Social networking sites have become caste wide
Mansi Choksi, TOI Crest, Mar 27, 2010, 09.42am IST
Social networking sites have become a fertile ground for groups based
on ethnicity and caste.
When 3,000 members of an online community of scheduled castes were
asked recently whether they felt they could match up to their
upper-caste counterparts, one user admitted that his caste identity
had been a "hurdle in life". Another user promptly replied with a
prescription: "Ignorance is bliss." The conversation was then
interrupted by a user who accused the two of being undeserving
"beggars" who had cornered seats in schools, colleges and government
offices. Soon, the thread was ablaze with hundreds of responses in a
free-for-all mudslinging competition and a crash course in the
choicest Hindi expletives.
Social networking sites Orkut and Facebook have become a fertile
ground for scores of groups based on ethnicity and caste. Key in the
word 'caste' into either site, or indeed others, and up pops a
cascading list of virtual caste colonies, some of which aim to unite
members and some which spew venom. Orkut has thousands of these
communities — for instance, 'Brahmins Culture and Tradition' , 'I Hate
Intercaste Marriage' and 'The Great Maratha' — which have hundreds of
members.
Interestingly, participants of these groups are increasing rather than
dying down. A study by Sunil Gangavane and Urvi Shah, researchers at
PUKAR (Partners for Urban Knowledge, Action and Research) found that
32 random Orkut communities based on caste showed an increase of
nearly 30,000 members in just three months. Gangavane and Shah, who
joined these communities to keep tabs on them, primarily wanted to
document the involvement of middleclass youth and their understanding
of caste identity in these spaces.
Gangavane says that most members of castebased groups are highly
educated: "Very few are only graduates — they are mostly engineers,
MBAs, post-graduates and doctors." Another finding is that most are
from metropolises like Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad and Bangalore. "Social
networking sites have the power to reproduce stifled opinions on taboo
topics. People discuss things here that they can't face-to-face," he
says.
But social media expert Gaurav Mishra, who is the CEO of online
marketing firm 2020 Social, argues that it's not the anonymity that
comes with a virtual profile which is breeding online caste
communities. "The phenomenon is only a reflection of the fact that
caste is an important part of identity for many urban Indians," he
says. "Identity is more persistent and real in the virtual space. You
are connected to friends, they can see what you are up to. There is
nothing unique about it and it is not more or less pronounced in the
virtual space. The dysfunctionality exists in the real world, and that
is being reflected."
While Facebook has fewer caste-based groups, friend requests from
people who identify one's caste through their name is not a rarity.
Most groups are updated almost every minute, and some of them spew so
much venom that scraps are reported and subsequently deleted.
Hearteningly, there are also communities against casteism, but, again,
sometimes these too are prey to casteism. In one community called 'We
hate caste feeling' , for instance, a member posted a discussion
asking how many members were from the upper castes.
Another finding of the PUKAR research is that there are many more
upper-caste groups, with many more members. Mishra believes that the
low number of Dalit communities says something about Indian society.
"Higher, more powerful castes like Brahmins, Rajputs and Yadavs tend
to have more money and better access to the internet. Old disparities
are further accentuated by the net," he says. "Not that the Dalit
community isn't active on the net — it is. But most of the sites have
been started by NRI Dalits."
The caste polarisation on social networking sites is also being used
by several political parties. "Politically influenced communities like
RSS, BSP, MNS and Shiv Sena are the most updated ones," says
Gangavane.
According to social scientist Shiv Vishwanathan, who is also a senior
fellow at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, caste is
not an old-fashioned system. "It has adapted to politics, diaspora and
technology too. Social networking sites are only newer platforms ," he
says. "The fact that people are still discussing their gotra means
it's important to them and they want to discuss it in a group they
feel they can trust and in an environment in which they are sure they
won't be laughed at. Social networking sites provide just that."
JAATI GUPSHUP
In the 'modern Yadav girls and boys' Orkut community (7,924 members),
members are asked whether they think Yadav girls are 'masoom'
(innocent), flirtatious, stylish or 'dramebaaz' (dramaqueens) and
whether Yadav boys have attitude, are handsome or hot. In the 'Brahmin
Culture and Tradition' community (8,453), members are asked to name
great Brahmins in history. Responses include Parshuram (the Brahmin
god who cleansed the world thrice), Chanakya (advisor to Chandragupta)
and the Marathi Peshwas. In the 'I hate caste feeling' community
(42,891), members discuss what they have lost because of the caste
system. Responses include "love of life", "frndship" , mental peace
and "seat in good college" In 'Dalits' (858), members take a poll on
what they think of "Mayawati joining hands with Brahmins in UP".
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