We have articulate young people showing us that they are able and willing to speak truth to power. Sometimes paying the price for doing so
When the traditional media talks about the social media, it is often critical of various aspects of it. It will tell you how unreliable the social media can be, why it cannot be trusted, and what are its shortcomings.
Parts of this critique are undoubtedly true.
But in the last week, the social media also showed us what it was capable of, and what was possible when some work really hard. Dhruv Rathee, the 30-year-old Indian YouTuber, vlogger and social media activist, was trending on Twitter.
Why? He had got half-a-million views for a video he created in the space of just one day.
Haryana-born Rathee is known to be an engineer in Germany with degrees in mechanical engineering and renewable energy. One of his videos he shot, just half-an-hour long, touched half-a-million, and shortly later, even a million views.
Rathee has a very simple formula. His videos contain "fact-checking and explanatory content". He puts across the facts simply, but bluntly. He does so without exaggerating or getting unduly excited over what he's stating. He narrates what come across as the most shocking things in the most calm and composed manner.
But, at the same time, Rathee does not shy away from tackling complex, hard-hitting, political issues. Among other things, he has discussed the Muhammad remarks controversy (2022), the Morbi bridge collapse (2022), the Pulwama attack (2019), the Indian wrestlers' protest (2023) and the Manipur violence (2023 too). Each week, his list of watch-worthy videos keeps getting longer. He currently features on YouTube, Deutsche Welle, Netflix India, and Spotify.
In his last week's video, Rathee drew got so many views by pointing to what he saw as unsettling happenings with India's democracy. He pointed to the uneven election playing field that faces those contesting for power. Giving fact after potent fact, he made a strong case to suggest that there is cause for worry over the direction in which a lot of electoral issues are going.
In 30-minutes, Rathee reminds us that merely voting in elections is not democracy. Even countries like North Korea have formal elections, is his argument. So does Putin's Russia. He raises issues of horse-trading, "weaponising" the official investigation agencies against the Opposition, the sometimes controversial role played by Governors, putting down dissent, the Supreme Court-banned electoral bonds and so much more.
One other young techie whose work is getting noticed is Meghnerd. Meghnerd describes himself as a "Public Policy Nerd", author, Youtuber, long-form content evangelist and a LAMP fellow. By the way, the Legislative Assistants to Members of Parliament (LAMP) Fellowship mops up enthusiastic young Indians to "learn law-making and public policy" while serving as assistants to parliamentarians. LAMP Fellows are mentored by an MP and work full-time with the assigned MP for a year.
If you go to his YouTube channel, you can access his content (partly free and more after you choose to support his work) on various issues.
What strikes you is that not only are these people young, but they are also bold in stating what they believe in, and have the technical skills to back it up.
A few weeks back, with his mix of humour and outrage, Meghnerd (who is from Nagpur and whose actual name is Meghnath S), exposed online videos about the very contentious Chandigarh elections. This was the poll allegedly stolen before the cameras, until the time the Supreme Court stepped in and blocked the blatant attempt at electoral fraud.
When it comes to making their point, the new generation of social media hacktivists is bright, bold and talented. They are actually 'hacking' Indian politics (in the good sense of the word), to hopefully make it better. Their access to technology ensures they can tell the story which print or even traditional film/radio cannot manage to.
Yet another person on my to-watch list is #TheDeshBhakt. (This is in Hindi. Dhruv Rathee is also in Hindi but with detailed subtitles.) #TheDeshBhakt channel describes itself as "India's first and largest political and social satire platform."
That's not all. Ravish Kumar, the mainstream journalist over whom a long-length film was made, managed to shift over to the social media, after quitting mainstream TV.
Each of the above has a different style of getting across the facts. Rathee comes out with fact after hard-to-contest fact. Meghnerd offers a mix of tech and politics. TheDeshBhakt offers a mix of sarcasm with very serious topics. Ravish seems to drone on and on in a monologue; but if you have the patience you'll agree that he has carefully worked to select his hard-to-dismiss facts.
Yet another dissident who cannot be ignored is the articulate and carefully-argued Parakala Prabhakar. His outspokenness is amazing, as is his critiques of the current Central Government. What makes it even more surprising is that he is the spouse of the current Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman. One only needs to listen to his video discussions and speeches, to know that his critique of the powers that be is very real and intense.
Will all this make a significant difference over time? We don't know. It might not change the public discourse (let alone election result) by the tiniest bit. But that is really not the point. We have articulate young people showing us that they are able and willing to speak truth to power. Sometimes paying the price for doing so.
