The Mahishasur Movement Online: a Precarious Network of ‘Demon-Followers’
This article addresses the reframing of Hindu history, mythology and rituals in a WhatsApp group as part of a larger social movement called the ‘Mahishasur movement’ arising from a nation-wide controversy around a religio-political ritual. It addresses the mediatized controversy that led to the move...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2019
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| In: |
Journal of religion, media and digital culture
Year: 2019, Volume: 8, Issue: 1, Pages: 105-131 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
India
/ Indigenous peoples
/ Precariat
/ Whatsapp
/ Mahiṣāsura
/ Political movement
/ Brahmanism
/ Criticism
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| IxTheo Classification: | AZ New religious movements BK Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism KBM Asia ZC Politics in general ZG Media studies; Digital media; Communication studies |
| Further subjects: | B
Hindu Nationalism
B subaltern politics B Hinduism B indigeniety B caste politics B social media activism B Religion And Politics B South Asia |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article addresses the reframing of Hindu history, mythology and rituals in a WhatsApp group as part of a larger social movement called the ‘Mahishasur movement’ arising from a nation-wide controversy around a religio-political ritual. It addresses the mediatized controversy that led to the movement, the creation of this particular social media network, the material circulated on it and the nature of hierarchy between different participants. Contrary to existing scholarship, the findings from my fieldwork in different parts of India show that non-elite precariat groups involved in identity politics at different levels participate in social media activism which has so far been understood as a domain of Anglophone middle classes. The article shows the possibilities and challenges generated by the participation of these non-elite political activists in rural and small town India in social activism alongside their urban counterparts on social networking sites particularly WhatsApp. |
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| ISSN: | 2165-9214 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion, media and digital culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/21659214-00801006 |