Showcasing, publicizing and advancements experts grasp memes, since it’s reasonable and in trend; plus its special trademark is to spread like a virus. The more individuals go on the web, the more stronger the meme will be. Memes have helped with creating acclaim and fortune for some individuals, changing nobodies to overnight sensations in barely a second.
1.1.1 The Science behind the Power of Internet Memes
The year 2000 forward anticipated the meme phenomena, which unobtrusively speaks to the tones of the present social decorum and culture. The present culture and cleverness continues developing ordinary. The social effect of Memes can’t be overlooked. Indeed, it can even be a device for self-advancement and advertising that will guarantee your popularity and achievement. One of the most popular memes of all time is the many pictures of the cat with funny, captions that throw grammar out the window. It is created by Hawaiian blogger Eric Nakagawa with girlfriend Kari Unebasami. Nakagawa’s website dedicated to lolcats is now worth $2 million. It is the most popular internet web site displaying pictures of cats, accepting upwards of 1.5 million hits in a day. In a year the page gets over a large portion of a billion, yes billion, page visits, making it in league with other major news empires’ sites like the Huffington Post or NY Times. They’re being extra profitable, just by creating memes. Nakagawa’s web site generates images of these adorable cats and kittens with humorous captions. These memes are outrageously funny, and they don’t need a lot of time to enjoy. They take a few minutes of your time, and in the case of the lolcats, only a few seconds of your time. But don’t start thinking coming up with a meme is easy. Scientists and researchers have tried to study and understand memes. Every detail is taken into account, to know why this meme succeeded and why another meme failed.
Researchers have difficulty studying memes, because unlike previous cultural phenomenon’s, the internet meme does not have the problem of lacking cultural artefacts, but rather its exponential growth. Memes spread like wildfire from social networking sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, Digg and Reedit. Images may bring you unexpected outcomes in comparison to what you anticipated. Frankly, images are a greater amount of a craftsmanship than a science. Memes ought not be viewed as an external link establishment instrument, but instead as a successful limited time and promoting device. Viewers can relate better to a meme than a long article. Thus it is effective in creating a loyal online following base, where they can keep on coming back to your website. Memes can travel from one site to another, from one social networking site to another, thus you cannot be the sole carrier of the meme even if you are the owner. Social networking web sites aid in spreading your internet meme. Because of this, social networking is the perfect avenue to test the success of your meme by tracking its popularity and reading comments and reviews. Memes are still largely unknown and mysterious even to the best researchers, but one thing is known. Memes are one of the most important tools for conveying message online. The growing movement of teenagers worldwide creating and sharing their own esoteric, leftist political memes on Facebook, Reddit, and Tumblr. “I love the way memes can brilliantly explain a huge political issue in a simple way.” There is much debate and feedback around the utilization of so-called dank memes in the political field; some feel they are overbearingly layered with irony, or inclined to re-appropriating hypothesis outside of any relevant connection to the subject at hand. On the other side, they make political hypothesis digestible. Memes are also undeniably accessible and democratic: memers make content on their own terms, and in doing so seize “the means of production.”
1.1.2 Top Memes Of The Past Decades
• Planking- Planking, also known as the lying down game, is an activity that consists of a person lying face down with arms at the sides, photographed and shared online. The term ‘planking’ refers to the activity of imitating a wooden plank. Plankers try to find the most unusual and most humorous places to ‘plank’. Some of the most unusual places to plank include roofs, poles, on top of vehicles, even on toilets.
• Rebecca black’s Friday- Rebecca Black is the epitome of ‘Bad publicity is better than no publicity at all’. Her video ‘Friday’ on YouTube has 3.1 million dislikes (or 87.1% of the total ratings). Despite that, she has amassed 167 million views and hundreds of parodies. It is the 22nd most viewed video on YouTube of all time, before it was taken down on June 16 as per Black’s request. If you take a look at her ‘Friday’ video, you’ll see that the song lyrics are terrible, and the video just mediocre and the use of auto-tune was heavily criticized as well. She’s now a millionaire because of her publicity (albeit negative). ‘Friday’ was hated by the public, but proved to be a commercial success: in a matter of days, iTunes received 2 million downloads and with an iTunes payout of $0.70 per download, earning the singer about US $1.4 million in just a few days. Not bad for a thirteen-year-old.
• Chuck Norris jokes- Chuck Norris jokes are about the martial artist and actor Chuck Norris, stating exaggerated claims about Chuck Norris’ strength, ability, toughness, endurance, or everything else what makes him awesome. The claims are mostly absurd which is what makes them so hilarious. These jokes have spread around the globe via the internet. The Chuck Norris jokes first appeared on Late night with Conan O’Brien, and started appearing on the internet. It was a huge hit. Chuck Norris himself was flattered and found them humorous, but tries to not take them seriously.
• Famous dancing baby- The famous dancing baby animation, also known as Baby Cha Cha, is a short 3D animation of a baby, dancing cha-cha to the intro of the song ‘Hooked on a Feeling’. This short animation is among the earliest examples of online memes, having spread through chain emails.
• People of walmart- People of Wal-Mart features heavyweight, poorly dressed and just plain crazy people who shop at Wal-Mart. The pictures are absurd, silly, weird, and some are just gross. You can check all the funny pictures on their official website. Basically the web site mocks the shoppers of Wal-Mart. This internet me
me is not for everyone, as it may offend some people, but you’re invited to check it out or just leave.
• Demotivational posters- Demotivational posters are spoofs of the often clichéd motivational posters found in corporate offices and such. Like a motivational poster, it consists of a single picture, with a black border, with an all caps title in white, usually a serif font. Most often it is followed by a subheading in smaller font. The purpose of motivational posters is to inspire, demotivational posters work the opposite: they are pessimistic in nature. These are among the most common memes today, seen all over the cyberspace and shared among social networking sites. There are now dozens of websites dedicated to generating these hilarious demotivational posters. These posters are effective because they’re simple, sweet and fast. They’re really funny too. It shows that one strong, single picture can be very devastatingly powerful when paired with witty copy.
• YUNO guys- Y u no guy is a cartoon featuring a highly annoyed face, with his hands out and palms outward, as if screaming ‘Y U NO?’. It characteristically uses ‘text’ style grammar. It first appeared on Tumblr on LOL Tumblr Wallpapers, which instantly received 10,000 reblogs. Y U NO GUY is inspired by a character from Gantz, on Chapter 55: Naked King. His facial expression shows extreme rage and frustration.
• Other internet meme characters that are part of the Rage comics include Cereal Guy, Lol Guy, Okay Guy, Forever Alone, PFFFFT, Troll face, Me Gusta and more.
The researcher will briefly look into the various genres that defined meme generation in India. These genres are still in circulation and have played an integral part in critical mock-u-mentary of the political and traditional outlook of India.
1.2 Political satire
Satire is a style of composing that expects to scorn and call attention to society’s imperfections. This mocking is regularly covered in diversion. Satire as a style of composing keeps running all through history. The Greeks composed ironical plays. The Romans composed sarcastic lyrics. “Satire” itself is gotten from the Greek word “Satyrs,” a sort of Greek drama. Satire and incongruity now and again have been viewed as the best source to comprehend a general public, the most seasoned type of social investigation. A common example of using satire and humour to initiate change is political cartoons. Political satire is an entertaining, unexpected, or sarcastic examination of the political field trying to uncover ridiculousness and false reverence. Political cartoons provide a writer an avenue to critique society. The cartoonist does this through humour. The cartoon is received well because the audience whether in support of the cartoonist’s view or not, can laugh at the subject matter. Political satire is satire that represents considerable authority in picking up diversion from governmental issues; it has additionally been utilized with subversive expectation where political discourse and difference are taboo by an administration, as a technique for progressing political contentions where such contentions are explicitly illegal. Nowadays political satire takes many structures: TV programs like The Daily Show, kid’s shows, films, and Internet channels are striking cases in various mediums. These satires succeed when blending the substances of political level headed discussion with a grain of diversion. Regardless of whether in a delineation or TV comic drama appear, political comedians illuminate our comprehension of a civil argument by twisting the truth somewhat. They can uncover the madness hidden a political debate and demonstrate to us the cliché of political talk. In cases when they’re not all that insightful, they’re just plain funny. A type of comedic political analysis, it incorporates two components: cartoon and inference. Exaggerations spoof an open figure by distorting their appearance. This can incorporate animistic qualities or other misrepresented elements. The second vital component of a political toon is implication, or a reference to a genuine circumstance or setting. It’s essential that caricaturists allude to the significance of their toon without making an obvious association. Political parody can be a dubious frame since it goes for a barely recognizable difference amongst reporting and diversion. Political satire is typically recognized from political challenge or political contradiction, as it doesn’t really convey a plan nor try to impact the political procedure. While sometimes it might, it all the more normally points basically to give amusement. By its extremely nature, it once in a while offers a helpful view in itself; when it is utilized as a feature of challenge or difference, it has a tendency to just set up the blunder of issues as opposed to give arrangements. During the 20th and 21st Centuries satire is found in an increasing number of media (in cartoons as political cartoons with heavy caricature and exaggeration, and in political magazines) and the parallel exposure of political scandals to performances. The web has made it less demanding for the majority to participate in the good times. Cartoons and satires can be posted on the web, never again requiring a print distribution to have them. Online networking have helped political sideswipes to spread as infectiously as chuckling, and have cultivated a “remix culture” in which web clients share images and post satire with forsake. The internet has additionally made it simpler for comedians to sidestep censors and remain unknown.
The Pan-Arabia Enquirer, a Middle Eastern sarcastic news site, is controlled by an anonymous proof-reader. Humourists appreciate a worldwide achieve they never would have had something else. Jon Stewart, an American who has “The Daily Show”, an amusing news program on the Comedy Central station (presented above), has enlivened copycat demonstrates abroad, including one by Bassem Youssef, an Egyptian heart specialist, who began posting recordings on YouTube; they turned out to be popular to the point that he was given an opening on an Egyptian TV channel. New innovation is not by any means the only clarification for the present parody blast. Political change, including an overall move towards popular government, is helping as well. Satire is doing especially well in the “centre ground”— in nations where freedom of expression is compelled enough to shock individuals yet where political suppression is not all that extreme as to crush individual’s’ capacity to convey relatively freely. Administration change realized by the Arab spring has started another period of imaginative and brave cartooning.
1.2.1 Forms of Satire:
• Cartooning
• Writing
• Televising
1.3 History of beef eating in India
In the first place the history specialist breaks the myth that Muslim rulers presented beef eating in India. Much before the appearance of Islam in India meat had been related with Indian dietary practices. Also it is not at all tenable to hold that dietary habits are a mark of community identity.
(PUNIYANI, 2001)Indian sacred writings,; particularly the Vedas, demonstrates that among the roaming, peaceful Aryans who settled here, creature yield was a prevailing component till the rise of settled agriculture. Cows were the significant property amid this stage and they offered the same to satisfy the divine beings. Wealth was equated with the ownership of the cattle.
Numerous divine beings, for example, Indra and Agni are depicted as having unique inclinations for various sorts of flesh – Indra had soft spot for bull’s meat and Agni for bull’s and cow’s. It is recorded that the Maruts and the Asvins were likewise offered cows. In the Vedas there is a specify of around 250 creatures out of which no less than 50 should be fit for give up and utilization. In the Mahabharata there is a specify of a ruler named Ran
tideva who accomplished extraordinary distinction by circulating nourishment grains and beef to Brahmins. Taittiriya Brahman completely lets us know: `Verily the cow is food’ (atho annam via gauh) and Yajnavalkya’s insistence on eating the tender (amsala) flesh of the cow is well known. Indeed, even later Brahminical writings give the proof to eating meat. Indeed, even Manusmriti did not forbid the consumption of beef. In helpful segment of Charak Samhita the flesh of dairy animals is recommended as a prescription for different diseases. It is likewise prescribed for making soup. It is emphatically prompted as a cure for unpredictable fever, utilization, and anorexia. The fat of the cow is suggested for debility and ailment.
With the rise of agricultural economy and the gigantic change happening in the public eye, changes were to be brought in in the practice of animal sacrifice also. Around then there were ceremonial practices like animal sacrifices, with which Brahmins were distinguished. Buddha assaulted these practices. There were sacrifices, which included 500 bulls, 500 male calves, 500 female calves and 500 sheep to be fixing to the conciliatory shaft for butcher. Buddha called attention to that aswamedha, purusmedha, vajapeya penances did not deliver great outcomes. As per a story in Digha Nikaya, when Buddha was visiting Magadha, a Brahmin called Kutadanta was getting ready for a give up with 700 bulls, 700 goats and 700 rams. Buddha interceded and seized him. His dismissal of creature relinquishes and accentuation on non-damage to animal assumed a new significance in the context of new agriculture.
The emphasis on peacefulness by Buddha was not visually impaired or inflexible. He tasted beef and it is notable that he passed on because of eating pork. Emperor Ashok in the wake of changing over to Buddhism did not swing to vegetarianism. He just limited the quantity of animal to be murdered for the royal kitchen. So where do matters change and how did the cow turn into a symbol of confidence and reverence to the degree of accepting the status of `motherhood’? Over some undefined time frame principally after the rise of Buddhism or rather as a backup of the Brahminical assault on Buddhism, the practices began being looked on with different emphasis. The danger postured by Buddhism to the Brahminical esteem framework was excessively extreme. In light of low standings disappearing from the grasp of Brahminism, the fight was taken up at all the levels. At philosophical level Sankara reasserted the matchless quality of Brahminical esteems, at political level King Pushyamitra Shung guaranteed the physical assault on Buddhist priests, at the level of symbols King Shashank got the Bodhi tree destroyed.
One of the interests to the spread of Buddhism was the assurance of cattle wealth, which was required for the agricultural economy. In a way while Brahminism `succeeded’ in banishing Buddhism from India, it had additionally to change itself from the `animal give up’ state to the one which could be tuned in to the circumstances. It is here that this belief system took up the cow as an image of their ideological walk. Be that as it may, not at all like Buddha whose proclamations depended on reason, the neutralization of Brahminical belief system appeared as a visually impaired religious on attestation. So while Buddha’s peacefulness was for the safeguarding of animal wealth for the social and merciful reasons the counter was construct absolutely with respect to imagery. So while the devotees of Brahminical belief system blame Buddha for `weakening’ India because of his precept of peacefulness, he was not a cow worshiper or vegetarian in the current Brahminical sense.
Despite the slow rigidification of Brahminical `cow as mother’ position, huge segments of low standings proceeded with the act of beef eating. The followers of Buddhism kept on eating flesh including beef. Since Brahminism is the overwhelming religious custom, Babur, the primary Mughal ruler, in his will to his son Humayun, in deference to these notions, advised him to respect the cow and avoid cow slaughter. With the development of Hindutva belief system and governmental issues, in light of the rising Indian national development, the interest for prohibition on cow slaughter likewise came up. In post-Independence India RSS over and over raised this issue to develop a mass campaign but without any response to its call till the 1980s. While one must regard the slants of the individuals who worship cows and see her as their mom, to resent the target investigation of history in light of the fact that the actualities sometimes fall short for their political counts is yet another indication of a general public where liberal space is being strangulated by the experts of collective governmental issues.
1.4 Beef ban
The current seething discussion about beef has the Bharatiya Janata Party resolute. It began when the environment ministry restricted the sale of cattle for slaughter through a “animal market”, a term it characterized comprehensively. The order angered many individuals, especially in the South and the North-east. Some BJP pioneers from these districts have defended their works on in regards to cows. BJP leaders demand that eating beef is against the ‘idea of India’. Indeed, even in states where many individuals eat beef, for example, Kerala, the dairy animals is likewise loved. Any criticism of the BJP on the issue of cow slaughter, its leaders believe, will inevitably enable it to commute home the point that the resistance is focusing on a idea of India that is broadly held. The video film of youth Congress workers in Kerala butchering a cow has circulated around the web, forcing the party’s leadership to distance itself. The BJP feels that the video will hugely affect the mind of Indians, pushing the Congress further against the wall. Except for Bihar, the BJP has cleared central India, also known as the ‘cow belt’, in recent elections. Gujarat, with a huge vegetarian population, and Himachal Pradesh, where beef eating is not pervasive, will both hold assembly elections later this year. The more the opposition makes a line over dairy cattle slaughter, the better the BJP supposes it will do. The DMK in Tamil Nadu and Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal have gone into all-out attack mode against the BJP government for the new limitations on dairy cattle. The BJP system is not to get drawn into the quick and dirty of the request and change over it into an issue about cow slaughter. “Protection of cow and it’s progeny is a constitutionally ordained direction,” wrote BJP general secretary P Muralidhar Rao on Twitter. “BJP stands to promote this view among the people.” The sacredness of the cow is fundamental to the belief system of Hindutva. A contention about cow slaughter causes the BJP play to its display. With more than 80% of Indians recognizing themselves as Hindu, and the majority of the unwavering not supporting of the consumption of beef, the BJP expects that the contention will help it politically and ideologically.
The Supreme Court dismissed a request of looking for an across the country prohibition on cow slaughter. The apex court expelled an activist’s proposal to prohibit the slaughter of cows across India, a measure that would have adequately restricted beef utilization in the country of 1.25 billion. Cows are loved in the Hindu sacred writings as the “mother” of civilization and numerous worshipers liken the slaughter of cows or eating beef as sacrilege. millions from India’s huge minority populations including Muslims, Christians and lower-caste Hindus eat beef, which isn’t widely available and is banned altogether in some states. Just eight of India’s 29 states permit the consumption of beef or the slaughter of cows. Muslims, who make up 14 percent of India’s population of 1.3 billion people, said the government’s decree against the beef and leather industries, which employ millions of workers and generate more than $16 billion in
annual sales, was aimed at marginalizing them. The Supreme Court, in issuing its choice, stressed the hardship that the restriction on the sale of cattle for slaughter had forced. “The livelihood of people should not be affected by this,” Chief Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar said in explaining the decision. The crackdown on the beef business has turned out to be exceptionally passionate, with a flood of assaults on Muslims associated with either putting away meat or transporting dairy cattle for butcher. It is trusted that no less than 28 individuals have been murdered in cow related viciousness since 2010.
The BJP is stating this unmistakably that the topic of having a law in a state on cow slaughter is to be decided by the state and not the Center,” Kohli enlightened correspondents here when asked regarding his party’s position on the North Eastern states where majority of people consume beef. “Every state government that decides to have a law or not have a law on cow slaughter, do so keeping in mind the local food habits of that particular state and in the North East every state government will keep this in account,” he said. Kohli said the Centre’s notification banning sale of cattle in animal markets for slaughter is based on a Supreme Court order and recommendations made by a Parliamentary Committee. Different states has different policies regarding the cow slaughter and consumption of beef (Express, 2017)
1.4.1 States where cow slaughter is legal:
● Kerala – No restrictions.
● West Bengal – No restrictions.
● Other Northeast – No ban in Arunachal, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim. In Manipur, Maharaja in 1939 decreed prosecution for cow slaughter, but beef consumed widely.
1.4.2 States where cow slaughter is banned:
● Andhra Pradesh & Telangana – Slaughter of cows, calves prohibited. Bulls, bullocks can be killed against “fit-for-slaughter” certificate, issued if animals can no longer be used for breeding; draught/agricultural operations. Violators face 6 months jail and/or Rs 1,000 fine.
● Assam – Cow slaughter banned except on issue of ‘fit-for-slaughter’ certificate, at designated places.
● Bihar – Slaughter of cows, calves banned; of bulls, bullocks older than 15 years allowed. Violators face 6 months’ jail and/or Rs 1,000 fine.
● Chandigarh – Killing a cow, storing/serving/eating beef banned; eating meat of buffalo, bullock, ox also banned.
● Chhattisgarh – Slaughter of cow, buffalo, bull, bullock, calf, and possession of their meat banned. Transport, export to other states for slaughter also banned; attracts same punishment of 7 years’ jail, fine up to Rs 50,000.
● Delhi – Slaughter of “agricultural cattle” — cow, calf, bull, bullock — and “possession of [their] flesh”, even if they are killed outside Delhi, banned. Buffaloes are not covered.
● Gujarat – Slaughter of cow, calf, bull and bullock; transport, sale of their meat banned. Punishment: Rs 50,000 fine, up to 7 years’ jail. Ban does not include buffaloes.
● Haryana – As per a 2015 law, “cow”, which includes bull, bullock, ox, heifer, calf, and disabled/diseased/barren cows, can’t be killed. Punishment: 3-10 years jail, fine up to Rs 1 lakh. Sale of canned beef and beef products, and export of cows for slaughter banned.
● Himachal Pradesh – Slaughter of all bovines punishable by 5 years’ jail. Killing allowed in the interest of research, or if animal has contagious disease.
● Jammu & Kashmir – Slaughter of cow and its progeny punishable by up to 10 years’ jail. Possession of “flesh of any [of these] slaughtered animal(s)” punishable by a year; killing of “he or she buffalo” punishable with fine five times the animal’s price.
● Jharkhand – Slaughter of cows and oxen; possession, consumption of their meat, banned. Violators face up to 10 years’ jail and/or Rs 10,000 fine.
● Karnataka – Cows can be slaughtered if old or diseased. Possession not a crime. Bill proposed by BJP in 2010 made slaughter punishable by 7 years’ jail and Rs 1 lakh fine, but it did not become law.
● Madhya Pradesh – Slaughter of cow, progeny banned. Penalty raised to 7 years’ jail in 2012, burden of proof on accused. Buffaloes can be killed.
● Maharashtra – Slaughter, consumption of meat of cow, bull, bullock banned since March 2015 after revision of existing law. 5 years’ jail and/or Rs 10,000 fine. Slaughter of buffaloes allowed.
● Mizoram – No restrictions.
● Odisha – 2 years’ jail, Rs 1,000 fine for cow slaughter. Old bulls, bullocks can be killed on fit-for-slaughter certificate; cow if it suffers from contagious disease.
● Punjab – “Beef” doesn’t include imported beef; “cow” includes bulls, bullocks, oxen, heifer, calves. Slaughter allowed for export, with government permit.
● Rajasthan – Slaughter of “cow, calf, heifer, bull or bullock” prohibited; possession, transport of their flesh prohibited. 10 years’ imprisonment and/or Rs 10,000 fine.
● Tamil Nadu – Cow, calf slaughter banned; up to 3 years’ jail and/or Rs 1,000 fine. Beef consumption and slaughter of economically worthless animals allowed.
● Uttar Pradesh – Slaughter of cow, bullock, ox banned. Can’t store or eat beef. 7 years’ jail and/or Rs 10,000 fine. Can import in sealed containers, to be served to foreigners. Buffaloes can be killed.
1.5 Memes on beef ban
The country makes a roast of a decision that it does not like. People took it to social media with memes and jokes. The scene was no different when the centre issue guidelines on cattle slaughter and banned the sale of cattle for slaughter at animal market. The joke makers and the humour generators seemed to pound hard with memes and sarcastic jokes appearing in hundreds on whatsapp and facebook. In Kerala where beef is the staple food and an exotic culinary delight, many took to social media to vent their ire against the curbs on choosing one’s food . Others saw the diktat of the government as a bid to impose its political agendas. The love for beef in Kerala cuts across all divides and that is why any movement against beef or beef related food has always backfired. They are using different movie clips and images along with text to protest against government. Whatsapp, twitter and facebook were abuzz with witty takes. Whatsapp troll in Malayalam and English were roaring with illustrated gags. They even created a facebook page called BJP (Beef Janata Party) to oppose against the government, in which they continuously kept on posting meme, images, videos etc against the beef ban issue and the different government policies. They not only focused on the particular issue but also brought out the other issue which before they were not much bothered to talk about in social media.
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