US netizens confuse Goan DJ Ajit Pai for Donald Trump’s FCC boss

PANAJI: Repercussions of the net neutrality debate in the US are being felt in Goa. In a strange case at the confluence of mistaken identity, Donald Trump, and social media, the affable Goan DJ Ajit Pai recently found himself at the receiving end of appeals, abuses, and attacks on his Instagram account.
His fault? He shares his name and surname with the chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC).So, like many others, the Goan Pai, who is a household name on India’s party circuit, woke up on Friday to the news that the FCC had voted to reverse Obama-era rules on net neutrality. So far, so good. But then, he logged on to his Instagram only to be told that he’s to blame.
The reason? His official-sounding Instagram id, @ajitpaiofficial, somehow confused and confounded American net neutrality advocates, who didn’t bother to figure out that this Pai spins tracks and not contentious political stances. Or perhaps they thought he spins music in Goan nightclubs when he isn’t reporting to Trump?
That Pai has one philosophy — “Consumers benefit most from competition.” So does this Pai, but it’s quite different — “Everybody is welcome as long as they are creating good music and the audience enjoys it.”
The Goan Pai was first informed of his US namesake eight months ago by an American friend, and he laughed at it. This Ajit looked up that Ajit’s credentials, and was probably impressed. But then, things got weird.
In his home in Goa, DJ Pai received calls from the ‘land of the free’ – yes, in the dead of the night – from Americans; some cajoled, some indulged in a debate and some got plain old abusive, including one drunk call. One caller moaned that, “There will be no Internet!” Most were polite, really surprised that they got through to ‘the Pai’ and this one had an Indian accent too.
Soon, he was receiving 20 to 30 calls from the US every night. Then his Facebook wall almost crashed, along with his Twitter and Instagram.
I support net neutrality, says DJ Ajit Pai
If that wasn’t enough, there was a ton of emails. From fewer than 100 daily visitors to his website, the numbers shot up shot up to several thousand as the net neutrality debate reached its zenith. At its peak, his website was among the top Google search results, only adding to the confusion.
DJ Ajit then took to expressing his opinion online. “I am for net neutrality,” he posted. Of course, that further confused the already confused Americans. Was the FCC’s boss going against his boss, Donald Trump? Ajit got a call from Verge magazine in the US; a reporter tracked him down and wanted to know how he was dealing with the fuss. A few other online magazines across the globe, including Germany carried articles on the name-sake confusion. As it goes with social media, there were defenders who started pointing out the confusion in names.
When the confusion came to light, Instagram commenters showed DJ Ajit innovative ways to deal with the limelight. While one suggested that he ‘create a diss track against the other Ajit Pai’, another told him to ‘Make American dance again’.
When TOI spoke with Ajit Pai on Saturday night, he was on his way to spin music at a popular club in North Goa. Away from all things neutral or net-related.