TECHNOLOGY AND POLITICAL
MOBILIZATION IN INDIA
Prof. M. V. Rajeev Gowda
Chairperson, Centre for Public Policy
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
February 23, 2013
Backdrop I:
The Changing Profile of Participation in Indian Politics
• Freedom Movement and Early India
– Led by India’s educated elites & middle class
– This group also dominated bureaucracy
• Post-Green Revolution—mid-1960s
– Rise of peasant castes & “bullock capitalists”
• Coalition Era—post 1989
– Fragmentation of polity; rise of small parties
– Political assertion of traditional lower castes
– Educated middle class disengages from politics
Phases of India’s Electoral System:
Yadav (1999)
• I Phase (1952-67)
– Congress domination
– Leadership from the educated, upper castes who
had led the movement for independence
• II Phase (up to 1990s)
– Democratic upsurge; Congress still key party
– Entry of middle and “backward” castes
• III Phase (1990s to present)
– Intense political factionalisation, excessive political
corruption, non-governance, disorder, instability
– New social order; leadership from lower rungs of
social hierarchy--Other Backward Castes (OBCs)
and Dalits.
Other Views on Educated Middle Class’s
Political Participation
• Varshney (2000)
– “If there is any apathy towards voting, it is in
India’s larger cities and in their more affluent
parts.”
• Jaffrelot (2008)
– Displacement by OBC and Dalit parties might
account for the withdrawal of the middle and
upper classes from occupying centre-stage in
Indian politics
Backdrop II:
Economic Liberalization & Urbanization
• Economic Liberalization—1991
– Unleashes economic growth & entrepreneurship
– Significant gains for Educated Middle Classes
– Growth of private sector makes government role less
important
– But demand for better services increases
• Urbanization
– Massive migration to urban areas
• Caveat: urban voter rolls full of flaws
– Delimitation makes urban educated class a vote bank
Rise of Civil Society
• Rise of Non-Government Organizations
– Urban middle classes gravitate to “neutral,”
professional, NGOs
– Civil Society initiatives focus on governance
– Right to Information campaign successful
– NGOs recognized as partners in government
service delivery, e.g., Bhagidari in Delhi
– NGO agendas get into national policy through
National Advisory Council membership
Backdrop III:
Digital Divide, Media Power
• India still has a significant digital divide
– Access to and use of Internet and ICTs
(Information and communication technologies)
substantially more among urban, English-speaking
middle classes
– English language TV and print media dominated
by middle classes/upper castes
– Mobile telephones now prevalent across caste
and class lines
Emerging Patterns of E-Participation by
Educated, Urban Middle Classes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Political Reform—Information Provision
Electoral Reform—Voter Registration
Policy Analysis
Monitoring Representatives’ Performance
Political Mobilization—Protests
Political Party Mobilization
Potential Concerns
1. Political Reform—Information Provision
Political Reform—Information Provision
http://adrindia.org/
Smart Vote
• Uses the internet to provide voters more
information on candidates, voting procedures,
etc.
• Smart Vote, in alliance with a television
channel, pioneered live, interactive debates
between political candidates for the first time
in India during the 2009 parliament election.
2. Electoral Reform:
Voter Registration
Voting and Electoral Rolls
• Election Commission of India (ECI) responsibility
– Experimented with online voter registration, subject
to physical verification.
– ECI also uses the web to put into the public domain all
the information that the candidate is obliged to share
such as his/her educational accomplishments, assets
and liabilities and criminal records, if any.
• Registration Process Cumbersome
– Also, since people move, lots of flaws in urban voter
lists (Ramanathan 2008)
Jaago Re
• (literally translated to “Wake up” in Hindi) was a
campaign targeted at overcoming voter apathy ahead
of the 2009 General Election
• Working together with the independent nongovernmental organization (NGO) Janaagraha, the
Jaago Re campaign was an all-India effort primarily
conducted online
• Tata Tea treated Jaago Re as a component of its
marketing strategy and engaged the services of a
leading advertising agency. The Jaago Re One Billion
Votes campaign managed to secure or assist in over
600,000 voter registrations all over India.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_FLtwrII-iKM/SPLRTe0TCAI/AAAAAAAAA1Q/-uhOWhMkIrs/s1600/jaago+re.jpg
3. Policy Analysis
Praja
• ICTs have also been used to help determine what issues and
priorities are of concern to voters. This contrasts with the
traditional top-down process whereby the candidate offers a
platform and the voters’ role is limited to a yes/no choice for
or against that candidate. The group, Praja (meaning ‘citizen’)
conducts online activities to link citizens with each other. It
provides a common online platform (a moderated, discussion
board) to discuss governance issues.
• Praja conducted a survey on the eve of the 2009 parliament
election which allowed voters to identify issues that they
considered crucial in this election at both the State as well as
national levels. Candidates were later interviewed by
representatives of the website on these topics, and the
interviews were made public on the website.
www.praja.in
4. Monitoring Representatives’ Performance
NGO Praja.org’s
Ratings of MLAs in
Mumbai
http://www.praja.org/praja_downloads/Mumbai%20MLA%20Card_2012.pdf
http://www.praja.org/praja_downloads/Mumbai%20MLA%20Card_2012.pdf
http://www.praja.org/praja_downloads/Mumbai%20MLA%20Card_2012.pdf
http://www.indiagoverns.org/
http://www.indiagoverns.org/
www.dakshindia.org
5. Political Mobilization
Youth for Equality
• Campaign organized to rally students opposed to the
Indian Government’s extension of the reservation
system to elite institutions like IIMs and AIIMS
• Youth for Equality rapidly generated online branches
across India and the world.
– Some members of the organization even contested local
body elections in Mumbai, albeit unsuccessfully.
• However, when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the
government’s reservation policy (with the proviso that
it should be available only to people below a threshold
level of income), Youth for Equality fizzled out and has
not been able to sustain its initial momentum.
Anti-Reservation Protests
in Cities
http://cms.mumbaimirror.com/portalfiles/29/19/201107/Image/jul20/f20_2_b.jpg
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSfrocz2pUs01B2_k-5yJbBF1pCmy6TAPQcIvS9DWmr404NGtP1Ew
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-67hiIPE7xvk/TidA_9icMsI/AAAAAAAAACA/cSBoHkTc-k0/s1600/jun06-protest-reservations2%255B1%255D.jpg
Community networking sites, e.g., Orkut, Ryze, etc., make it easier to
bring about virtual collective action and political discussion. This slide
has number of group members highlighted, which indicates their reach
City level discussion forums/blogs are formed to mobilize people as
highlighted in the left-hand side
Rapid Mobilization … and Rapid Fall
Bengaluru Unites
• Over the months of February and March, 2009, a series of
attacks against women in the name of 'culture' and
'tradition' took place in some parts of Karnataka state,
followed by seven attacks on women in Bangalore.
• Sensing the anger, disgust and fear among the people of
Bangalore, this spontaneous campaign utilized the Internet
and mass media to successfully organize a series of
simultaneous, geographically dispersed protests across
Bangalore city against 'moral policing.'
• .Thousands of college students and professionals, including
many who had never indulged in political action,
participated in the protests (Srinivas, 2009).
In 2009: “Moral Policing” Countered Strongly!
http://photogallery.outlookindia.com/images/gallery/20120719/rama_sene_20120730.jpg
Bengaluru-unites.blogspot.com
Bengaluru-unites.blogspot.com
Simultaneously, the Internet, including Facebook, key
to the spontaneous “Pink Chaddi” campaign’s success
Internet-driven campaign by “Consortium of Pub-going,
Loose and Forward Women” got worldwide support
when they mocked the “moral police” by sending them
pink undergarments
http://cms.mumbaimirror.com/portalfiles/1/15/200902/Image/160209/cover2.jpg
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Consortium-of-Pub-going-Loose-and-Forward-Women/54434846926
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uM7lK710y7I/SbEeYw37d1I/AAAAAAAABvU/kwow9FRP2GY/s800/indianculture1.jpg
Recently, Scams Triggered Anti-Corruption Wave
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gdpS5o30zLc/TlO552bDkcI/AAAAAAAAAOA/4JnQUH-lVWA/s1600/anna-hazare.jpg
Innovative Use of Mobile Telephony to
Demonstrate Support
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qGeh_g3gKrU/TZ3jGspnGoI/AAAAAAAAAZs/ON_JTJgSfsA/s1600/Missed%2BCall%2Bcopy.jpg
http://www.zipdial.com/corp/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/TOI_FRONT_PAGE_INSERT.jpg
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/gallery/anti-corruption-activist-anna-hazare/8/4488.html
Today, Technology Enables Movements to
Emerge Spontaneously … Even Without Leaders
Uproar over Status of Women:
Brutal Delhi Gang Rape, Dec 2012
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Images/Popup/2013/1/0301Saket2.jpg
http://img.ibtimes.com/www/data/images/full/2012/12/22/330748-new-delhi-gang-rape-protest.jpg
But Will All This Matter Politically?
Remember these people?
How many votes did they get?
Name
Votes
%age
Meera Sanyal,
Mumbai South
Mallika Sarabhai,
Gandhinagar
Captain Gopinath,
Bangalore South
Arun Bhatia
Pune
10,157
1.5%
9,268
1.1%
16,383
1.8%
30,329
4.1%
Will Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party Do Better?
Team Anna Already Split on Political Entry
http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/00818/team_anna_818944f.jpg
It Appears that the Educated Middle/Upper
Classes Want to Bring About Systemic Change
Rather than Entering Politics
But Some Are Getting Practical:
Open Corporate and Citizen Funding in Bangalore
If This Turns Into Massive Citizen Contributions
to Clean Candidates, then Change Will Happen
• Remember Obama raised significant funds from
small contributions from large numbers of
individuals
• Technology can enable fund raising significantly
• Of course, flawed Indian party financing and
election expenditure laws need to be amended
Now Mainstream Politicians Embrace Social Media
Twitterati in Trouble
http://bawaal.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/KanchanGupta_Tweet.jpg
http://static.indianexpress.com/m-images/Fri%20Sep%2018%202009,%2005:44%20hrs/M_Id_109348_austerity.jpg
http://www.digitalgalleryindia.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/google-hangout-withnarendra-modi-today-at-8pm.jpg
Caveats, Going Forward
Technology Can Be Misused Too!
http://static.ibnlive.in.com/ibnlive/pix/sitepix/08_2012/ne_exodus_bangalore.jpg
Is Free Speech Online Under Threat?
http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories//2012november/facebook2_660_113012081919.jpg
http://www.texplod.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/rule.png?c6560a
Facebook Posts Can Get Young Women Arrested
http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/Photo_gallery/
bal-facebook_010213084049.jpg
http://www.howzzit.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/fb.png
http://media2.intoday.in/indiatoday/images/stories//2012november/facebook-21_660_113012081919.jpg
So There’s A Long Way to Go Before Technology and
Politics Truly Become Spaces for Political Engagement
THANK YOU!