizations were intolerant to Hrithik’s jocular tweet referring to the pope. This time, the target is travel-site Yatra.com and their hilarious spoof of the new left-liberal heart-throb Kanhaiya Kumar.
It has been a few days since Yatra.com’s rather funny ad featuring a youth who resembles Kanahaiya has gone viral on social media. You can watch the ad here:
The ad uses the style and speech delivery of Kanhaiya, via a look-alike, to convey that we can get “Azaadi” from various travel related issues by using Yatra.com’s android app. What seems to have irked the leftists is the last line which says: “Don’t resort to sloganeering, use the app instead.”
According to a ridiculous piece in HuffingtonPost.in:
The problem with this advertisement is, it not only belittles the students’ protest but others across the nation as well…….Using a Kanhaiya doppelganger and the same slogan to seek freedom from long queues is only a mockery of the struggles
In response to this, says the report, JNU students and alumni are rating the app one-star and criticizing it in the review section: (pics from HuffingtonPost)
So this is Indian Left “liberalism” for you, they can’t even be liberal about a small joke using their Dear Student Leader. Don’t even think of mocking their Leftist Gods, because even Kanhaiya-jokes are off limits now.
The Indian nationalists too in the past, had used this method to express their disapproval of happenings. Snapdeal’s app was downrated to protest against Aamir Khan’s comments on India’s intolerance and Barkha Dutt’s book was downrated on Amazon, in general disgust of her poor journalistic ethics. At that point in time, these were left-liberals had criticised “bhakts” for using means such as down-rating apps for expressing their disapproval.
Even though both the movements are targetted at an app, there is a fundamental difference. In the case of Snapdeal and Barkha’s book, users were protesting against a person’s behaviour or conduct. The person’s had either made controversial statements or had been just inept at their job. In the case of Yatra.com though, all this is fuelled only by a joke, a spoof. The so-called Indian “liberals” have shown that they cannot even tolerate humour on their icons.
In retaliation, people are now downloading the app and upvoting it with favourable reviews, to undo the damage of India’s allegedly “liberal” class:
Loved Yatra spoof on #Kanhaiya. Libtards are downrating the app. I appeal all to install and uprate. #WeLoveYatra pic.twitter.com/hQsbFhtMUA
— हम भारत के लोग (@India_Policy) April 3, 2016
Patriots Download https://t.co/7RW4Fik3p2 App & give 5* ranking. Sickulars after this Ad https://t.co/gJf82BnxIn are downgrading the ratings
— Raj Karsewak (@rajkarsewak) April 3, 2016
Do go & check the yatra comments now ???????? .. keep them coming and make sure your support is converted and leftists can’t bully them for an AD
— shilpi tewari (@shilpitewari) April 3, 2016
Requesting all to pls download Yatra App and give it 5 stars. Adarsh Liberals are trying to down grade it for its Susu boy spoof.
— Rita (@RitaG74) April 3, 2016
