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Journal of Politics & Governance, Vol. 8, No. 5, May 2020

37 Journal of Politics & Governance Vol. 8 No. 5, May 2020, Pp. 37-42 ISSN: 2278473X (Print) 2456-8023 (Online) Terrorism, Secularism and the Spirit of Peace: A Contemporary Gandhian Perspective Niranjan Mohapatra* and Swapna S Prabhu** ABSTRACT The backbone of the predominant model for political violence in the modern world rests on terrorism incited in the name of religion. There can be different ways of comprehending terrorism and terrorist activities, and this very task of reflecting our understanding and interpretation of terrorism is done primarily by society. In other words, the idea of terrorism is conceptualized and constructed by the people and reflected by the media in its language. A Gandhian Satyagrahi’s chief forte is that there is something of God in every individual and that appeal can be made to the divine in man through love and conscious self-suffering. Gandhism, as a universal ideology holds that the need today is not one religion, but mutual respect and tolerance of the devotees of different religions. Gandhi was also opposed to conversion from one religion to another, especially when it took the form of mass conversions and proselytism, i.e., primarily for the sake of material ends. The present paper seeks to understand how secularism yields an understanding of spirituality and how and why spiritual terrorism is most widespread among certain repressive societies who object reforms and other expressions of dissent considering violence as the only way to completely

reconfigure the social order to establish a spirit of peace which is in harmony with their faith. Against this backdrop, the paper also analyses how the Gandhian philosophy can be used to understand the nexus between secularism, terrorism and the spirit of peace in the contemporary global scenario. KEYWORDS: Terrorism, Secularism, Spirit of Peace, Gandhian Perspective INTRODUCTION Peace on earth today is deluding even with all the weapons of mass destruction and the technical know-how to reach the outer space. Mighty nations of the world also find themselves in the shackles of insecurity. For instance, cases of aggressive behavior by big powers like the Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, North Korea’s unauthorized nuclear weapons programme, Pakistan’s intrusive and insurgency efforts into India, frequently emerging mass civil unrest in most of the parts of *Assistant Professor of Political Science, Assam University, Diphu Campus, Diphu, Assam, India **Assistant Professor of Political Science, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India E-mail: [email protected] Journal of Politics & Governance, Vol. 8, No. 5, May 2020

38 Middle-East and Africa are some examples of how possession of weapons generate more insecurity today than security. Further, the global phenomenon of terrorism and religious fanaticism has made us realize that international and global peace is not dependent on the deadly weapons we, as nations, possess (Vijayam 2004: 71). The spirit of peace lies in the ability of the nations to build strong international and regional relations with each other. Hence, the need for the hour is to look for an alternative to violence, and the solution naturally lies in the Gandhian methods of peace and

non-violence. Non-violence, for Gandhi, was not merely a philosophy rather a plan of action to be applied on a collective level to be treated as a potent weapon in the hands of the common masses striving for national liberation. In other words, non-violence was a means to achieve the ultimate end of discovering the truth. The truth could not be discovered, according to Gandhi, without a firm conviction based on the participation of the body and mind resulting in a change in the whole way of life and consciousness while remaining closer to nature. In brief, the identification of the individual self with the whole cosmos while subsequently retaining the individuality constituted the idea of ‘non-violence’. Religion here plays a significant role in propelling the individual to continually strive to refine his/her thoughts, action and behavior, thus working towards one’s spiritual development and the refinement of inner-self (Xaxa & Mahakul 2009: 47). In the twenty-first century, the perverted ideology of terrorism is quickly attracting young youth to various terrorist organizations of the world, including the Islamic State that relies heavily on the thrill of violence, the seduction of sex and an assurance of a meaningful life as a Jihadi1. Besides expressing anger over perceived injustices to the religious and ethnic minorities by the majority community, most of the terrorists take immediately satisfying radical steps to obtain meaning through self-sacrifice, an eagerness to die for an incomprehensible millenarian cause (Chanda, 2015). However, the backbone of the predominant model for political violence in the modern world rests on terrorism incited in the name of religion. The present paper is thus an attempt to understand

violence, terrorism and its nexus with religion and the spirit of peace from a Gandhian perspective. The role and the activities of the Indian anarchists and Hindu militant nationalists who saw violence as the only solution to break the British rule in India, according to Juergensmeyer, a Professor of Sociology, played a significant role in sharpening Gandhi’s views about violent struggle. Gandhi challenged the logic of the militant nationalists on the grounds of political realism apprehending that the methods the militants used for sporadic acts of terrorism and guerilla warfare against the British military would become part of India’s national character. Gandhi has sketched out a non-violent approach, in his book Hind Swaraj, beginning with an example of the nature of the conflict. He always insisted on looking at the real cause of conflict rather than on a specific clash between individuals. Since for Gandhi, every conflict was a contestation at two levels, i.e., between persons and between principles. Moreover, behind every fighter was the more significant issue and every fight was on some level, an encounter between differing ‘angles of vision’ illuminating the same truth (Juergensmeyer 2007: 31-32). GANDHI, SECULARISM AND HUMAN LIFE

Gandhi’s philosophy of life was based on a secular ideology, which he defined as ‘Sarvadharma Sambhav’ meaning equal respect for all faiths. Religion is a way of life since it binds people together by inculcating the values of equality, brotherhood and virtues of toleration. Considering religion as one’s concern, Gandhi believed in the non-interference of the state in the religious matters of the Journal of Politics & Governance, Vol. 8, No. 5, May 2020

39 individuals. Further, linking secularism to a way of life, Gandhi maintained that ‘love of truth is the

love of God’ and that ‘service to mankind is service to God’. In other words, Gandhi believed that an individual’s religion must be expressed in ‘service to the helpless’. However, given the contemporary trends in international terrorism, it can be rightly said that term terrorism is an ideologically contested and emotionally charged concept, where some refuse to use it considering it either hopelessly vague or carrying unhelpful pejorative implications. However, terrorism sometimes tends to be used as a political tool, a means of determining the legitimacy, or illegitimacy of a group or a political movement under consideration. This raises questions about the very nature of terrorism as to whether it is an evil in itself and beyond any moral justification (Heywood 2011: 285). For instance, those who say that Islamic jihad was merely for the defence of the ‘homeland of Islam’ weaken the greatness of the Islamic way of life and consider it less significant than their ‘homeland’. The case of defence of the ‘homeland of Islam’ means the defence of Islamic beliefs, the Islamic way of life and the Islamic community. This, however, does not seem to be the ultimate objective of the Islamic movement of jihad. Instead, it is a means to establish the Divine authority within, making it the headquarters for the movement of Islam to be carried out throughout the world (Derian 2012: 207). Gandhi was both a reformer as well as a revolutionary, for he never compromised with anything that he thought was bad, immoral or evil in any form. He, however, was always of the opinion that by terrorizing the minds of the people, no objectives can be achieved, whether good or bad, divine or evil. Being secular for Gandhi meant doing good of all. However, he was always disappointed at the fact

that the degeneration of India’s democratic fabric has created chaos in every walk of life, resulting in frustration in every avenue of social effort. These undesirable conditions, according to Gandhi, are getting manifested in forms of increasing militancy, terrorism, communal and other riots resulting in balkanizing the country and weakening the hold of the government on the masses. Violence and frustration among the masses erupt when the state acquires the license to waste scarce resources with a profit motive. Even more disappointing is the fact that around 58 per cent of the Indian population still lives below the poverty line, and the number of educated unemployed has risen to millions. Had Gandhi been alive, he would not have allowed India to spend extensively towards the stockpiling of arms. He also would not have allowed the evils in the democracy to grow unabated seeking into every fibre of our political life. Non-violence was his cardinal philosophy and service to humanity, his religion (Mathur 1989: 52-53). Again, while the mainstream approaches view terrorism as an attack on civilized or humanitarian values, certain radical scholars argue that terrorism and other forms of political violence may advance the very cause of political justice countering other more widespread forms of violence or abuse, implying that they are justifiable (Heywood 2011: 285). Gandhi, however, strove to build a secular society free from any religious interference, especially in the matters of the state. Considering religion as a personal matter, he believed that the reason why the term ‘secularism’ was not frequently used in the pre-independent India was that Indian nationalism was mostly secular during those days. In other words, India never wanted partition of the country on religious grounds

(Vijayam 2004:72). Perhaps this was the reason why an overwhelming majority of Muslims opted to stay back in India even after the brutal phase of partition. Journal of Politics & Governance, Vol. 8, No. 5, May 2020

40 GANDHI, PEACE EDUCATION AND VIOLENCE In the contemporary age of atomic power with the deadliest weapons of mass destruction, the future of humanity does not depend on any further production of deadly weapons rather depends entirely on building an alternative to violence. That, according to the Gandhian perspective is, a nonviolent resistance since Gandhi always opined that weapons cannot bring peace and that peace is possible only through dialogue and goodwill (Vijayam 2004: 72). The adoption of goodwill and moral means for the realization of the ultimate end of life, according to Gandhi, requires ‘self-purification’ and one of its chief elements is Ahimsa (Non-violence). Ahimsa, for him, meant avoiding injury in thought, word or deed, to anything on earth. In brief, it means love for all creations of God and to work selflessly for the good of his fellow beings, something that would ultimately result in the overall development of human society. The performance of such a moral role by any individual, according to Gandhi, primarily rests on and is influenced by education as received by the individual during his/her formative years. Gandhi, therefore, prescribed for a specific scheme of education known as the ‘Nayi Talim’ meaning new education wherein every child ought to be educated and trained for the realization of his/her noble goals in life and also strive for just social order (Xaxa & Mahakul 2009:42-43). Although not a philosopher in a specialized sense, Gandhi’s philosophical affirmations through his insights into aspects such as ahimsa, satyagraha, swadeshi, peace and truth are nothing less than his

reflections on peace education that have more value than the mainstream ‘academic’ philosophy, although his formulations of peace education reflect his commitment to the absolute ideals of ahimsa (non-violence) and satya (truth), they are mainly shaped by his changing and conflicted reactions to the specific yet contextualized structures of a British colonial education. For Gandhi, these influences had socialized ‘modern’ Indians to adopt western models and subsequently to look down upon their own traditional Hindu and other Indian values. The real goal of education, for Gandhi, was liberation, in so far as, it provides a means for serving the needs of others, liberates oneself from all forms of servitude and domination, and leads to one’s ethical and spiritual liberation. Thus, one of the significant contributions of Gandhi is towards peace education since his scheme of education mainly rests on simple living and the development of non-violent relations that result in the integrated training of body, mind and spirit. This approach to life through peace education would suffice to shun any form of violence in contemporary society (Allen 2007: 290-294). The relevance of his peace education lies in his multi-dimensional analyses of the nature of violence along with the structural violence of the status quo. For instance, he believes that educational violence (violence emanating from the way the model of the education system is structured) cannot be separated from linguistic, economic, psychological and other forms of violence. The way the British colonial education in India structured the values and goals of the educational model, to a great extent, inflicted severe psychological and cultural violence on colonized Indians. Similarly,

while identifying violence with human-caused oppression, exploitation, injustice and suffering, Gandhi acts as a catalyst for rethinking our views on terrorism and violence. As such, one of the most significant contributions of Gandhi’s approach to violence is to understand the multi-dimensional structures of the violence of status quo by analyzing how modern education has ‘commodified’ students as a means to some corporate end. Thus, making education an attempt to increase their market-driven exchange value. Gandhian peace education, on the other hand, can teach us to empathize with others by moulding our language and practising non-violent interventions that can break escalating causal cycles of violence that are on the brink of explosion (Allen 2007: 297-298). Journal of Politics & Governance, Vol. 8, No. 5, May 2020 41 GANDHI VS TERRORISM

Terrorism in the name of religion is one of the most predominant models of global political violence, and it rests on a strong belief that an ‘other-worldly’ power has ordered or instead sanctioned terrorist violence for preserving the glory of God. In this use, the use of violence is a form of communication, especially when other possible forms of communications fail. Rejecting the notion that the goal justifies the means, Gandhi staunchly argued that since the ends and the means were ultimately the same, if we fight violently, we would establish a pattern of violence that would be part of any solution to the conflict, no matter how noble the cause may be. For instance, he once asked ‘if terrorists were successful in ousting the British from India, then who will rule in their place?’ He answered that it would be the ones who had killed in order to liberate

India and that ‘India can gain nothing from the rule of murderers’2. However, Gandhi was obvious in concluding that ‘Heroic violence is less sinful than cowardly non-violence’3. In other words, he believed that inaction at a time of conflagration is inexcusable and that since cowardice is beneath contempt, fighting it is non-violent. What can be derived from this is a Gandhian justification of an act of violence to halt an act of terrorism (Juergensmeyer 2007: 33-34). CONCLUSION

Terrorism for Gandhi was more of a body of ideas which necessitated a thorough examination in order to understand the attitude of those who carry out terrorist activities. Terrorists, according to him, were not to be left free but were to be treated as misguided soldiers rather than monsters. The leading cause of terrorist activities was not a religion but the ideology that succeeds in garnering the support of a large chunk of masses and thereby misleading them to believe in other-worldly desires even after death. In precise, Gandhi believed in confronting the issues/ ideas behind terrorism by alleviating the conditions that inspired and motivated actors to act in inappropriate and badly chosen ways. Similarly, he was against any violent posture adopted by the state that very often turned out to be coercive, and thus he was often termed as an anarchist. In short, proclaiming a ‘war on terror’ was tantamount to another form of terrorism. Although Gandhi would not expect the state to negotiate with difficult, violent extremists, he wanted the state to be aware of the strength/ potential of public support in confronting the cause of terrorism. By applying Gandhian philosophy to understanding contemporary international terrorism, one may conclude that the spirit of peace can be established partly by acknowledging the dreams of

several traditional Muslims in West Asia to be free from any American or European domination and also by establishing the moral character of a society that respects people of diverse cultures and is democratically governed. ENDNOTES 1The term ‘jihad’ is an Arabic word which occurs nearly forty-one times in the Koran and which means “to endeavour, to strive, to struggle” in an effort towards a commendable aim. In a religious context, jihad can mean the struggle against personal sin or evil inclinations, efforts to improve society morally, or the act of spreading Islam in general (peacefully or by force). 2Views of Gandhi on the acts of terrorism and violence as depicted in Gandhi in

London, quoted in Hunt, Indian Sociologist, September 1909, p.134. 3As interpreted from the work of Gandhi titled Collected Works, Vol. 51, p. 17. SELECTED READINGS Journal of Politics & Governance, Vol. 8, No. 5, May 2020 42 Allen, Douglas, Mahatma Gandhi on Violence and Peace Education, Philosophy East and West, Vol. 57, No. 3, July 2007, pp. 290-310. Badey, Thomas J., The Role of Religion in International Terrorism, Sociological Focus, Vol. 35, No. 1, February 2002, p.81-85. Balaram, Singanapalli, Gandhi’s Retrieval of Indigenous Culture, India International Centre Quarterly, Vol.29, No. 3, Winter 2002, pp.14-24. Bawa, Vasanta Kumar, Gandhi in the 21st Century: Search for an Alternative

Development Model, Economic and Political Weekly, November 23, 1996, pp. 3048-3049. Gupta, Dipankar, Gandhi before Habermas: The Democratic Consequences

of Ahimsa, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XLIV, No. 10, March 7, 2009, pp. 27-33. Juergensmeyer, Mark, Gandhi vs. Terrorism, Daedalus, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Winter, 2007, pp. 30-39.

Machan, Tibor R., Terrorism and Objective Moral Principles, International Journal on World Peace, Vol. IV, No. 4, October-December, 1987, pp. 31-38. Mathur, A.B., Mahatma Gandhi’s Relevance Today, The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 50, No. 2, April-June, 1989, pp. 145-156. Suhrud, Tridip, Gandhi’s Absence, India International Centre Quarterly, Vol. 37, No., Autumn, 2010, pp. 16-25. Valmiki, Amita, M.K. Gandhi’s Concept of Religion: A Philosophical

Introspection, WEI International Academic Conference Proceedings, The West East Institute, Barcelona, Spain, 2015, pp. 11-16. Vijayam, G., The Relevance of the Gandhian Approach, Peace Research, Vol. 36, No.2, 2004, pp. 71- 76. Xaxa, J. and B. K. Mahakul. Contemporary Relevance of Gandhism, The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. LXX, No. 1, January-March 2009, pp. 41-53.__

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Review of History and Political Science June 2020, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 1-6 ISSN: 2333-5718 (Print), 2333-5726 (Online) Copyright © The Author(s). 2015. All Rights Reserved. Published by American Research Institute for Policy Development DOI: 10.15640/rhps.v8n1a1 URL: https://doi.org/10.15640/rhps.v8n1a1

India-Bhutan Relations: The New Dimensions of 21st Century Nitu Moni Deka1 & Dr. Niranjan Mohapatra2 Abstract The policy of neighborhood in India‟s foreign policy has been questioning by horizon from the very beginning of her relation towards Bhutan. Recently, the Government of National Democratic Alliance led by Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India has put emphasized on “neighborhood first” as a drive to foreign policy of India towards Bhutan proved to be true of this sentiment. This is a great shocking why India after completion of so long historic ties with Bhutan even in absence of any border dispute, unlike

Pakistan and Bangladesh, has to bring such an issue towards the former. Is it a India‟s new approach to revive existing policy of reciprocity towards Bhutan in order to combat communist China in Bhutan and establish her hegemony in South Asia. This paper will analyze the evolution of bilateral relations between India and Bhutan in terms of the domain of economy, polity and strategic perspectives along with the possible solutions in strengthening the same in near future.

Key word: Foreign policy, bilateral economic relations, security , South Asia.

Introduction Bhutan being a peaceful and prosperous neighbor has received special importance in

India‟s foreign policy since the conclusion of historic Friendship Treaty 1949, which again dated back its roots to the treaties concluded in 1865 and 1910 both between British India Government and Bhutan. In fact the departure of British

from the Indian subcontinent compel Bhutan to chose either a subordinate status vis-à-vis Tibet or have sovereign independence, Bhutan opted the latter which automatically abrogate India-Bhutan Treaty 1910 with British India Government.3 The treaty of August 1949 signed between India and Bhutan, gave India substantial influences in handling the foreign policy of Bhutan. The most important provision was embodied in Article 2, the provision starting; “that the government of India would undertake to exercise no interference in the internal administration of Bhutan. On its part, the Government of Bhutan agrees to be guided by the advice of the Government of

Indian, regarding its external relations‟‟.4 In fact it was the treaty of 1949, through by the security interest of India and Bhutan has been vested subsequently. True to this sentiment, Nehru declared in the Indian Parliament in November 1959 “any aggression against Bhutan……would be regarded as an aggression in against India”. 5 However the present 21st century has witnessed the emergence of some new governing dynamics in the domain

of economy and polity of Bhutan based on either India‟s “carrot-and s-stick”6 policy or growing intrusion of China in the landlock country Bhutan resulted the birth of a new segment of population particularly young generation of Bhutan seems to be posed challenge in the security and strategic perspective both between India and Bhutan and finally South Asia. Medha Bist, an IPCS analyst held that “Given that fifty Percent of population is young and economically Bhutan seems to be opening up, a new generation of Bhutanese youth seems to be emerging. The key to India-Bhutan relations would depend on the engagement and experience of this age group.”7

1 Ph.D.Scholar, Department of Political Science, Assam University, Diphu

Campus, Karbi Anglong, Diphu-782462,Assam, INDIA

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, Assam University, Diphu

Campus, Karbi Anglong, Diphu-782462,Assam, INDIA

3 For details see Nagender Singh, 1988,“Bhutan :A kingdom in Himalayas,

Treaty of punakha”, New Delhi, pp242-243.

4 See for details “Foreign Policy of India: Text of Documents 1947-1959”, Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi ,1959, Edn. 2,p- 17.

5 For details see Madhu Rajput, 2011, “Indo-Bhutan Relations through Prism of

History”, Manak Publications, New Delhi, p-115 6 Carrot and Stick policy: It refers to a policy of offering a combination of rewards and punishments to induce behavior.

7 For details Medha Bisht,2014, “An Agenda for New Government: Policy

Option for India in Bhutan”, IPSC, Issues Brief No 248, p- 1 2 Review of History and Political Science, Vol. 8, No. 1, June 2020 Like that of Bisht, S.D Muni states that “anti India sentiments are shared only in a section of Bhutanese Population, which is younger demographic.”8

Methodology: The present study is purely on the basis of secondary data. Hence for this purpose historical, analytical and descriptive method has been used.

The Governing Dynamic Issue: Indo-Bhutan bilateral relations have always been justified through economic and securities perspectives. Whereas in the domain of economy hydropower has been played a vital role, the security imperatives that the tiny land Bhutan could play for India neither underestimate nor set aside in the realm of Indo-Bhutan bilateral relations. Thus common issue pertaining to the bilateral relations both between India and Bhutan are domestic in nature in the perspective of Bhutan. Hydropower sector seems to be an area of debate, not only domestically but growing dissatisfaction in the entire Bhutanese society based on the former in regard to hydropower debt to India, unemployment and rupee crunch are some of the challenge that are becoming to be common issues in the bilateral economic relations between India and Bhutan on the one hand and growing intrusion of China in Bhutan through by use of soft power including construction of road into the trijuncture, Doklam plateau lying

between China‟s Chumbi valley to north, Bhutan‟s Ha valley to east and Sikkim, an Indian province to west has considered sole behind in the emergence triad, which axes are India, Bhutan and China. Again with the advent of

parliamentary democracy and changing attitude of political elite towards China has been questioning the very existence of Indo-Bhutan bilateral relations. Quoting S. D Muni, Dhairya Maheshwari

states that “Bhutan‟s new

Orime Minister Dr. Lotay Tshering‟s economic agenda could affect the Himalayan

Kingdom‟s relations with India.”9

Economic Issues: His Majesty the king in his Royal Address during 109th National Day celebration in Trongsa on 17 December 2016 asserted that “….a successful democratic transition must be accompanied by successful economic transformation based on just, equal and harmonious society…”.10 The bilateral economic relations between India and Bhutan started through the provision of Indo- Bhutan Treaty of 1949 and its amendment in 2007. Article 3 of India-Bhutan Friendship Treaty 2007 states that “There shall, as heretofore, free trade and commerce between the territories of the Government of Bhutan and the Government of India. Both the Governments shall provide full cooperation and assistance to each other in the matter of trade and commerce.”11 Accordingly Indo-Bhutan free trade and commerce was updated in 2016 based on its Indo-Bhutan Free Trade, Commerce and Transit

Treaty of 1972. Thus India continually has shared her contribution to Bhutan‟s Five Year Plan in form grant and aid and loan especially in the field of hydropower, which resulted increase of hydropower in the export of Bhutan

to India. In 2011, the largest share to country‟s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was from hydropower with 17.05%of the total revenue.12 No doubt hydroelectric project, are increased on day by day and economy of Bhutan has been steering up. But in spite of this, decrease domestic revenue and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and rupee crunch are some of the serious threat that Bhutanese society has to face at present. Truly, mega project launched by India, growing private sector loan, trade balance, increased external debt inappropriate (cross border) trade practice adopted while importing and exporting goods from and to India are considered for rupee crunch.

Intellectual identified the reason of rupee crunch as “The rupees for the (mega) projects are paid only after a few months and in the meantime Bhutan has to spend its limited rupees creating a shortage”.13

8 For details see S. D Muni quoted by Dhairya Maheshwari, “Bhutan’s new P.M’s

economic agenda to “affect relations” with New Delhi”, National Herald, 28 October 2018, at https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/international/bhutans-new-pmseconomic- agenda-to-affect-relations-with-new-delhi, accessed on 21 July 2019 at 1.30 p.m. 9 Ibid. 10 Annual Report 2016/2017, Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan, p-xiv. 11 Indo-Bhutan Friendship Treaty 2007. 12 National Revenue Report 2011-2012, Department of Revenue and Customs, Ministry of Finance, Royal Government of Bhutan. 13 For details see Tensing Lamsang, “Opportunities,Issues and Regional Cooperation in the India Bhutan Hydropower Development Story”, The Bhutanese, October 11, 2013, at https://thebhutanese.bt/opportunities-issues-and-regionalcooperation- in-the-indo-bhutan-hydropower-development-story/, accessed on 12 July 2019 at 12.15 a.m. Nitu Moni Deka & Dr. Niranjan Mohapatra 3

Figure 1.1 Bhutan Hydropower Debt to India Source: Annual Report of Royal Monetary Authority, 2016-2017, Royal Government of Bhutan, Thimphu. Figure 1.2 Bhutan Youth Unemployment rate (%) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 9.2 9.2 7.3 9.6 9.4 10.7 13.2 M F M F M F M F M F M F M F 7.1 11.0 6.8 10.9 7.3 7.2 9.2 9.9 8.6 10.0 8.2 12.7 16.4 11.0

Source: Labor Force Survey Report, 2016, Ministry of Labor and Human

Resources, RoGB, Thimpu. Political Issues: Un like economy, political relations between India and Bhutan has been considering more convergence in

terms of their mutual interest. However with the beginning of 21st century Bhutan‟s internal political variable especially the issue of Lothshampas (the people speaking Nepali) and the use of her soil by some anti-Indian

militant group viz United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), Kamotapur Liberation Tiger Froce (KLTF) and Bodoland Liberation Tiger Froce (BLTF) had been deemed to be fuel to drive the engine of deadlock in strengthening the bilateral relation between India and Bhutan. It is also noteworthy to mention that Bhutan shares the border of thickly populated Nepali speaking province West Bengal and the entire process of dropping out of Nepali speaking people from the southern part of Bhutan was started during the midst of 20th century in the name of building Bhutanesehood through initiating dress code and other measures resulted to be homeless more than one lacs of Nepali speaking people of southern Bhutan by the end of the said century. Many of them had settled in the refugee camp of Nepal and others were in the border part of Indian province West Bengal and Assam. The issue had continued with the crackdown of militant group from southern part of Bhutan with the joint venture of India and Bhutan arm personals, which again subsequently led to the close down of open border in 2003 on the side of Bhutan to India especially to the border areas of Assam. Though border gate were reopened but at political level an axes of triad as China-Bhutan-India has been becoming a new paradigm in the realm of bilateral relations between India and Bhutan, which is quite clear from the

India‟s blocked of essential commodities to Bhutan in summer 2013, when Bhutan was going for her second general election to National Assembly. Truly, discontentment among the new civil society exceed to that point at which they usually viewed that the direct intervention of India in the internal affairs of Bhutan seems to have breached an unwritten but accepted protocol of understanding between China and India. The unpublicized but accepted protocol seems to

be, “Tibet is Chinese internal affairs and Sikkim is India‟s internal affair. And let the kingdom of Bhutan exercise her own sovereign choice”.14 Again the sentiment of nationhood that Bhutan has cherished along with the militant activity in the bordering area of India indirectly influence the very existence of relation at level of people to

people contact and finally in the bilateral relations between India and Bhutan. Recently refusal of Bhutan to sign Bhutan Bangladesh India and Nepal Motor Vehicle Agreement (BBIN-MVA) 2015

under the auspice of India‟s Act East Policy (AEP) has clearly Quoting Nihar Nayak a Research Fellow of Institute of Defence and Strategic

14 See for details Wangcha Sangey, “The After Effect of Indian interference in

Bhutan Election”,8th August, 2013 at http://wangchasangey.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-after-effects-of-indian_8.html , accessed on 6 May 2019, at 2.00 pm.

1284.22 1084.2 Bhutan'S Extenal Debt (Hydropower) to India

Toatl Rupee Debt Total Hydropower Debt 4 Review of History and Political Science, Vol. 8, No. 1, June 2020 Analysis (IDSA), Pratim Ranjoan Bose stated that “Pema Gamtsho, successor of J. Y. Thinely is the principal opposition giving rumblings against BBIN-MVI along with the free movement of passenger especially

Nepali‟s”.15 Again in 2016, Bhutanese authority identified the unlawful activities prevailing in the bordering area as the sole obstacle behind the acceptance of BBIN-MVA. “Bhutan trackers and passenger continue to face harassment such as requirement to pay illegal money, unauthorized levies and coerced donation aggravated by interferences of illegal and quasi-legal authorities as well as involvement of middle man will not be addressed by

MVI‟.16 In fact this stagnation is the consequence of the persuasion of New Delhi‟s attitude to buy loyalty through economic aid from Bhutan and the failure to assimilate the young generation of people of Bhutan specially the bordering area. Though the tenability of colonial-style protectorate-ship

vanished, India‟s new born Englishmen started to take Bhutan for guaranteed. In fact, they mistook Bhutanese adherence to their obeisance to India paternalism. Scores of commentaries have concluded that such misconception and mistaken assumption

have bed resentments, resulting in India‟s foreign policy topsy-turvy.17

Security Issues:

The strategic perspective of Indo-Bhutan bilateral relations rest on the security implication to both of them and it has been considering as very much influential from the policy of People Republic of China. The boundary talk between Bhutan and China exceed to the number of twenty-fourth in 2016 since its inception in

1984 but still become less fruitful due to the question of China‟s objection on the

India‟s involvement in this talk

and dearth of India‟s willingness to solve the burning problem. Discussion on the role of India until amendment of Article 2 of Indo-Bhutan Treaty of 1949 on demarcation of Sino-Bhutan border

was full of India‟s negative approach to the problem. Hence the popular sentiment is “Bhutan is not only landlocked but, more importantly, it is India-locked”.18Medha Bisht, an analyst of Institute Peace and Conflict Study has classified the phase of Sino- Bhutan boundary talk as engagement phase of 1984, redistribution phase of 1996 and normalization phase of

2000 stated that most stagnant point of Sino-Bhutan boundary talk was the China‟s offer of Package deal proposing an exchange of Pasamlung Jakalung Vlley totaling an area of 495 sq km of central Bhutan with the pasture land of Doklam, Sinchulung, Dramana and Shakatoe amounting to 269 sq km North Western Bhutan.17 Thus Sino-Bhutan bilateral talk by the end of year 2000s, though in its origin in 1950s was concentrated to formal resolution of a total disputed border of 764 sq km, but has been redirected to strategic perspectives which shifted from package deal in 1996 to employment of soft power including construction of road, airport and other

developmental priorities both in the Bhutan‟s border area of Tibet and Chumby Valley on one hand and direct

economic aid and assistance to Bhutan on the other. China‟s construction of road in Tibet, especially in the border area of Bhutan, estimated to be 75470 km as on 2014, whereas construction of road Gyantse to Phari (in the sensitive Yadong country, where Chumby Valley is located) has became a serious threat to India and Bhutan since Phari was a traditional trading hub for Bhutan, and is about an eight –hour walk from the Bhutan-China

border.19 Thus development domain of Tibet and the border areas of Chumby Valley, which is only km from Silliguri, the chicken neck to access Indian north eastern state, led by China, has been considered a milestone in terms of security perspectives both for Bhutan and India. Now it has been regularly reported the Tibetan infiltration to north western part of Bhutan backed behind by China. Medha Bisht pointed out that “Chinese soldiers have touched upon Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) outposts several times. Stealing yaks, medicinal herbs and timber by Tibetan herders is also a common activity- an aspect which directly impacts the livelihood needs of the Common people of Bhutan residing in the border areas.

15 See for details Pritom Ranjan Bose, Bhutan says exit of BBIN Motor Vehicle

Agreement is Temporary, https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/bhutan-says-exit-from-bbin-motor-vehicles-pact-istemporary/ article9685062.ece 16 Review Report on Motor Vehicles Agreement for the Regulation of Passengers and Cargo Vehicular Traffic between Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal, Legislative Committee, National Council of Bhutan, October 2016, https://www.nationalcouncil.bt/assets/uploads/files/BBIN%20Report%20Final(1).pdf, accessed on 18 August 2019, at 2.30 pm.

17 For details see P. Stobdan, “India and Bhutan: The strategic Imperative”, IDSA, Occasional Paper, No 36, September 2014, p-6.

18 For details see Gopila Acharya, “When the Small Dragon Meets the Big

One”, IPA Journal, July 30, 2012 at http://www.ipajournal.com/2012/07/30/when-the-small-dragon-met-the-big-one/ , accessed on 12 April 2019 at 1.20 pm. 19 See fro details Medha Bisht, “Sino- Bhutan Boundary Negotiations : Complexities

of „Package Deal‟, IDSA Comment, 19 January 2010, at https://idsa.in/idsacomments/Sino-BhutanBoundaryNegotiations_mbisht_190110, accessed on 28 October 2019, at 11.15 am. Nitu Moni Deka & Dr. Niranjan Mohapatra 5 The Chinese response to Bhutanese objections has however been unequivocal whereby China has

officially conveyed that as there has been no agreement on its proposal it cannot”.20 Again the provision of scholarship to the student of Bhutan, encouraging tourism and cultural exchange in the field of art and literature, game and sport to equip new generation of Bhutan,21express the use of soft power by China and its acceptability among the said generation is great concern for Indo-Bhutan bilateral relation in 21st century. In the statement of Bhutan Post Corporation Limited (BPCL) in 2012 regarding allocation of tender to a Chinese company, Global Traders and Gangjung (GT) condemn the deficiency of buses manufactured by India is a great concern,22 in the sense of shifting preference from India to China among the present stakeholder of Bhutanese society. Thus Indo- Bhutan relations which is being continued through security perspective of both of the countries has become matter of discussion and genuinely pose a question, why China initiated such kind of activity in the tiny land of Bhutan? Are they prepared themselves to ouster the pro-India sentiment from the land of Bhutan in future? The answers for these questions revolve to the more dynamic Indo-Bhutan bilateral relations. Tilak answers for these questions revolve to the more dynamic Indo-Bhutan bilateral relations. Tilak Jha viewed that “Bhutan could play

critical role for China: firstly in furthering its strategic depth against India‟s North- Eastern periphery; second in restraining its Tibetan dilemma from spilling over into Bhutan; and lastly in stopping Bhutan from being guided by Indian concern alone”.23 Hence it is urge for India and Bhutan to meet this situation at the very outset in terms of her security perspectives is concern in near future.

Findings: Findings of the above study reveals that bilateral relations between India and Bhutan is very much governed by the domestic variables in context of economy, polity and strategic aspect of Bhutan along with the approach of New Delhi towards dealing with the major issues that are confronting by both countries in the 21st century. Some suggestions are being put forwarded in this regard.

Suggestion:

To cope up these challenges and carry on the mutual bilateral relations to future ahead, it becomes obligation to evolve and initiate some remedial responses behind the foreign policy decision making process of India and Bhutan.

For India (i)Encouragement to Bhutan’s Look South Policy: Since Bhutan has came foreword by initiating trade practice with Bangladesh and Nepal, it is the responsibility for India to nurture it through by adopting more liberal attitude and encouragement to flourish it.

(ii) India’s focus should be shifted from New Delhi to Bhutan’s

bordering areas: The focus of India‟s foreign policy should be shifted from New Delhi to cross border areas of Bhutan. More and more importance

should be given on the infrastructure development of India‟s bordering areas to Bhutan so that people to people contact both between bordering areas could be improved and sustain.

(iii) Employment Generation in Bhutan: Since lack of proper human resources to be engage in the different development sector initiated by India specially hydropower sector and low growth of primary sector of economy

of Bhutan unemployment has been reckoning the latter‟s economy in a adverse

manner hence India‟s development aid must concern the local sentiment in terms of generating employment opportunity in Bhutan.

(iv) A defence mechanism should set up: In order to check out Chinese engagement in Bhutan, a defence mechanism should be set up in joint venture by Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defence in Sikkim so that any misunderstanding could not inculcated Indo-Bhutan bilateral relations to be failure in future ahead.

(v) Aware of cultural sensitiveness: India should be aware of cultural

sensitiveness of Bhutan‟s people. Provision to shift the location of Institute of Military Training (IMTRAT) head quarter from Ha District of North western Bhutan should be reviewed so far as possible.

(vi) Impact evaluation of hydropower sector: Flood and shortage of river water has been considered to be a serious problem for harvesting agricultural crops and pursuing animal husbandry in the bordering areas of India

20 For details see Medha Bisht, “Sino- Bhutan Boundary Negotiations : Complexities

of „Package Deal‟, IDSA Comment, 19 January 2010, at https://idsa.in/idsacomments/Sino-BhutanBoundaryNegotiations_mbisht_190110, accessed on 28 October 2019, at 11.15 21 For details see Sudha Ramchandan & Hansini Hariharan, Shibani Mehta,

“Strategic Assessment: India Bhutan Relation- Fostering

Friendship”, Takshashila Policy Advisory, 8th May 2018, p- 5. 22 See for details see Medha Bisht note 5, p-4 23 For details see Tilak Jha,2013, “China and Its Peripheries: Limited Objectives in Bhutan”, Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, Issues Brief # 233, p6 Review of History and Political Science, Vol. 8, No. 1, June 2020 and Bhutan, which according to the people of this locality is the result of fast growing hydropower project of Bhutan. Though impact evaluation of hydropower sector is the sole responsibility of Royal Government of Bhutan but a combined impact assessment of hydel dam and potential possibilities of Glacial Lake Outburst flood (GLOF) and Land Slide dam Outburst flood (LSOF) should be carried out in a joint venture of India and Bhutan along with the evaluation of basin-wide studies of river that are flows from Bhutan to plain of India. However the view of people of the bordering areas of India and Bhutan in terms of impact evaluation hydropower sector must be heared and justified.

For Bhutan (i)Promotion of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and traditional craft: Instead of overwhelming importance on hydropower sector Bhutan should put due consideration on the promotion of traditional craft. Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Royal Government of Bhutan should given special attention on the promotion of agricultural activities and animal husbandry, which might be able to absorb both rural and urban employment scenario to a extent.

(ii) Promotion of Small and Cottage Industry: Small and cottage industry has been proved to be another landmark in the solution of unemployment problem in India. Bhutan also could apply this to solve her

unemployment problem.

(iii) Improvement of Border Infrastructure, Management and Custom

legislation practice: Royal Government of Bhutan should put additional importance on the development of infrastructure i.e., road, electricity, telecommunication, data connection and finally custom legislation and practice so that export and import of Goods and service would be benefited.

(iv) Trade Related Technical Assistance and Membership in

International Investment Treaties: Royal Government of Bhutan should sought trade related assistance from international community along with the attempt to be member of international investment treaty for incoming investment and finally to curb trade deficit resulted from trade balance of her through export and import.

(v) Build up of Southern Bhutan as Industrial Belt (Economic Zone): Since as a industrial belt Phuentsholing has been almost grown up hence Royal Government of Bhutan should put due consideration in building up Sandrup Jongkhar, the South Eastern Bhutan as an industrial belt or economic zone in future ahead.

(vi) Moderate Tariff Policy on Tourism: Moderate tariff policy should be adopted to encourage the flow of tourist to Bhutan.

(vii) Foreign Direct Investment: Though Royal Government of Bhutan has launched Foreign Direct Investment in 2002 but much has to achieve in this regard. Public and Private sector should jointly indulge in the field of transport, telecommunication, education and health and medical so that job would be created to unemployed of Bhutan.

SCHOLAR’S_VOICE

SOCIOLOGY_AND_ANTHROPOLOGY

THE_INDIAN_JOURNAL_OF_PUBLIC_ADMINISTARATION

THREAT_PERCEPTION_IN_A_GLOBALIZINNGWORLD

WATER_GOVERANCE

WORLD_FOCUS

WORLD_JOURNAL_OF_SOCIAL_SCIENCE_RESEARCH

World Journal of Social Science Research

ISSN 2375-9747 (Print) ISSN 2332-5534 (Online)

Vol. 7, No. 3, 2020

www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/wjssr

1

Original Paper

Role of Social Media in Election Campaigning in India with

Special Reference to Assam

Rantu Sarmah1* & Dr. Niranjan Mohapatra2

1Department of Political Science, Barpather College, Diburgargh University,

Assam, India

2 Dept. of Political Science, Assam University, Silchar, (Diphu Campus), Karbi

Anglong, Diphu, Assam,

India

* Rantu Sarmah, Department of Political Science, Barpather College, Diburgargh

University, Assam,

India

Received: May 31, 2020 Accepted: June 10, 2020 Online Published: June 19, 2020

doi:10.22158/wjssr.v7n3p1 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/wjssr.v7n3p1

Abstract

This is an attempt to find out the role of social media in election campaigning in

India with special

reference to Assam. Democratic countries like United States of America, India the

social media has

become an integral part for political communications during election

campaigning. This new way of

campaigning during election plays an important role to attract voters. Social

media has given a new

platform such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Whatsapp, Youtube etc. to the

political parties and the

voters, these are becoming an easy tool for the political leaders to interact with

their voters. Social

media allows candidates to share, post, comments, and their views during election

and making them

more direct involvement to their voters. These new tools or platforms are appeared

as new area for

research. Firstly to find out the term of social media, secondly, general meaning of

political

campaigning, thirdly, uses of social media in Indian election campaigning with

reference to Assam and

lastly conclusions.

Keywords

social media, election campaigning, political communications, voters, assam

1. Introduction

Elections in India have always been the cornerstone of the political system of the

country. Each election,

whether the parliamentary or assembly, stands unique because of the shifting

political climate of the

country or the states where the Assembly elections are to be held. Accordingly, the

attention,

involvement and choice of the individual voters tend to change. India is a

democratic country where

www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/wjssr World Journal of Social Science Research

Vol. 7, No. 3, 2020

2

Published by SCHOLINK INC.

election Campaigning is an integral part of it and from time to time the Political

Parties have been

using different tools for their campaigning. Earlier the Traditional Media has been

playing an important

role in election and now the evolution of new technologies and the internet has

changed the entire

world and election is not exception to it. The new technology and the internet have

changed the

political atmosphere in India. Social media has had a transformative effect on our

democracy. This is

mainly because internet and the availability of cheap Smartphone in the market.

Earlier there was no

such tools of social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp, Orkut,

Google+ etc. but now

the Political Parties have been using such tools during Election. These tools have

break down the gap

between the politician and the voters, voters can easily interact with their leaders of

various political

parties. The leaders of the political parties have been using tools of social media to

cope up with the

new young voters. Assam is a state which is far from the metropolitan city like

Delhi which is the

Capital of India where it has seen that the social media has made an impact in the

last Assembly

election of Delhi in December, 2013.Although Narendra Modi had used social

media during Gujrat

Assembly elections earlier the atmosphere had remained unchanged. It was the

Aam Aadmi Party

during the 2013 Delhi Assembly Elections that demonstrated how social media

could affect an

electorate, and influence elections.

2. Method

Data has been collected purely from secondary sources like journals, books,

research papers, news

papers, websites etc.

2.1 Objectives

1) To understand the general meaning and the term of social media in Election.

2) To understand the general meaning of political campaign.

3) To understand the role of social media in Elections in India with special

reference to Assam.

4) Conclusions.

2.1.1 Meaning of Social Media

Social media is broadly defined, “a variety of websites, services and applications

that allow users to

engage in social behaviors online or on a mobile phone”. Social Media is also

defined as, “the objective

of online communications channels dedicated to community based input,

interaction, content sharing

and collaboration. Websites and applications dedicated to forums, micro blogging,

social networking,

social bookmarking, social durations, and wikis are among the different types of

social media”. Social

Media, defined as “a group of internet-based applications that build on the

ideological and

technological foundations of web 2.0 and that allow the creation and exchange of

user-generated

content” (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010) and the Oxford Dictionary defines Social

Media as “websites and

applications that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social

networking”. For the


Vol. 7, No. 3, 2020

3


purpose of the study the term social media refers to Web 2.0 media platforms and

internet sites and

services and sites such as Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, Google+, YouTube etc.

The history of social

media is not clear if we are talking about the technologies than the godfather of

social media goes to

Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis Who invented the world first usernet systems in 1979.

Usernet enabled

users to read and post messages to various categories, known as newsgroups. At a

high level, they can

be thought of as a hybrid between email and the web forums of today, and many of

the popular group

sites of today, such as Google Groups and Yahoo! Groups. If we are taking about

who invented the

term social media the term become a buzz word in the past 5 years. So who

invented the term social

media is not 100% clear best information is as follows:

• Darryl Berry who claims he used the term starting in late 1994 while working on

Matisse, an

online media environment and for a paper in may 1995 on “Social media spaces”,

which predicted the

evolution of the web into a network engaged users.

• Ted Leonsis who in 1997 is cited using the term in the same manner in which it is

used today and

claims to have created this term.

• Tina Sharkey who owns the domain SocialMedia.com since 1999 and claims she

coined the term

during her days working on ivillage, where she was in charge of community

building.

(Source: https:// www.quora.com)

Though the term who invented Social media is not clear yet in general meaning of

the social media can

be explained that the social media allow the users to interact with each other by

logging into a

particular website and interact with other users through instant messaging. People

can share, post,

upload videos, photos, and comments whenever they like. So social media is

purely internet based and

it can be used by their cell phone, laptop or computer etc. Social media provides

open communications

not like that of traditional media which have more restrictions than social media. In

simple we can say

that social media can be considered as the platform where people can find

information and inspiration,

connect with likeminded people, communities and collaborate with each other

towards pursuing

common interests or issues. Some of the common and popular sites are Facebook,

Twitter, Whatsapp,

etc.

2.1.2 Meaning of Political Campaigning

A Political campaigning is an organized effort which seeks to influence the

decision making progress

within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral

campaigns, by

which representatives are chosen or referendums are decided. In modern politics,

the most high profile

political campaigns are focused on general elections and candidates for head of the

state or head of the

government, often a president or prime minister. So, we can say that the period of

time immediately

before an election when politicians try to persuade people to vote for them.

Election campaigning are

the means by which candidates and political parties prepare and present ideas and

positions on issues to


Vol. 7, No. 3, 2020

4


the voters in the period preceding election day. Candidates are a variety of

techniques to reach voters

and deliver their messages, including through traditional and new media, public

events, written

materials, or other means.

2.1.3 Social Media and its uses in India and Assam Assembly Elections 2016

The uses of social media in election campaigning is not an isolated event occurring

in India, throughout

the world the social media is being used by the political parties during election

campaign to attract

voter. The internet has changed the way of life and internet has become an integral

part of our political,

economic, and social lives now a day people purchase goods from Amazon,

Flipkart, Snapdeal etc.,

whenever we like to know anything we just put our finger on Google and gets it by

our Smartphone or

laptop. That’s why may be the reason the number of internet users have grown

from ten million in 1993

to three billions in 2014. People use online social media regularly to stay

connected to their family and

friends even with their institutions, organizations where they doing their jobs. So,

social media has

made an important affect to all aspects of our lives. Social media is playing a new

role in Indian

elections it has created a new atmosphere in election campaigning the political

parties have found a

new ways to communicate with their voters and the use of social media has given a

new platforms to

the political leaders as well as the voters during election. Though Assam is a state

where the use of

internet and the network is not available in all parts of the state yet in the 2016

Assembly Election the

political parties and the voters has used the social media such as Facebook,

Whatsapp, Twitter,

Google+, etc.

The use of social media by Indians was first highlighted during the 2008 Mumbai

attacks when

information shared through Twitter and Flicker between Indians and the outside.

“The second mass use

of social media in India was the May 2009 national elections, when, for the first

time, online voter

registration and transparency campaigns started” where first time political parties

tried to reach out to

voters through social networking websites. In India the Social Media platforms

have been used by the

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and they changed the way of campaigning. Its rightly

mention by Idress

Ali in his article for VOA News “The sweeping victory of the Bharatiya Janata

Party (BJP) in the

recent Indian Elections has been attributed to factors ranging from showing

economic growth to high

levels of corruptions. But for the first time in the country’s history, social media

played an important

role, according to analysts who are calling the vote India’s first “social media

elections”. However, this

is still in progress in Assam in the last Assembly election the Bharatiya Janata

Party (BJP) has decided

to make maximum use of social media to reach out to the voters of Assam, as part

of the plan, the party

has readied an army of 300 odd volunteers to put across its message to the masses,

using different

platforms of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and Google+.

There was new trend seen in Assam during election time the political parties

mainly the BJP and

Congress indulged in some musical fight on social media through videos. It was

rightly said by Ankhi


Vol. 7, No. 3, 2020

5


Das of Facebook Public Policy Director for South and Central Asia, “Facebook is

the destination for

authentic conversation about politics. It’s a place for citizens to learn about

candidates, for friends to

debate political issues, and for candidates to reach voters. Candidates are using

facebook to reach

citizens directly and personally. They are having unfiltered conversations about

important public policy

issues and getting honest feedback from voters”. In social media there were few

theory by the BJP as

“Last Battle of Saraighat”, “Paribarton”, “Ab ki bar Mudi Sarkar” very popular

among the voters. This

theory’s has been drafted in such a manner in social media that the people of

Assam were discussing

these theories everywhere in regular basis. As per the information, by the writer

Prabin Kalita, “north

eastern states lag behind in internet, mobile connectivity. Still there are areas

where internet is not

available in Assam. So the impact of social media in election campaigning Assam

is not at par with the

other states.

3. Result

After examining the entire elements one can safely asserts that the social media has

changed the way of

political campaigning in the entire world and it has hit the existing process of

media and influenced all

the democratic political system. The new technologies and the new media have

changed the world and

which has affected all aspects of our society. This new way of campaigning by the

political parties has

changed the political atmosphere of a country. Social media have triggered

changes in the campaign

strategies of political parties, candidates, and political organizations, at the same

time it has changed

the people’s participations in election. Through social media people can meet their

leaders very easily

and interact very quickly with the help of their cell phone. India is ranked three

with regard to use

social networks in the world. So, India is an interesting place where we can

examine the role of social

media during election. Assam is state where still most people are living in village

and still network is

not available in all parts of Assam so it is an interesting area where we need to

study this new trend of

web media use in election campaigning. The last Assembly election is the witness

of it as social media

was successful platform where political parties found a new way of campaigning.

May be Social media

will prove its impact on political campaigning in India with much more meaningful

way in near future

especially in north eastern states.

4. Discussion

In the age of Globalization it is very important to all the political parties to cope up

with present

climate of the politics. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter,

Whatsapp, Google+ etc are

the platforms where all the leaders and the voters are now putting their time in

internet to get the

information or the latest any events took place during election. The political parties

and the voters

immediately react with the events. They post, share, or comments, twitted

immediately after seeing the


Vol. 7, No. 3, 2020

6


events in the social media. So the social media is a platform where they can

interact easily to their

voters and it’s an easy way to reach voters. Social media has given a platform for

politicians to post a

presumptive agenda. Through social media politicians can mobilize public and

invites them to

participate in discussion on some issues. In the age of globalization it’s very

important to all to

understand social media role in elections and at the same time election

commissions should put their

more effort on these sites which has been used by the politicians during elections.

Therefore, new effort

and more study are required to focus on this new trend of politics in Assam.

Acknowledgement

I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Niranjan Mohapatra for

his full support,

comments, remarks, expert guidance, understanding and encouragement

throughout my study and

research. His advice on both research as well as on my career have been priceless. I

express my

gratitude to the library staff of Assam University Diphu Campus, Dibrugarh

University Central Library,

Aligarh Muslim University Central Library, District Library of Golaghat, Sub-

Divisional Library of

Sarupathar, Assam, IBN Sina Academy (NISA) Aligarh, for assistance in getting

materials for this

research work. Last but not the least I would like to thank to my family for their

constant support and

encouragement. Words cannot be express how grateful I am to my father, mother,

mother in low and at

the end I would like to express appreciation to my wife Mrs. Smita Das who has

extended continuous

support in the moments when there was no one to answer my queries.

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