Media Literacy Among Ex-Untouchables in a Networked Society: A Comparative Analysis of Media Literacy of Pre- and Post-Digital Era Dalits

Introduction

The rape and murder of a Dalit woman on September 14, 2020, among the many others, had brought forth the horrors of caste and gendered violence. The forced cremation by the state police without the family’s approval marked a new macabre low. Similar to the mainstream media's approach to Dalits in the 1900s and early 20th century, the media continued to involve and represent discourses by the upper caste and class on whether the Dalit woman was at all raped and justified the cremation as an approved one. Thus, creating unrealistic and stereotyped portrayal of Dalits. However, unlike before, the Dalit voices which have often been suppressed on the physical spaces, revolted on alternate mediated spaces such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. These changes in behaviours because of media technology, reflect a developed critical media literacy skill among minorities. These skills enable Dalits to adequately read media messages and produce favourable narratives on media platforms and to be active participants in a democratic society (Dey, 2020). Considering the complexities around analysing levels of media literacy, not many studies address minority literacy skills. This study takes a unique approach to the analysis of Dalit empowerment through the lens of information and media literacy.

Pertaining to COVID-19 and lockdown in September 2021, the Dalit protests were largely conducted online where the Dalits used #Dalitlivesmatter following #Blacklivesmatter after George Floyd’s death in the USA. Digital media platforms, especially social media, which are central to networked society, provided a space which helped the previously silenced to express their views and narratives. This online revolution was one of the first of its kind for the Dalits, who have been, for centuries oppressed and denied any voice in the society or in mainstream media. The #dalitlivesmatter created an international uproar against the casteist-racist attacks and eventually merged into the discourses of #Blacklivesmatter movement in other parts of the world. Such is the nature of networked society, where media literacy or understanding of media platforms could help the marginalised population gain strength and reconstruct their identity. This study reflects on the essential nature of media literacy to minorities in a networked society by a comparative analysis of three major Dalit case studies over the last 30 years. As the parameters to locate the intensity of media literacy are limited, here I consider ‘media use’ and recognition of ‘what needs to be there on media’ as representative of Dalit literacy. And accordingly analyse relevance of media literacy to minority empowerment. Conceptualising the stories along the lines of media literacy and Castells’ networked society, I argue media literacy as inevitable to gaining equality/equity and reaffirming identity. As identity and discrimination are interlinked (Howarth, 2002), arguing the above is crucial to locate media and media literacy’s inevitability to social inequalities, and understanding it as a tool to challenge hegemonic discourses. Here it’s important to note that in context to Dalit suffering and dignity in the society, the definition of both equality and equity should go hand in hand. Especially because we seek a society which claims and provides equal status for all irrespective of where one stands. Only discussing equity might bring forth the hegemonic ideological arrangements which have caused the suppression in the first place. In a nutshell, this study aims to provide a unique perspective into (i) the relevance of media literacy to minority identities, (ii) to how a culture is represented, reified and re-membered in the world we inhabit today, and (iii) towards equalising social differences by analysing media representations of Dalits.