My physical appearance, accent and academic pedigree stereotypically labels me a ‘woke liberal.’

And before my political interest and ideology formulated, I went along with the woke liberal crowd. They were the loudest ones. I thought, if someone can so passionately put forth their ideas, they must be confident and knowledgeable.

The typical traits of the ‘woke liberals’ I followed? Those that yelled out loud and proud with fixed ideas.

Then I grew up. At least my interest in politics burgeoned.

I questioned one of my friends on an issue of the American economy. Her answer to me?

“The US is going to hell with what our president is doing on economic policy.” She was screaming at the top of her lungs.

I asked, ‘But why? Give me an objective argument? Do you have statistics or empirical examples of why our economy will supposedly burn in hell?”

Her reply? Well, before telling me to ‘burn in hell’ for interrogating her, she referenced an influencer who has posted statistics on Facebook.

Okay. That was something objective. I Facebooked that influencer. A recognised hair stylist. Nothing wrong with that. But when I compared actual data to the hair stylist’s economic claim, not only had she quoted incorrect figures, but also had gotten the entire economic argument wrong due to a miscalculation using wrong numbers.

This was the ‘expert’ that these woke liberals were going by, when protesting across campus and city.

All I could think to myself was, ‘Is this for real?’

Suddenly, the ‘woke liberals’ I had admired, followed and desperately wanted to be a part of for so long now seemed like clueless caricatures. They yelled and screamed fake narratives.

Their ‘fixed ideas’ were not well-researched, nor did they deep-dive into the issues they preached. And when they did preach, they quoted hair stylists, models, celebrities, etc.

No offence to those influencers for not being domain experts, but these ‘woke liberals’ did not even bother to fact- check influencer claims.

And if someone disagreed or asked questions to them? Absolutely unacceptable to a woke liberal. You will get the finger and told to ‘FO.’

Why am I telling you this?

The exact same experience I had with woke liberals can be seen in today’s unrest across India.

Social media platforms have exposed protesters attending rallies that get violent without even knowing what they are there. Celebrities included.

Take actor Farhan Akhtar at a protest rally in Mumbai. He said, and I quote, “There could be a possibility that something is amiss in the details [of the CAA]; otherwise, why would so many people be here?”

Well done, bro.

And if this is the stance of a ‘woke influencer’, look at some of the claims by our young ‘woke liberals.’

If protestors are truly ‘woke,’ would they say there are detention centres, some even saying perhaps situated abroad?

When in fact: There are no detention facilities and no Indian Muslim will be sent to those non-existent detention centres. This was also clarified by PM Modi publicly.

If protesters are truly ‘woke,’ would they say the transgendered will not get citizenship?

When in fact: The NRC does not exclude anyone for being transgender, atheist, Adivasis, Dalits, women and those without land with or without documents.

If protestors are truly ‘woke,’ would they say bizarrely absurd things like women be left out of citizenship after CAA and NRC because after marriage they change surnames?

When in fact: Marriage does not change your date of birth certificate or your parenthood and like in any other country, these facts are more than enough for citizenship

If protesters are truly woke, would they say CAA is against Indian Muslims?

When in fact: It has nothing to do with Indian Muslims at all. It deals with religiously persecuted minorities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. In fact, no Indian citizen of any religion needs to worry at all about the CAA or NRC. And by the way, it is against Indian law for a person to be excluded for being a follower of any religion.

If protesters are truly ‘woke,’ would they tie the CAA to something hypothetical that has not even happened yet?

When in fact: Fake narratives are meshing the Assam NRC into the CAA, which required proof of ancestry dating back to or before 1971. The Assam NRC was mandated by the Assam Accord and implemented on the directions of the Supreme Court. If and when the NRC comes, citizenship will be decided as it has been for a while now as per The Citizenship Rules, 2009 as framed under The Citizenship Act of 1955. And by the way, both The Citizenship Rules, 2009 and The Citizenship Act, 1955 are available in the public domain.

If protesters are truly woke, would they oppose a law that actually is designed to help religiously persecuted minorities?

When in fact: This is a moment of triumph for India’s long-cherished civilisational heritage of providing a home to those who are ignored by the world. India is giving a home to the persecuted in theocratic countries and instead of celebrating it, the woke liberals are dead opposed.

As a former ‘woke liberal by association,’ I invite any current woke liberal to have a cup of coffee with me and objectively debate the CAA and NRC. But of course, nobody will come because woke liberals do not carry the capacity to agree to disagree.

The impact?

More spreading of fake narratives and violent protests led by ‘expert influencers’ who have been unable to frame even one logical argument as to why they are against CAA.

Burning vehicles, train attacks, property damaged, countless injuries and lives lost.

In a recent address on CAA in New Delhi, PM Modi said one very simple line that can end this chaos:

“Respect your education. Read the Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC. You are educated.”

Don’t be a ‘woke liberal.’ Evolve into a woke citizen.