Tracking and explaining e-participation in India

Abstract

India has recently witnessed various initiatives that harness information and communication technologies (ICTs) to promote electoral reform and political mobilization. These efforts have been initiated mainly by non governmental organizations drawn from India’s urban, English-speaking, upper and middle classes. These efforts have been focused on non-partisan process improvements or short-lived political mobilization with limited success. We analyze these initiatives against the backdrop of modern India’s political evolution which has seen the marginalization of upper and middle classes in politics. We see technology as central to the re-engagement of ICT-savvy upper and middle classes with the political sphere. We suggest that political neutrality may be an effective and appropriate strategy for India’s upper and middle classes in the pursuit of their policy agendas.