| Subject: | Political Science / Sociology |
| Title: | Caste-Based Hate Speech and Online Political Mobilization: A Comparative Study of Digital Campaigning in India |
| Author(s): | Anup Mall |
| Published on: | 30th April 2026 |
| Published by: | Lyceum India |
| Name of the Journal: | Lyceum India Journal of Social Sciences |
| ISSN/E-ISSN: | 3048-6513 |
| Volume & Issue: | Volume: 3, Issue: 5 |
| Pages: | 22-32 |
| Original DOI (if any): | 10.5281/zenodo.19689803 |
| Repository DOI: | |
| Abstract: | The digital platforms have fundamentally transformed the politics of mobilization in India, but have also turned out to be the medium through which highly rooted social hierarchies have found their way through. This paper discusses how caste-based hate speech works in the context of electioneering, with an emphasis on the 2024 General Elections. The research will explore the question of casteist language shifting to the periphery of social interactions to the normalized instrument of digital campaigning by using a discourse analysis of Facebook and WhatsApp content. The results indicate that although Facebook is the location of high-visibility majoritarian rhetoric, WhatsApp is a dark social space where dehumanizing casteist slurs and misinformation can be spread without reprisals. This normalization is a great danger to the democratic participation of Dalit, Bahujan, and Adivasi (DBA) communities, who are marginalized. |
| Keywords: | Hate Speech, Caste Politics, Political Mobilisation, Digital Campaigning, India |
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