Alternatives for Whatsapp in India

Recently the incidences of “Mob lynching” were used to sham the messaging application like WhatsApp. This was the same mentality which went into placard message “Bullet didn’t kill my father, War did”. Blaming the messenger for the fault of Human action.

The government then requested WhatsApp to control the spread of fake news. I have a feeling that the use of social media will be restricted as we near the General Election of 2019.

So here are my few suggestions for an alternative to Whatsapp. While doing this I am strictly India centric while considering applications.

Whatsapp is a very popular messaging service around the world. Those who own iPhone use iMessages. But WhatsApp is available on  Android/iOS/Jio-Kai OS. The reason for the popularity of WhatsApp is easy to use and finding WhatsApp contacts by phone numbers. So I will be focusing on these 2 features primarily to suggest an alternative.

You can see, on 2^nd place alternate to WhatsApp is Facebook Messenger. But that is no use because both WhatsApp and Facebook are owned by the same company.

The 3^rd place is WeChat. It is a Chinese app and it is known to transfer your data to Chinese servers. As an Indian, I won’t be promoting WeChat. Though it is very simple to use, most of its options are still in Chinese. Their 'Help' is in Chinese. This app is not optimized for global use. And certainly not meant for India.

Viber on 4^th place is a fairly simple app. The advantage it had, was that it also had a desktop application. So you can install Viber on PC. Even though Whatsapp comes with Whatsapp web it still requires your phone to be connected to interest to use Whatsapp web. There is no such limitation on Viber. You can switch off your phone and still do chat through your PC. The parent company is based in UK-London. So I have my doubts how much help they will be in case of any court case. We know how much helpful they are while extraditing Vijay Mallya. So they may not address our concern. Also, the UK has opted out of EU. So new EU regulation regarding social media does not apply to Viber. Something to be considered here.

Then we come down to Line. Now, this is something we Indians could use. This app is Japanese. It is heavily used in Japan-Indonesia and other South-East Asian Countries. The app is convenient and users might not feel the difference between Line and Whatsapp. Apart from its stickers which might take half of your screen.

The other apps on the list like Snapchat, Tango Kik are not worth considering.

There are other apps which are not on the list but we know their names and can certainly look into them. They are Google Duo, Telegram, BBM, Hike Messenger & Jio Chat.

Google Duo

This app comes pre-installed on our phones. But we never use it. Google already collects a ton of information on us. They are already Giant in the tech world. And start using google app for chatting will be giving them more power. Remember Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Telegram

This is a German app which fought Russia’s Putin over sharing user data. Some marketed it few years ago as Indian app. But it is not Indian. It is German. And popular in European countries. They might not share data with India to assist our investigation. Otherwise, the functions of the app is smooth. It is minimalistic. There is no profile/status nonsense or no paid promotion as well. It is simple chatting and message sharing app.

BlackBerry Messenger

Now we are entering into India friendly app territory. It was noticed a few years back that terrorists were using BBM to communicate with each other. This was an era when BlackBerry was famous. Indian Government asked Canadian Blackberry to provide access to chat data. And after months of negotiations, Blackberry agreed. They set up their servers in India. Sadly WhatsApp came along with Android and blackberry messenger fall behind in the competition. I used it for testing. And must say it is not smooth. It has lagging issues. The Emojis/stickers are limited.

Hike Messenger

This is an Indian app. But I must state that it has investment from Chinese investors. Never the less this app has been optimized for India. It gives you live cricket score as well as live Kabaddi scores of Pro Kabaddi. It gives daily motivational quotes, Good morning images etc. It seems this app developer do understand Indian taste better. The app also tried to set up payment platform but I am not sure it is currently working. There are some innovative features like hiding some chat completely.  I have used all the above mentioned apps and I found this one most feature rich.

Jio Chat

This is truly Indian app as It is owned by Indian and servers also in India. So accessing them in case of national security will not be a big deal. This app has taken its inputs from Chinese WeChat. It is many sponsored channels which do advertising on the app. But I found lagging issues on this app, more serious than BBM. Also look of the app is dull. I hope they improve that.

Conclusion:-
We do not have anything which is 100% Indian and works smoothly. So we have to compromise on something or the other. On that front, I think Hike and Line should be considered. I rate Hike on top because I use to and found no problem whatsoever. Its features are very helpful at times. Line can also be considered. It is smooth but not optimised for India.

INDIA WILL BECOME HINDU PAKISTAN – SHASHI THAROOR

Yesterday many news agencies (Print/online both included) carried the news quoting Shashi Tharoor that “If BJP win in 2019 India will become Hindu Pakistan”

Well, the idea is neither original nor new. Just second page of Google search you will find a Quora post from 2015.

Link=> https://www.quora.com/Is-India-becoming-a-Hindu-Pakistan

But there was one from last year in which Shashi was involved directly. And what more Shashi Tharoor had tweeted about it himself.

Link => https://twitter.com/ShashiTharoor/status/891575576221319168

Here you will find Shashi Tharoor is actually defending India saying it will not become Hindu Pakistan. But within a year Shashi changed his mind turned around 360 degrees and said exactly opposite what he said last year.

But it has come as no surprise to me.

Look with whom he has exchanged the idea. Hina Rabbani-Khar, a Pakistani politician. Remember Meher Tarar? Another Pakistani, whom Shashi Tharoor’s wife Sunanda accused of influencing her husband? So is it surprising that Shashi Tharoor now toe the line stated by his master (in this case mistress) from Pakistan? Especially when Shashi Tharoor is out on bail in the case of the tragic death of his wife? Is it possible that he was forced to change his stand on India becoming Hindu Pakistan by some outside forces? Is it possible that outside forces may have influenced him to finally propagate the Pakistani propaganda which Hina Rabbani-Khar was stating a year earlier?

I must draw the attention of the readers to one interesting fact though. (This was originally posted by Marathi Blog-writer Bhau Torsekar in his today’s blog called Jagata Pahara)

Link => http://jagatapahara.blogspot.com/2018/07/blog-post_12.html

Nepal in 2015, under communist party’s rule, decided to change its constitution from the Hindu Nation to a Secular nation. And among all people who oppose this were Muslims. Their argument was that “If Nepal became secular it will open gates for Christian missionaries. That will be bad for us minorities. It is better as the Hindu nation because Hindus do not convert.”

Link => https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/muslims-nepal-ask-hindu-nation-say-no-secularism-33079

Another Link => https://www.ibtimes.co.in/why-are-muslims-nepal-demanding-hindu-state-642827

Mr. Shashi Tharoor even if India became Hindu Rashtra “It will never be Hindu Pakistan” (as you, yourself have stated on 30^th July 2017)

Pranab da You too?

From Congress’s point of view, Pranab Mukharji committed blasphemy by accepting the invitation of untouchable RSS, to speak at their event.

The Elite of India is more Manuvadi than Manu himself. They have strict code regarding untouchables. Whether it is organizations like BJP-RSS or persons like Savarkar-Modi they will try everything to remove every last trace of them from India.

Those who are shouting “Intolerance” on top of their voice are the same people who were supporting the removal of the plaque of Savarkar from Andaman. Now, these people are criticizing Pranab Mukharji for merely accepting the invitation from the Ideological rival.

In Singapore a few months back, Shehejada Rahul Gandhi was giving Gyan about “How talks are important” and “Holding talk with the political opponent is the only way to solve the problem” But he ignored what his own party worker had tweeted a few days back. When sharing the photo of pet dog Pidi, "Office of RG" received comment from HB Sarma as follows.

So much for holding talks.

This is not something new. Gorge Fernandez was once a dear leader of left-liberals because he shook India when he successfully conducted a nationwide Railway strike in 1974. But when he joined hands BJP rose in their ranks and got a prominent position of Defense Minister he became untouchable. The opposition boycotted him. So much so that when he used to answer the questions in parliament, the entire opposition used to walk out.

Ever Heard about retired supreme court judge K T Thomas? He once said “After army RSS Keeps Indians safe” The criticism he faced due to this statement was unprecedented. Similar criticism was hurled at Azim Premji (a muslim business tycoon) who spoke at RSS’s event in 2015.

He said at that event "Some people expressed apprehension that by attending a forum like this I would be seen as endorsing the ideology of the Sangh. I did not follow the advice because I am not a political person. I am however deeply interested in and concerned about my country. Also, I believe that merely speaking at a particular forum does not in any way mean that one endorses all, or any, of the views that might be expressed at the forum, or which may be held by the organizers,"

What sickens me to watch that sazish”. People who propagate that there should be talks with a terrorist country like Pakistan are uncomfortable with Ex-President of India addressing his fellow Citizens. Why there are two different stands when it comes to engaging with terrorist and engaging with your ideological rival?

these people were forced to give an explanation for their acts while no one raised a question when Digvijay Singh releasing a book called “26/11 RSS ki

The priorities of Congress were never been exposed so clearly. They want us to have a cordial relationship with Pakistan while completely cut off contact with our brothers because they have a different political opinion. Pakistan who has not only supporting UN designated terrorist Hafiz Sayeed, but who has hate against Indian civilization ingrained in their mentality.

Congress feel more akin with a proud pakistani than a proud Indian. Is it any surprise then that they are raising a question on Ex-President?