"Tiger Tiger Burning Bright" The tweeting tribes of Odisha

By C.K. Chandrika

In what distant deeps or skies

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand, dare seize the fire?

William Blake

In What Distant Deeps or Skies - The Challenges of Being Remote

Deep in the hills and forests, tucked away in mountainous cradles, lacing many jungle edges, far from the maddening crowd, are the tribes of Odisha.

Like many tribal and rural communities, they face abysmal access to basic facilities: road connectivity, potable water, electricity, hospitals, schools, agricultural support systems. With a high migration pattern for sustenance and worm, they intertwine with the rural and city folk. However, they lack the means and tools to economically or socially transact with them. Their geographical and cultural segregation, poor access to quality education, and a weak voice in policies that impact them, puts them in a highly vulnerable social, economic and political spot.

Meanwhile, in the increasingly digital world, the floodgates are open to those who can use it to inform themselves, leverage it to become unthinkably faster and more potent and relevant. But the Odisha tribes, in every way, are digital outcastes.

Burnt the Fire of Thine Eyes? – Interventions That Have Motivated the Tribes

The story of the Scheduled castes and Scheduled tribes of Odisha has largely been that of an ongoing struggle of survival.

Fortunately, certain NGOs have been systematically educating them about their rights. They’ve also trained them to form their own village level groups, and leverage collective action to have their demands met. Over time they become a body large and knowledgeable enough to make an impression when demanding their rights.

These scores of local, organised groups with vernacular names have developed a habit of jumping into organised action. It makes them disinclined to timidly let fate wash over their aspirations of doing better.

For many years they’ve been travelling miles on foot, and on borrowed and sponsored cycles, to raise a storm of protest. They’ve waited with infinite patience to enter daunting buildings to present their demand lists to intimidating looking officials.

It was likely this background of struggle that made many of the tribes open to embracing a digital paradigm which would have normally bypassed them for many more years. When the Covid lockdowns in 2020-23 closed many doors, the default response of these tribes was to carve out a window of opportunity.

A significant observation of the ‘The India Inequality Report 2022: Digital Divide’ was that by the end of 2021, the likelihood of an ST or SC having a phone increased as compared to 2018. The pandemic proved to be the challenge that brought out the best in the tribesmen of Odisha, and it was reflected in the most unlikely instrument – social media on a phone. It was technology that required each tribe member to be educated, digitally educated, and have at least enough to afford a smartphone. And the majority of the tribes had none of the three qualifications.

On What Wings Dare He Aspire? – What Made the Odisha Tribes Adopt Social Media

The young teenage boys with their fascination for gadgets, and time ‘wasted’ on social media were the first to use Facebook and Twitter for the community. When all local offices repeatedly dismissed the villagers’ complaints for a hand pump’s restoration, the boys discussed with the village elders and tweeted the issue. They posted a picture and tagged government handles. After all, it was the entire village’s only source of water.

To their utter surprise and delight, the problem was rectified in fifteen days. This was an unprecedented response.

The news spread like wildfire. Soon anyone with a smartphone was in demand, because the list of issues in every village was a long and on-going one. Local leaders began organising meetings where the people who knew how to open social media accounts were helping others to open theirs.

What the Hand, Dare Seize the Fire? - Strategies and Networking for Social Media Impact

It wasn’t as though the tribes figured out social media strategies on their own, sans guidance.

The mechanism they used earlier helped them speed up the process of building and expanding the new social media community. Though there were challenges with both basic and digital literacy, there were always a few in every village who helped with opening accounts, composing messages, or posting. Since most villagers couldn’t afford a smartphone, they pooled money and bought a few.

As news spread about their success and local journalists reported their story, social media experts partnered with them to help them do better. They tied up with a Twitter platform called ‘Bara Baje Bara Minute’, translating to ‘12 O’clock, 12 minutes’. The platform administrators got them organised into local WhatsApp groups. In the groups they would answer questions and put in easy-to-follow training modules on how to tag, and which hashtags to use for what issues. They also broadcast lists of authorities and people to tag. Beginning at 12 O’clock every day for 12 minutes everyone retweeted, commented on and liked the post of the complaint that the administrator had chosen to amplify. The fervour with which they had done their physical campaigns converted to the social media campaigns, with far less effort for much greater results. As more and more tribals overcame their fear of the digital world, they proudly adopted the epithet they were given – ‘Hashtag Warriors.’

Success stories poured in of administrators and government officials responding to the posts and action taken on water, school, road, electricity, pension, and more issues that had been pending for years. Government offices created special teams to respond to the posts and take action.

This worked as much for the administration as for the tribes. The government began being seen as responsive and responsible.

The unlikely Tribes of Odisha, with all their handicaps, emerged tigers, showing the savvy digital crowd the way to create a connective digital community using purposeful and meaningful collective action.