Recently, a video of a girl crying at a Diljit Dosanjh concert went viral. Some mocked her for getting so emotional, while others defended her, calling it a genuine expression of joy. This incident is just one example of how trolling has become a common part of social media life. But it’s not harmless, trolling can deeply affect mental health, turning what should be a moment of happiness into something disturbing. In this piece, I’ll talk about why people troll, its impact, especially on women who often face objectification, and whether the Instagram v/s YouTube comments debate has any basis. The piece ends with a glance at legal provisions regarding trolling. It’s time to rethink how we interact online and protect healthy conversations.

is an act of mocking or passing hateful comments on others online. People often do it anonymously, reflecting a part of their conscience that this is something wrong and they might get into trouble for it, but regardless they don’t stop. It is often a result of pre-existing stereotypes and inherent personality traits. Amongst people who enjoy debating and conversing online on different issues, there are about 5.6% people who self-identify as trolls. Scientists have increasingly become interested in studying such behaviours. 

There was a study conducted on 1200 internet users to understand common traits in these trolls which were termed as “dark traits”. These trolls showed high levels of psychopathy, sadism, and narcissism. In other words, these are people who enjoy others’ pain and have undiagnosed psychological conditions that are projected on others through hate over the internet without having a face. Sadists particularly can find inflicting emotional pain on others as rewarding and pleasurable whereas a normal person could feel guilt for the same. There is a concept called everyday sadism which refers to sadistic traits existing in everyone like the adrenaline rush you feel watching an action movie.

Trolling can be as unavoidable and basic as someone randomly tweeting for Lisa Kudrow from the most-watched show 

Friends “I hope you all have a great weekend except you, Lisa Kudrow!”

these are people who deliberately cause disruptions on online gaming platforms to provoke or spoil the enjoyment of others. Like someone sabotaging team efforts by destroying a key or intentionally killing teammates. It can take visual forms like memes, using caricatures to describe famous celebrities and politicians. 

In 2004, scientist John Suler coined the term online 

, which refers to how people behave differently online compared to offline due to several factors. One such factor is solipsistic introjection, where an individual creates an idea of a person in their mind based solely on their words. This can lead to dehumanization, as the individual fails to acknowledge that the other person is real, with genuine feelings that can be hurt. This disconnect between the actual conversation and the constructed version of the person can result in dissociative imagination. This phenomenon is particularly relevant to griefers, who treat their actions as part of a different kind of game. They essentially perceive the online world as a virtual reality they can leave behind whenever they choose. This makes trolling an easy way to harm others without facing any accountability, all while maintaining invisibility.

In Suler’s description, the most impactful point shaping the online disinhibition effect and trolling behaviour in conversations is the absence of fear of punishment. For many, the online space becomes an outlet for frustration, allowing individuals who lack the means or courage to commit crimes in real life to vent their anger on targeted individuals.

Women are particularly vulnerable to trolling, often facing twice the abuse that men do. On almost any public post involving a woman—whether known or unknown—you’ll find rape threats and objectifying comments. Trolls sexualize women and show a disturbing inclination toward promoting rape culture. Following the horrific 

, a man tweeted (a post later removed by X, formerly Twitter) that the victim was “not even good-looking” and that his intent was to “uplift men.” In the same tweet, he claimed he didn’t want to disrespect the victim, which is exactly what he ended up doing. This reflects a troubling trend where trolls either fail to recognize the danger of their words in promoting misogyny and rape culture or are in denial about their role in perpetuating it.

, also faced hate online for having more facial hair than what society deems acceptable for females. While the young girl maintained a positive outlook and gave fitting replies to her trolls, her experience highlights the unrelenting hate on the internet. What may seem like a vibrant and happening space from the outside often conceals a darker reality. Society continues to dictate what women can do with their bodies and lives and, in some cases, denies them even basic respect. A woman who isn’t conventionally “good-looking” might not even be considered worthy of a man’s sexual violence, let alone his respect—an appalling reflection of the misogyny deeply ingrained in online discourse.

There is an ongoing debate comparing YouTube and Instagram comments, two of the most widely used online platforms. Instagram is often portrayed as having a more aggressive "gang of trolls" compared to YouTube's seemingly more peaceful community. However, there is no verifiable research to substantiate this claim. Both platforms experience enough trolling to disrupt the peace of their respective online communities.

One possible explanation for the perception of more heinous verbal attacks on Instagram could be the platform's larger number of active users and its diverse interaction options. Unlike YouTube, where interactions are largely limited to comments or live chats during streams, Instagram offers various ways to engage—through posts, stories, reels, direct messages, and live sessions—providing trolls with more avenues to target others. This expanded interactivity might contribute to the higher visibility of toxic behaviour on Instagram.

There are legislations and provisions protecting citizens against trolling and cyberbullying like the 

 where complaints can be lodged online against hate speech and verbal harassment online. Section 354 of the 

(BNS) previously the IPC section 354 covers online sexual harassment including lewd comments or sexually explicit content. IPC section 500 which is now BNS Section 356 deals with defamatory statements online.

and trolling exist, but abuse on online platforms remains widespread, leaving every user vulnerable to hate crimes. Stricter enforcement of these laws is essential, along with effective measures to protect young people from becoming victims or perpetrators of trolling.

Trolling: A Threat to Healthy Online Discourse?

The National Capital is all set to witness its 8th Assembly elections this month. The atmosphere is charged with a war of words between the supporters of Jhadu and Kamal. AAP, after reigning successfully for more than 10 years, faces the possibility of losing its seemingly invincible position. Amidst all the speculations and questions surrounding their contributions to Delhi’s progress and what a fourth term for AAP would look like, there is a strong undercurrent within the Muslim community. Many Muslims feel they are not completely satisfied with the Kejriwal-led faction but believe they have no choice but to vote for him as he is “the lesser of the two evils.” As a Muslim migrant student in Delhi, living in one of the overly crowded, Muslim-dominated areas of Okhla, I present to you my views on the party and the issue at hand.

The Aam Aadmi Party (translation: Common Man’s party) was established in 2012 by Arvind Kejriwal and his companions during the Anti-Corruption movement against the then-ruling INC government. In its initial years, amidst an atmosphere of scams and a drowning image of the Gandhi family and their party, AAP seemed relatable to the common man. They were a ray of hope with an educated man like Kejriwal himself, a relatively young and even well-known bunch of people like Kumar Viswas, and other seeming revolutionaries like Anna Hazare, Yoginder Yadav, and Prashant Bhushan.

The party offered a fresh perspective, promising a utopian India, free from corruption and evils of religious politics, around the same time Prime Minister Narendra Modi rose to power. Even though there was no clear ideology of AAP rather than 

people still chose to give them a chance as they wished for a government not belonging to a modern political dynasty with an extreme adherence to religious views. The first AAP term was majorly a success in gaining popularity and goodwill.

And undoubtedly, after a long time in Indian politics someone cared to use the powers at hand the right way and in the right direction. Education, healthcare, and basic amenities like electricity and water were made less of a luxury, and this continued in the second AAP term. The Delhi government introduced commendable initiatives like 

 for women on DTC buses and brought the concept of 

 with 518 clinics operational by March 2022. Having personally visited Sarvodaya Bal Vidyalaya in Rouse Avenue, I was impressed by the transformation of government schools into centres of excellence.

AAP's impactful reforms led to a historic 2022 Punjab win (92/117 seats) and national party status in 2023 after successes in Goa and Gujarat. AAP's initial terms were marked by scepticism and criticism from political rivals. The BJP condemned its 

 culture, while Congress leader Shashi Tharoor faced backlash for calling CM Kejriwal a 

during the 2019 CAA/NRC protests—a statement he later retracted. Despite Congress scaling down its campaigns and internal challenges, leader Ajay Maken recently accused Kejriwal's government of a ₹382 crore health scam, highlighting the evolving tensions among INDIA bloc allies ahead of the 2024 elections.

Now political jibes and accusations are an intrinsic part of electoral democracy, but here comes the main question. 

Where does the unshakeable Aam Aadmi Party stand today in the eyes of the Muslim voters?

 According to me, the party that had a great start and seemed to have great intentions deviated and fell out of the idealism it made Delhites hope for. It showed promise but began to break many, which again every party does, but it joined the arena of the indifferent from different gradually.

Since the BJP's rise to power at the centre, crime rates in UP have reportedly decreased, but incidents of

 have become disturbingly common across the country, particularly in BJP-ruled states. The Hindutva ideology, historically ingrained in the party and backed by right-wing groups like 

, has intensified since 2014. Congress remains the only viable opposition but requires significant reform to challenge the ruling party's stronghold and widespread public conviction. Although there were promising moves during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, breaking the BJP's dominance remains difficult.

The Muslim electorate, often sidelined, seeks representation from a party in Delhi that doesn't merely adopt a desperate, preemptive Hindutva stance, as AAP did during the 2022 Gujarat elections by demanding Goddess Lakshmi's face on currency notes. Despite its development work in the capital, AAP continues to face criticism for inadequate Muslim representation and a limited pool of influential leaders. The recent ticket denial to Seelampur MLA Abdur Rehman, who resigned and joined Congress, is a case in point. In an X post, he accused AAP of ignoring Muslim rights by getting entangled in politics. Although AAP replaced him with another Muslim candidate, Zubair Ahmed, the issue remains far from resolved.

Prominent MLA Amanatullah Khan from Okhla is often criticised as an 

 for failing to fulfil his duties. Okhla continues to suffer from open sewage, inadequate drinking water, and a lack of essential infrastructure. Residents purchase water, and the once-thriving business scene has dwindled to mere confectioneries. Neglect in crowd management and parking issues persists, with roads clogged by cars and bikes. The gap between areas like Punjabi Bagh and Okhla or even Old Delhi is stark, reinforcing a sense of 

Many Muslim students, including myself, remain deeply disappointed with AAP's inaction and double standards during the CAA-NRC protests in 2019. When Jamia students faced harassment and braved the bitter Delhi winter to protest for 55 days, neither AAP nor Kejriwal bothered to extend even a courtesy visit. While Kejriwal described the Citizenship Amendment Act as

 his silence on the suffering of protestors, particularly in areas like Okhla, spoke volumes. It was a moment when leadership and solidarity were desperately needed—but AAP chose to look the other way.

Kejriwal's only concern seemed to be BJP's failure to clear the Shaheen Bagh protests, boldly claiming he could do it in 

The party either dodged questions by boasting about Delhi's development or completely ignored Muslim fears sparked by the Act, trying to play 

 to avoid taking a clear stance. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor’s words still echo when I think about AAP’s 

 because honestly, that frustration was real and shared by so many of us.

But despite the soft-power Hinduism intermixing with the AAP’s futuristic and growth-oriented approach, people go towards this centrist bunch to avoid the intimidation and danger of an extremely hindutva-oriented philosophy.

AAP must realize that religious politics and media control will humble them in ways they cannot afford. Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and CM Atishi need to revive their first-term intent and seek fresh young faces who can 

the state's youth and evolving electorate.

How I see the Delhi Elections as a Muslim

Urdu, the sister of the supposed national language Hindi, the pride of Delhi, a divine gift, and one of the many jewels in India’s “adabi” crown, is now relegated to unread and unpicked books gathering dust on the shelves at the Urdu Bazaar in Old Delhi. This language, which gave birth to giants like Iqbal, Faiz, Dagh, and the much-celebrated, often misunderstood Ghalib—whose poetry is far deeper and more complex than our fixation on "Aag ka dariya"—has now become a mere means of nostalgia for the Urdu aficionados, of an era that has long passed into history. The attempts to preserve it are losing their course with the untimely loss of contemporaries like Zia Mohyeddin, Munawwar Rana, and Rahat Indori, who honoured this remarkable legacy through their eloquent words and recitations.

"Urdu hai jiska naam, hum hi jaante hain Dagh

Saare jahan mein dhoom humari zubaan ki hai."

Urdu breathed its first during the 12th century in North India and was parented by the languages spoken in and around 

 (Delhi), with heavy influence from Sanskrit and from foreign languages like Arabic, Persian, and Turkish. This language, which some mistakenly consider foreign and a threat to Indian culture, owes its existence to India. As Abdul Salam Bengluri aptly said, “Jo yeh Hindustan nahi hota, toh yeh Urdu zubaan nahi hoti.” Closely related to Hindi, both are Indo-Aryan languages that evolved from various forms of Prakrit, the dialects spoken by commoners when Sanskrit was the language of the elites. The 12th century onwards we saw the arrival of Urdu influencers on Indian soil. The 18th and 19th centuries saw Urdu flourish, reaching a level of sophistication in poetry that drew from the heritage of poets like 

 (remembrance) of Urdu can be complete without the remembrance of the great Persian master 

, who is regarded as the first major folk poet to compose dohas, couplets, and riddles in the then-newly formed 

. His contributions are enormous to the development of what we now know as Urdu, evolving through several names such as 

. His genius gave us the early essence of the language. His work was truly timeless. 

 a popular folk song, also recently appeared in the Netflix show

the mournful blend of Hindawi and Persian, continues to haunt us. I have often heard people enjoy the lyrics and even memorise them, drawn by the peace and rush they feel, even without fully understanding the meaning. That was the magic of Amir Khusro.


Today, Urdu finds itself overshadowed by the colonial legacy and is reduced to a few couplets or lines in speeches. There’s either minimal interest in the language or no desire to learn it at all, leading to a significant decline in the meyaar (standard) of Urdu poetry. School curriculums now prioritize modern subjects, often sidelining languages, and not just Urdu. Students and parents often feel hesitant to pursue Urdu courses, even if there’s genuine interest, because of concerns about career prospects. English, being a global language, receives significant focus as it’s considered essential for achieving aspirations in higher education—whether in India or abroad. Although Urdu is my mother tongue, my fluency is limited, and I tend to speak in English due to the constant exposure and opportunities it brings that Urdu currently doesn’t have.

“Angrez chale gaye, Angrezi chhod gaye”

 (The Englishmen left but left English behind).

Colonial influence and subsequent policies for the westernisation of education put Indian languages at risk, widely discrediting the oriental culture. Thomas Babington Macaulay, an English historian and politician declared that “a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia”. Indian institutions like Madrasas were considered a waste of finances and English was used to fix the “grave errors of the east”. (NCERT Class 8, chapter 6)

The lust to divide found its way into languages too. After the establishment of Fort William College in Calcutta (now Kolkata) during the 1800s to train Britishers in Indian languages, the institution was used as a place to dissociate Urdu and Hindi, giving birth to two distinct trends: Mir Amman's

on the other. In 1875, Raju Shiva Prasad, in his grammar book, re-emphasised that there are no differences between the two languages with respect to the vernacular. The divide that existed and still exists is rooted in the misconception that the language belongs solely to Muslims. Pakistan made it its national language in 1973, yet India still has a larger Urdu-speaking population, which is not restricted to 

. In North India, even today, official work is conducted in both Hindi and Urdu, daughters of Mother India, separated by the Devanagari and Nastaliq scripts yet bound by the shared heritage of the Ganga-Jamuna 

, an annual event in Delhi organised mostly in December (also in Dubai), celebrate the language in what feels like its final days. Admirers from all over the country gather to celebrate the spirit of this 

 (language) with great splendor. But can nostalgia really save the language? Maybe not, but these gatherings may be the final hope to attract young people to Delhi and a language whose loss would mark the end of an era.

But can a language so rich in history and culture truly fade away? Perhaps Urdu is not lost—just waiting to be rediscovered by those who dare to listen.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of The Jamia Review or its members.

The Fall of the Urdu Empire

 is known to many of us. A stampede occurred when a place that could only accommodate a few thousand people had over 2 lakh individuals gathered, all rushing after 

, who exited the ground. The situation escalated when he claimed that the sand that touched his feet could cure people, resulting in 121 deaths. The godman and his followers left the scene, and later, when interviewed, he said, 

“Honi ko kaun taal sakta hai” (Who can prevent what has to happen?)

. Incidents like this occur daily, and since time immemorial, even before the Enlightenment in Europe, people have spent millions on churches to secure a “route to heaven”. Many Muslims venerate 

, view themselves as spiritually powerful figures with a close connection to the divine. After a 

 has taken a sip of tea or left behind food, followers may deliberately consume these items, believing they carry the 

 blessings. This practice, rooted in deep faith, is thought to bring protection, healing, or good fortune. 


The path to spiritual growth lies in following the Creator, not His creation. Religion should never promote the killing of innocent young widows or the superiority of one man over the entire population. India faces deeper issues of acute hunger and poverty. These godmen exploit people’s desperation and hope for a better life to strengthen their positions in society, often turning them into their disciples. According to 

 owned assets worth 100 crore, drove a Fortuner, and ran over 24 

, where, he claimed he did not accept any donations. His documents revealing these details had been seized, yet his name was not part of the FIR regarding the stampede.

The system backs these self-proclaimed “misguides”, making it a million-dollar industry for them. Movies like 

, which has a 2.4-star rating on IMDb, have received reviews like, 

“You should call it a wannabe documentary instead of a movie. The lead guy himself is the writer, director, singer, and as so happens, the producer, so you can imagine if you have a lot of money and want to show off, what do you do? Make a movie about yourself”.

 Gaining popularity through media is a viable option for politicians, athletes, and now the 

, who is now in jail serving a 20-year sentence for raping two of his followers. In October 2023, a charge sheet was filed against 

 who taught Arabic at a mosque and had sexually assaulted a 10-year old student in Kota, Rajasthan. Such incidents are indicative of the truth of these vile bearded men who are conscious of our reverence as well as neglect when it comes to these “

”. The common trend here is the lust for material and sexual gains. To curb the infiltration of our faith and society by manipulative godmen, a nuanced and collective approach is essential. The collaboration between administration and the community can prevent the proliferation of these fraudulent practices. Large-scale religious gatherings should be conducted only with proper permissions and under the vigilant supervision of local law enforcement. Furthermore, awareness campaigns and robust community support are crucial in safeguarding the integrity of our religious practices.

It’s clear that in our quest for spiritual fulfillment, we must remain vigilant against those who exploit faith for personal gain. Maharaj and Hathras shine a light on the dangers of blindly following self-proclaimed godmen and remind us to seek truth over superstition. As we move forward, let’s prioritize genuine spirituality over empty rituals and recognize that true faith is about inner growth and compassion, not the worship of false idols. Let’s be critical thinkers and protect ourselves and our communities from those who misuse religion for power and profit.

Articles by Nausheen Ali Nizami

Trolling: A Threat to Healthy Online Discourse?

How I see the Delhi Elections as a Muslim

The Fall of the Urdu Empire

The Ungodly God’s Men

Trolling: A Threat to Healthy Online Discourse?

How I see the Delhi Elections as a Muslim

The Fall of the Urdu Empire

The Ungodly God’s Men