#FingerOnYourLips: Youth uprising on social media

MUMBAI: Protests against the arrest of 22-year-old environmental activist Disha Ravi and non-bailable warrants against two others Shantanu Muluk, 31 and Nikita Jacob, 29 continued on Tuesday with a spontaneous digital youth uprising against what they called “frequent suppression of dissent in the country”.
The hashtag protest #FingerOnYourLips and #FreeDishaRavi accompanied by photographs of faces with a finger on their lips — by mostly youths sarcastically asking each other to not speak up against issues that affect the lives of ordinary citizens — has been growing across social media platforms.
“Finger on lips signifies curbing of dissent and is a show of solidarity for Disha and other young activists the government has been clamping down on under the draconian UAPA anti-terrorism law,” explained a green activist helming the hashtag rally. “When someone protests, they aren’t anti establishment. It is a show of trust in the establishment that they will change and improve,” reasoned another.
The running online commentary with a satirical thrust to provoke the right response reads: “Finger on your lips if you know about locust attacks. Farmer suicides for the last ten years. Onion prices increasing 3 times yesterday. Finger on your lips if you know about Mollem Forest, Baghjan on fire, Aarey Forest. The hills of Niyamgiri. Illegal mining in Goa... If you know that our futures are not going to be the same in 6 years, then you can also put your finger on lips and say nothing. Because anything you say or do in India today will be twisted and used against you in a court of law.”
That this is a "peaceful digital protest" and "the youth cannot be intimidated into silence,” was the common echo in this collective outpouring as scores of millennials and Gen Z from across the country joined the social media campaign to demonstrate that the youth who had invited censure and arrest for standing up to the policies of the current government, weren’t isolated voices but “part of a growing wave of discontent among young Indians.”