Social media has reshaped caste mobilisation

The advent of social media has heralded a new era in public discourse. Popular social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter have allowed the forging of new networks among like-minded people, and changed the contours of public debate and socio-political mobilisation. But what is often not discussed is how social media has reshaped caste imagination and mobilisation in the country. Since caste is omnipresent in India, it is not surprising that it has touched social media.

Recently, protests broke out against Twitter over the allegations of a systematic denial of the blue tick verification to handles belonging to the Dalit and backward communities. Even the official handles of Prakash Ambedkar or the Bhim Army chief were not verified, while the handles of even the lesser-known members of liberal chatterati, with a few thousand followers, would have the blue tick. Hard-hitting Twitter hashtags trended for several days accusing the company of being a casteist enterprise, and asking it to either verify the handles of public figures of the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) communities, or cancel blue ticks of all accounts.