Proposal - Study of Digital Activism and Socially Excluded Communities in India

1. Digital Activism: Relevance to Socially
Excluded Communities in India

2. Context
• Digital activism - “all political and social forms of campaign that use
digital network infrastructure” - mobile, internet and offline devices
• Characterised by speed, reliability, scale and low cost
• 1998 - first digitally enabled political mobilization against 29 yr
regime of Omar Bongo in Gabon - Led by exiled Gabonese scholar
Dr. Daniel Mengara
• Arab Spring of 2011 - rooted in Kefaya movement of 2004 -
created a generation of bloggers in Egypt giving voice to shared
injustice, democracy, human rights
• Occupy movement - the India Against Corruption campaign -
Political relevance: the Obama presidential campaign / BJP / SP
• 52m active internet users in India (2009) - fastest growth in small
towns - India MDG target of 100 pc internet access across villages
by 2020
•

3. Problem Statement
• Digital tools for instigating critique, opposition and
revolution - emails, text msg, social networks, videos used
to mobilize opinion and action against perceived injustice
• Yet social and economic factors restrict access to digital
infrastructure - unequal access, unequal skills and
censorship
• Internet and American Life Project of the Pew Research
Center (2007): “Whether they take place on the Internet or
off, traditional political activities remain the domain of
those with high levels of income and education.”
• Gaurav Mishra (June 2009) - Orkut has 1000 Brahmin
groups in stark contrast to 200 for and by members of the
Dalit caste - both are almost completely separate and
divided

4. • Other sources point to untapped potential of digital media
among traditionally excluded communities
• Center for American Progress (2010): 85 per cent of Latinos
and African Americans owning mobile phones; 25 pc of
Twitter users belong to the Africa American community
• Brian Solis (2009): Women form 57% of the membership
across Facebook and Twitter - spend 16.3 per cent of their
online time on social networking as opposed to men who
spend 11.7 pc
• Katharine Bodrock (2010): ‘leap-frogging’ - poorer countries
or communities can skip over stages in technology adoption
and implement newer technologies that are light- weight,
distributed, and ecologically sustainable – the challenge and
opportunity for the ‘new new social movements’ of our time.
•

5. Objectives
• to examine how digital activism is advancing
strategies for rights based campaigning and
advocacy in India
• to understand whether digital technology is
enabling traditionally excluded communities to
strengthen their organising capacities and exert
greater influence on public policy and resources

6. Proposed Methodology / Scope
• Lit Review - Challenge of available studies / reports in the
Indian context - studies and analysis available in other parts
of the world and relate the same to Indian context - Possible
focus on comparative experience of BRICS / MICs in relation
to similar indicators of growth, access and inequality
• Qualitative Method - Case study - Study patterns of
mobilization and advocacy in context of a dalit / women's
movement in India and relevance of digital technologies in
the same - AND/ OR -
• Quantitative Method - Listing of digital advocacy
organisations in India - Stratified sampling of members
across one or more organisation - Profile of members, issues
raised and public impact - relevance to socially excluded
communities