Voicing the Mute: Digital Culture and Dalit Activism in India

EasyChair Preprint 2407

Abstract

In modern India, caste-based discrimination continues to remain one of the rare and unfortunate social practices to be unanimously embraced by all major religions. Caste discrimination involves massive violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.  In recent times digital space has allowed for a unique mobilisation of caste and has created a new wave of subalternity with the use of social media which has provided the platform for identity formation and assertion of marginalised groups. Internet seems to have the power to bring social equality to the Dalits who comprise of more than 200 million of India’s population. The mainstream Indian media dominated by the upper castes has failed to include voices of  the Dalits. This explains the emergence of Round Table India, Dalit Camera, Dalit Dastak, Dalit Lekhak Sangh, Ambedkar’s Community Live, The Colonization of Ambedkar and many other similar online platforms which Dalits are using to voice their concerns, mobilize and  protest. This paper argues that with the help of digital technology certain sections of Dalits in India are not only resisting the dominant narrative but also voicing their opinions and fighting a pitched battle in the contested public sphere.  The paper analyses the movements like #Dalitlivesmatter, Bhima-Koregaon and Una protests and  raises the problem of lack of diversity in the newsroom, which needs to be confronted with the  online Dalit platforms are doing a commendable job. Unless the journalistic establishments starts the procedure of bridging the gap, these may remain separate, unequal and treated as alternative voices rather than  coming from the mainstream.

Keyphrases: Caste, Dalits, Subaltern, alternative media, discrimination, mainstream media

@booklet{EasyChair:2407,
  author    = {Madhu},
  title     = {Voicing the Mute: Digital Culture and Dalit Activism in India},
  howpublished = {EasyChair Preprint 2407},
  year      = {EasyChair, 2020}}