Imagining Democratic Politics in Digital Age: From Occupy Wall Street to Jantar Mantar Protest

Since the onset of globalisation, democratic politics has been in continuous flux, with new modes of governance and economic disruptions leading to growing inequality. Despite new welfarism of the Right being pressed in the service of authoritarian populism, people have been taking to the streets to oppose neo-liberal governance. Such protests have dotted the global landscape. The modes of democratic resistance adopted by protesters have been innovative, giving a new flavour to democratic politics in today’s uncertain times. The advent of digital politics has only added new dimensions to the resistance, signalling the birth of new-age democracy. The saga of democratic unrest against neo- liberal discourse began in 1999 at Seattle during the ministerial meeting of the WTO. The Occupy Wall Street Protest of 2011 marked another important moment of democratic resistance in the neo- liberal age, which is often seen as pre-empting the possibility of collective action and forging of community solidarity. The Occupy Wall Street movement in New York was directed against corporate greed and spiralling economic inequality. The Occupy Wall Street movement was later followed by many anti- globalisation and anti- authoritarian protests all over, including the occupation of ‘Tahrir Square’ in Egypt during the Arab Spring and the anti-corruption movement in India. Despite the difference in contexts, they re- centred the global conversation around corporate plundering, systemic corruption and growing inequalities. The subsequent rise of right-wing populism in different parts of the world temporarily halted the democratic surge against neo-liberal governance. But it soon came back with vengeance, and the movement of Gen Z in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and India marks the arrival of a new era of democratic politics. The Jantar Mantar protest in Delhi by Gen Z marked many things, including new modes of community bonding, messaging through social media platforms like Instagram and framing of a new vocabulary of protest through memes and parody. These protests, which are reminiscent of the 1960s student movement, seem to be reimagining democratic ideas by reigniting hope amidst despair. They may set the template for the future course of democratic politics in today’s uncertain times.