<p>Come gather ’round people/ Wherever you roam/ And admit that the waters/ Around you have grown/ And accept it that soon/ You’ll be drenched to the bone</p>.<p>Before I dive into Dylan’s flood, let me re-explain poorva paksha. It’s an ancient Indian philosophical practice of steel-manning rival views with empathy. I’ve long urged readers to weave this wisdom from ancient literature into their daily lives as a hack to cut through the turbulent waters of our divisive times. We, the public, must tackle this ourselves. We cannot trust governments to do it. With India’s IT Act revisions, for example, we rely on the government to tame fake news, deep fakes, and false memes. But governments favour their own interests, silencing dissent. Free speech, tied to thought, is too vital to risk. We don’t want state control over our minds.</p>.<p>Come writers and critics/ Who prophesise with your pen/ And keep your eyes wide/ The chance won’t come again/ And don’t speak too soon/ For the wheel’s still in spin</p>.Praise sways them all.<p>I’m hooked on ancient literature, whether Indian philosophy or from farther afield. Now, it’s Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. This erstwhile Roman Emperor’s opening lines hit hard. From Diognetus, he writes, he learned to shun the colosseum’s roar. Don’t cheer the swift, small-shielded gladiators or the steady, large-shielded ones. See both clearly, sans bloodlust. This echoes poorva paksha perfectly. Digital storms spin lies faster than a wheel. Memes ignite battles. But Aurelius urges calm, impartial thinking to navigate the noise.</p>.<p>Come senators, congressmen/ Please heed the call/ Don’t stand in the doorway/ Don’t block up the hall</p>.<p>Speaking of senators, a viral post about Barack Obama last week claimed that a Zoom call with Texas Democrats showed a bowl behind him bearing a blue spiral triangle, an FBI-flagged pedophile symbol: the ‘BoyLover’ logo. With Epstein’s shadow lingering, suspicions of elite misdeeds run high. Yet HypeFresh, a fact-checking service, has debunked it. Still, the claim tore through X, dividing people viciously.</p>.<p>Heed Aurelius’ call: don’t rush to judgement. Governments pounce on such haste, vowing to curb lies. India’s IT Act amendments allow a government unit to label content as ‘fake’. Platforms must delete it within 36 hours. In 2024, the Supreme Court paused a challenge to these rules. Meanwhile, a draft Digital India Act targets AI-driven lies. The EU’s 2024 Digital Services Act fines platforms up to 6% of revenue for ‘harmful’ content. All these laws risk stifling satire and dissent, enforcing conformity and approved narratives.</p>.<p>The curse it is cast/ The slow one now/ Will later be fast/ As the present now/ Will later be past</p>.<p>Lies race like gladiators lunging for the kill. The Obama meme recalls 2016’s Pizzagate, twisting symbols. The FBI’s bulletin is real but misused – no proof links Obama’s bowl to the crime. Some among us see every backdrop as a coded signal. Slow down. Feel the accusers’ fear of hidden elites, the defenders’ weariness of lies. At JNU, years ago, I urged students to hold rival ideas close, not strike them down. That classroom was a sanctuary. But as Dylan precociously prophesied in his 1964 anthem, the times they are changin’. Today’s digital arena isn’t a sanctuary – it’s a colosseum. India’s IT Rules seek to serve as referee, but for many they only fuel fears for press freedom, threatening journalists. The DSA drives platforms to over-censor, sacrificing lawful speech just to avoid fines. Governments wield blunt clubs. But our empathy and reason can carve a sharper path.</p>.<p>Come mothers and fathers/ Throughout the land/ And don’t criticise/ What you can’t understand</p>.<p>Ever paused before sharing a post, its pull strong but its truth murky? The Obama meme, like the earlier myth that he threw $65,000 hotdog parties, prey on that itch. These are QAnon tales – like the 2017 debunked pedophile ring, or the 2023 fake ‘minor-attracted persons’ tweet. India’s IT Act and the DSA aim to tame such lies, but they also choke speech. India’s vaguely-worded IT rules already face court battles for targeting fair political critique. The DSA’s ‘trusted flaggers’ policy pushes platforms to cut humour or politics to toe the line. The fix must be ours: pause, verify, weigh the algo’s interests and the platform pressures. Do you think governments can sort truth without harm?</p>.<p>In 2025, Dylan’s flood waters surge. Hearken back to Aurelius: don’t cheer one side’s win, but view the fight from beyond the fight. India’s IT Act and the EU’s DSA do indeed battle lies, but not without risking so many colourful, dissenting voices. Only our empathy and reason, sharpened by poorva paksha, steer through the meme-fuelled flood, preserving truth along with freedom.</p>
<p>Come gather ’round people/ Wherever you roam/ And admit that the waters/ Around you have grown/ And accept it that soon/ You’ll be drenched to the bone</p>.<p>Before I dive into Dylan’s flood, let me re-explain poorva paksha. It’s an ancient Indian philosophical practice of steel-manning rival views with empathy. I’ve long urged readers to weave this wisdom from ancient literature into their daily lives as a hack to cut through the turbulent waters of our divisive times. We, the public, must tackle this ourselves. We cannot trust governments to do it. With India’s IT Act revisions, for example, we rely on the government to tame fake news, deep fakes, and false memes. But governments favour their own interests, silencing dissent. Free speech, tied to thought, is too vital to risk. We don’t want state control over our minds.</p>.<p>Come writers and critics/ Who prophesise with your pen/ And keep your eyes wide/ The chance won’t come again/ And don’t speak too soon/ For the wheel’s still in spin</p>.Praise sways them all.<p>I’m hooked on ancient literature, whether Indian philosophy or from farther afield. Now, it’s Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. This erstwhile Roman Emperor’s opening lines hit hard. From Diognetus, he writes, he learned to shun the colosseum’s roar. Don’t cheer the swift, small-shielded gladiators or the steady, large-shielded ones. See both clearly, sans bloodlust. This echoes poorva paksha perfectly. Digital storms spin lies faster than a wheel. Memes ignite battles. But Aurelius urges calm, impartial thinking to navigate the noise.</p>.<p>Come senators, congressmen/ Please heed the call/ Don’t stand in the doorway/ Don’t block up the hall</p>.<p>Speaking of senators, a viral post about Barack Obama last week claimed that a Zoom call with Texas Democrats showed a bowl behind him bearing a blue spiral triangle, an FBI-flagged pedophile symbol: the ‘BoyLover’ logo. With Epstein’s shadow lingering, suspicions of elite misdeeds run high. Yet HypeFresh, a fact-checking service, has debunked it. Still, the claim tore through X, dividing people viciously.</p>.<p>Heed Aurelius’ call: don’t rush to judgement. Governments pounce on such haste, vowing to curb lies. India’s IT Act amendments allow a government unit to label content as ‘fake’. Platforms must delete it within 36 hours. In 2024, the Supreme Court paused a challenge to these rules. Meanwhile, a draft Digital India Act targets AI-driven lies. The EU’s 2024 Digital Services Act fines platforms up to 6% of revenue for ‘harmful’ content. All these laws risk stifling satire and dissent, enforcing conformity and approved narratives.</p>.<p>The curse it is cast/ The slow one now/ Will later be fast/ As the present now/ Will later be past</p>.<p>Lies race like gladiators lunging for the kill. The Obama meme recalls 2016’s Pizzagate, twisting symbols. The FBI’s bulletin is real but misused – no proof links Obama’s bowl to the crime. Some among us see every backdrop as a coded signal. Slow down. Feel the accusers’ fear of hidden elites, the defenders’ weariness of lies. At JNU, years ago, I urged students to hold rival ideas close, not strike them down. That classroom was a sanctuary. But as Dylan precociously prophesied in his 1964 anthem, the times they are changin’. Today’s digital arena isn’t a sanctuary – it’s a colosseum. India’s IT Rules seek to serve as referee, but for many they only fuel fears for press freedom, threatening journalists. The DSA drives platforms to over-censor, sacrificing lawful speech just to avoid fines. Governments wield blunt clubs. But our empathy and reason can carve a sharper path.</p>.<p>Come mothers and fathers/ Throughout the land/ And don’t criticise/ What you can’t understand</p>.<p>Ever paused before sharing a post, its pull strong but its truth murky? The Obama meme, like the earlier myth that he threw $65,000 hotdog parties, prey on that itch. These are QAnon tales – like the 2017 debunked pedophile ring, or the 2023 fake ‘minor-attracted persons’ tweet. India’s IT Act and the DSA aim to tame such lies, but they also choke speech. India’s vaguely-worded IT rules already face court battles for targeting fair political critique. The DSA’s ‘trusted flaggers’ policy pushes platforms to cut humour or politics to toe the line. The fix must be ours: pause, verify, weigh the algo’s interests and the platform pressures. Do you think governments can sort truth without harm?</p>.<p>In 2025, Dylan’s flood waters surge. Hearken back to Aurelius: don’t cheer one side’s win, but view the fight from beyond the fight. India’s IT Act and the EU’s DSA do indeed battle lies, but not without risking so many colourful, dissenting voices. Only our empathy and reason, sharpened by poorva paksha, steer through the meme-fuelled flood, preserving truth along with freedom.</p>
