Ratan Tata urged social media users to display more kindness.
Days after he was named the "cleanest" promoter in India in an informal Twitter survey, industrialist Ratan Tata has earned more praise on social media for speaking out against online bullying. In a post shared on his official Instagram account on Sunday, the Chairman of Tata Trusts appealed for empathy and urged social media users to display more "kindness" while dealing with each other.
"This year has been full of challenges," wrote Mr Tata, 82, apparently in reference to the coronavirus pandemic. "I see the online community being hurtful to each other, bringing each other down, harshly and with quick judgements," he said, adding that this year, especially, people needed to help each other instead of bringing each other down.
Apart from the coronavirus pandemic - due to which millions of people have been forced indoors and many have lost their jobs, India has also had to deal with floods and locust attacks in the last few weeks.
"I believe this year especially calls for us to be unified and helpful and is not the time to pull each other down. More of sensitivity towards each other, more of kindness and more of understanding and patience than what one sees today," wrote Mr Tata in a statement that is being widely applauded online.
"My presence online is limited, but I truly hope it will evolve into a place of empathy and support for everyone, no matter what you cause, rather than hate and bullying," he added.
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A post shared by Ratan Tata (@ratantata) on
On social media, many praised the industrialist for joining the small chorus of voices who have spoken out against cyberbullying.
Several people on Twitter - a platform otherwise infamous for its toxicity - hailed Mr Tata as a "man with a golden heart" and thanked him for highlighting the issue of online bullying.
Ratan Tata's words on this subject were all the more powerful because he has led by example. In February this year, the top businessman came to the defense of a woman who referred to him as "chhotu" in a comment and was brutally trolled for it. "There is a child in each of us. Please treat this young lady with respect," he wrote.
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