Bengaluru: Man posts pics of women celebrating Diwali on X, netizens find it indecent

A Bengaluru-based tech professional has come under criticism after sharing a controversial post on X (formerly Twitter) that many users viewed as objectifying women. The user, who goes by the handle "murphyyyy," created a thread featuring photos of women celebrating Diwali, captioned, “All the Diwali patakas on Twitter. A thread. Thank me later.” In this context, "patakas," which translates to fireworks, was interpreted by many as a slang term to describe women, sparking outrage online.

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The post quickly went viral, amassing over 4 million views, with numerous users condemning the act of reposting women’s pictures without consent and using language deemed derogatory. Many of the women whose photos were featured expressed discomfort, with some opting to delete their images or switch their profiles to private to avoid further exposure.

One X user highlighted the issue, commenting, “This guy made a thread of girls posting their Diwali pictures and captioned it ‘Patakas’... Notice how many girls made their account private or deleted the post because they didn’t think their moment of happiness would lead to this.”

The incident has ignited a broader conversation on social media about consent and the objectification of women online, with calls for greater respect and privacy around personal images shared on public platforms.