Penned thoughts in the open

Potent Weapon

A while back, an avid blogger took the internet by storm by posting an open letter to Manmohan Singh on his page.

The letter was a scathing response to some of his statements regarding the Anna Hazare debacle. It proceeded to go over Singh’s statement point-by-point, and counter his arguments in an organised fashion.

Several followers commented on it, added their own opinions and posted it on their friends’ pages, until it had turned into a veritable body of literature concerning the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Around the same time, a South Indian girl wrote an open letter, which she addressed to the stereotypical Delhi boy and then posted on her blog. The witty monologue – which included eloquent references to the MCP (male chauvinist pig) syndrome – went viral on social networking sites, being posted and re-posted until it seemed nearly everyone had read it.

Open letters may not be a recent trend, but their popularity is definitely expanding. They’re now considered an effective means to get across a point to a large group of people, and yet retain a personal element in any argument. Metrolife caught up with a few people to find out more about this trend.

One of the main ways in which an open letter’s potential can be channelised is by targetting a political figure, or addressing an injustice. Nandini, an HR professional, recollects, “I once received an open letter that spoke about Manmohan Singh’s silence about everything happening around him. Recently, I read one addressed to the Indian public, which told the story of an educated IAS officer who had been ousted unfairly from his post.”

She admits that open letters have now become weapons of the youth, rather than the stodgy, politically-inclined diatribes that they were once considered to be. “Our country has so many people who are at the age when they begin voting, and with easy access to the internet, awareness is at an all-time high. It’s an effective way to get a point across to the masses,” she maintains.

Annika, a student, believes that open letters are simply a means through which today’s youth express themselves. She also attributes their popularity to the fact that open letters are a personal form of propaganda – and hence easier to relate to. “They’re a brilliant way to express yourself. The element of personalising your point of view, and expressing yourself without having to censor your thoughts at all is what makes this concept to popular,” she observes.

Relatibility isn’t the only front on which open letters have taken over the internet; given the relative freedom that today’s youth enjoys on the web, they’ve become the perfect way to bring up issues that everyone feels need addressing. Megha, an engineering student, explains, “These letters voice the concerns of a large group of people, not just an individual. Because of this, plenty of people read them. And when an open letter targets a public figure, this factor puts a lot of pressure on him to respond.”