Many of my colleagues at work have a limited understanding of India’s political scene. I was like them until about a year ago. Then, Twitter happened and I fell down the rabbit hole into the fold of Right Winger. I’ve soaked up a lot through this experience. This piece is my attempt at sharing these (subaltern!) readings along with a few tips.

1. Set your agenda

We spend a disproportionate amount of time in reacting to Kanhaiya, Barkha, Rajdeep, Yamuna and Shaktiman. In the ensuing din, we unwittingly further the narrative of the same media we seek to confront. We let them set the agenda and indeed, the hashtag, too. Caught in the glee of damning Barkha, we let the issue of Ishrat Jehan and Chidambaram slip away. We squander the potential to be influencers and in this, we’re achingly similar to the party whose cause we espouse.

Until a few years ago, we, the right wing, were the subalterns in our national discourse. Considering this, it is definitely good that today, we call out the impostors. But to go from good to great, it is important we don’t lose focus on the issues that when resolved, will bring about major and lasting change.

2. Don’t give space to the undeserving

Every tag or mention of someone in online conversation increases their visibility. An occasional witticism or remark is fine. Obsessive replying/retweeting/commenting is a waste of precious energy. It bestows opponents with an importance they do not deserve. Kanchan Gupta recently made a pertinent observation on this. Giving them space – in the cyber world and in your mind – is just clutter.

3. Read read until you get your thoughts clear – then voice them

Read a lot about a given topic from several sources – more so when it comes to religious customs and concepts of Sanatan Dharma. Mull those things over, talk to an expert in the subject, and understand things. Learn to see to the root of an issue so that you don’t get sidetracked in a discussion and do a better job of confronting the other side.

4. Avoid burnout

I’ve watched people go for the opponent’s jugular day in and out and then, suddenly withdraw because they feel exhausted by it all. There are a few ways to bypass this.

• Desist from the urge to reply instantaneously.  When you allow more time between stimulus and response, you are more likely to respond sensibly.

• Choose your battles wisely and conserve emotional energy. Ask yourself, “How much will this matter in a week’s time or a month’s time or a year’s time?”

• Go off social media for a day or two every week – you’ll realize the world doesn’t stop if you’re not tweeting or sharing stuff.

5. Focus on the positives

Open letters, reports and op-eds that take the fight to the enemy camp garner more page views and shares as compared to those that speak of positive developments. There are fewer people interested in reading about Piyush Goyal’s rural electrification than about Barkha’s open letter.

Come 2019, the country will be taking stock of how the government performed. So, from now itself, identify positive work being done. Spend a greater amount of time spreading this good news to build a positive image of the government in the minds of people. Which people? Not the ones on Twitter – those like us already know; those who dislike us have closed their minds. Reach out to people like my colleagues – those with skewed views – who have only newspapers and television news as their source of information. They are part of the real world that is not on Twitter but votes in elections; it is crucial we find ways of spreading information to them.

6. Remember that the real world is offline

Many of us are caught in the delusion that Twitter is the battlefield. We believe acerbic wit or anonymous slander is the only weapon of destruction we need. Sorry to disrupt the fantasy, but the real world is offline. And it has concerns more immediate and far-reaching in consequence.

It isn’t enough to tweet about Acche Din; it’s important to work at making it a reality. And that is as much your and my responsibility as it is of those who coined that slogan. So, reach out to people in this real world and work to make a change there. Work on your own or volunteer with a genuine NGO – do something to make a difference to another Indian’s life. Teach a child to read, help someone pick up a vocational skill, guide our children and youth towards understanding the unique culture of this land and give them a sense of pride in their identity as Indians. Help to create better social conditions, create employment opportunities …the list is endless. Spread word of these efforts and their results on social media and inspire others to do the same.

Given the political and social situation that prevails today, we can be forgiven for taking pride when we’re called Right Wing, Sanghi and Internet Hindu. But to do real justice to our cause, it is equally important to focus on being Righteous in not just the virtual but also the real world.