New Delhi – Anti-caste educator and digital content creator Lakhshya Lakey has alleged that his Instagram account was suspended following a targeted hate campaign led by right-wing Hindutva accounts. The incident has raised fresh concerns about caste-based hate speech and selective censorship by social media giant Meta.
Lakhshya, 26, a graduate of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) and a TEDx speaker, ran the page “Lakhshya Speaks” with over 333,000 followers. His page, focused on caste awareness and social justice, was suspended on July 10 without prior warning.
Speaking to Maktoob, Lakhshya said, “As a caste educator, I highlight the ongoing impact of the caste system. From the beginning, I’ve received hate, mostly from people uncomfortable with discussions on reservation and caste inequalities. The abuse only intensified over time.”
Lakhshya’s content often included educational videos, critiques of misinformation from savarna (upper-caste) pages, and reaction pieces that aimed to shed light on discrimination faced by Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) across India. “People messaged me saying my videos helped them understand caste realities they were unaware of,” he said.
However, his growing digital presence attracted severe backlash. He reported receiving frequent emails laced with casteist slurs such as “chamar” and “bhangi,” used derogatorily against Dalit communities. “People offered me money to clean their toilets,” he recalled, highlighting the deep-rooted nature of caste-based discrimination.
In one instance, he alleged that an Instagram user named “Shivam Nair” initiated a campaign to bring down his page by mass-reporting it for copyright violations. Soon after, his account was suspended by Meta.
“This user, along with others, openly declared on Instagram that they were targeting my account. Yet Meta didn’t send me any warning or notice—just an email saying my account had been suspended for copyright violations,” Lakhshya said.
Following the takedown, another Instagram story mocking him appeared on the alleged perpetrator’s account stating: “BRAHMAN nuked down CHAMMAR’s page,” referring to Lakhshya’s backup profile. The incident was accompanied by the circulation of AI-generated images demeaning him.
Despite attempts to contact Meta through email, Lakhshya said he received no response. He then filed a complaint at the local police station, but officials refused to register the case, citing language issues and jurisdictional limitations. Eventually, the cybercrime department forwarded the matter back to the same police station.
When Maktoob reached out to the accused, Shivam Nair, he denied responsibility and claimed his account had been hacked. His Instagram profile has since been set to private.
Lakhshya believes that Meta lacks cultural and contextual sensitivity in dealing with caste-based abuse on its platforms. “Meta easily identifies slurs against the Black community but ignores casteist abuse against Dalits and Adivasis. There is no AI training or moderator awareness about caste issues in India,” he said.
He also pointed out that several Muslim-run pages in India have faced similar suspensions for speaking on controversial issues. “I never attacked any political party. I just educated people about caste. But that alone was enough to trigger mass abuse and censorship,” he added.
The case has once again spotlighted Meta’s alleged selective enforcement of its policies. Human Rights Watch recently criticized Meta for suspending numerous pro-Palestine accounts after October 7, 2023, calling it “a wave of heightened censorship.”
Though Facebook officially includes “caste” in its hate speech policy under protected categories, digital rights experts argue that little has been done to enforce this rule effectively in the Indian context.
The suspension of Lakhshya Lakey’s account is now being viewed not only as a case of digital harassment but also as part of a broader pattern of silencing dissenting voices who speak against entrenched social hierarchies and right-wing ideology.
