Social Media As a Site of Resistance: Understanding Digital Activism in India

The growing importance of social media among people in civil society has created possibilities for a new mode of political communication for different sections of society. One of the interesting facts about social media is that it is capable of changing public perception. The use of social media has widened the scope for the youth, students, and researchers to analyze the political developments in their society critically. The path of social media remains inclusive for many, as people can assert their opinions using their regional languages. Interestingly, social media has led to significant changes in the representation of underrepresented people from poor and marginalized communities. A case in point is the Dalit community in India.

Dalits are known to be the ex-untouchables in the Indian social system. The Indian caste system is the oldest form of surviving social stratification, where the upper strata of the society continue to keep hold of all the means of communication, including the media. Most often, the incidents of discrimination and atrocities against Dalits haven’t been reported in the media controlled by the dominant castes. In the last few decades, Indian society has witnessed a rise in digital activism by the youth from the Dalit and marginalized communities who register their voices against injustice and violence by dominant social groups and the state apparatus. In this context, the paper attempts to explain how the use of social media can function as an attempt to register their protest against injustice and reclaim their rights as citizens of the country. It will explain how the assertion by the youth from these communities is an attempt to protect the idea of democracy through their digital activism.