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Caste based Inequities in digital access

Tanishka Urade

Introduction

In the 21st century, most people occupy two realms simultaneously: The physical and digital. The digitization and digitalization of the world is happening at a rapid pace, making it almost impossible for people to exist without an online identity. India has more than 820 million internet users at present. The use of digital technologies has penetrated many aspects of our day-to-day lives including but not limited to education, healthcare, banking, entertainment, access to information, consumption and business activities. The digital and the physical run parallely, with the digital spaces not only mirroring but also exacerbating the inequalities that exist in the real world. In the context of India, one cannot speak about social inequalities without taking into account the variable of caste. Caste determines the education, income, health, employment and the overall well-being levels of individuals in the Indian society. Naturally, the hierarchical institution of caste has consolidated itself in the digiscape, with a glaring difference in the way that upper caste and lower caste people access the internet and relevant technologies.

Digital Literacy and Digital Divide

Digital literacy is defined as the ability of individuals and communities to understand and use digital technologies for meaningful actions within life situations. Digital literacy encompasses technical skills as well as social practices and critical thinking abilities required to engage meaningfully in digital spaces. Digital literacy is not limited to having access to digital tools such as computers and mobile phones but is a nuanced concept that includes information literacy, media literacy, communication skills, cybersecurity awareness and computational knowledge [1]. Research reveals that knowledge of digital technologies can significantly impact the economic development and material reality of individuals. A positive correlation has been observed between internet access and engagement in the labour force. Internet access provides greater re-employment probability [2]

Digital transformation of India, especially in the post-pandemic context has radically changed how people conduct their social, economic and political lives. Many basic and essential services have shifted to the palm of one’s hand and underneath the fingertips, however this seems to be the experience of only the privileged. The other side of the great digital revolution of  India seems to be a much bleaker reality. The socio-economic and geographical disparities have crept their way into the digiscape and the disadvantaged sections of society have largely remained excluded from the promises of the information age. This pronounced chasm in the participation of vulnerable groups in digital spaces is termed as The Digital Divide.  In India, this divide is not merely a reflection of economic disparities but is deeply embedded in the social fabric of the country, particularly the caste system. Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), historically marginalized communities, experience significant barriers to digital access and literacy. The digitally excluded are cut off from the benefits of the digital revolution. Exclusion is based on already existing social hierarchies like gender norms, rual-urban dichotomy, income disparity and caste stratification dictates the extent of  internet usage. In this article, the focus would be on how the caste location of individuals impacts their participation in the digital landscape.

Digital divide can be further expanded into three stages: Economic divide, Usability divide and Empowerment divide. The economic divide entails the unaffordability and inaccessibility of digital tools such as computers, laptops, mobile phones and internet broadband. This arises from the fact that some people simply can’t afford to buy these technologies due to their economic vulnerability. More sinister than the economic divide is the usability divide which arises due to low literacy. Although the use of digital technologies in daily affairs has seen unprecedented growth in the post pandemic world, people with low levels of literacy are unable to make the most out of  the full potential that the internet offers. Government sites that are meant to raise awareness and delineate schemes that affect impoverished populations seem to publish material that would be comprehensible to only those with at least a high school diploma. The empowerment divide occurs because of participation inequality that is observed in social networks and community forums. Even after overcoming the first and second stage of divide, people and communities lack the confidence to use digital technologies for personal and professional advancement.

The Economic Divide : The intertwined nature of class and caste

The premise of the digital divide in India is based on the simple fact that people from marginalised caste groups tend to earn less than people belonging to privileged caste groups.[3] The wealth inequality is split along the caste lines, with both class and caste being inextricably interlinked. Various studies point to the fact that the high earning income groups tend to belong to the upper castes and poverty seems to be concentrated amongst the lower caste groups. [4] Studies suggest that the most viable way to close the digital divide in India is to increase the education and income levels. According to estimates, 5 out of 6 people subjected to multidimensional poverty in India belong to SC, ST and OBC castes.[5] 70% of the informal sector workers in India belong to disadvantaged caste groups. This substantially hampers the purchasing power of these caste groups.[6]  A study conducted to explain caste based digital divide at the first and second stage clearly demonstrated the role of caste in ownership of ICTs. Only 14.1% of the STs and 15.6% of SC households had any  access to the Internet as compared to 41.1% of individuals from the Other group. Among Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), computer ownership remains critically low at  6%, compared to over 20% among households belonging to higher castes. Among the poorest 20 per cent households, only 2.7 per cent have access to a computer and 8.9 per cent to internet facilities, while the proportions are 27. 6 per cent and 50.5 per cent, respectively, among the richest 20 per cent households.[7]

CategoryInternet Access (%)Computer Ownership (%)
Scheduled Tribes (ST)14.1%6.0%
Scheduled Castes (SC)15.6%6.0%
Higher Castes / “Other” Group41.1%20.0%+
Poorest 20% Households8.9%2.7%
Richest 20% Households50.5%27.6%

Geography also plays a role in aggravating the digital divide at the first stage. About 30% of rural households belong to  SC and ST communities, often residing in underdeveloped rural areas, face infrastructural deficits, including lack of electricity, poor network coverage, and absence of internet service providers (Kamath, 2023).[8] These infrastructural challenges are compounded by economic constraints that make digital devices unaffordable.

The intersection of caste, geography, gender makes the digital divide even more staggering. On a national scale, the report reveals, only an average of 42.6 % of women have ever used the Internet, contrary to an average of 62.16 % of men. In urban India, this average grows to 56.81 % of women and 73.76 % of men. [9]

LocationWomen (%)Men (%)
National Average42.6%62.16%
Urban Areas56.81%73.76%

The Usability Divide : Barriers beyond access

An implicit belief in regards to digital divide is that once people have access to digital tools, they can utilize it in the same way as others and obtain its full benefits. Research shows that the effect of caste on income can be reduced by attainment of high school level qualification but the literacy gap between caste groups is still significantly large and persistent. In the caste system, the SC, ST and OBC groups were historically denied education. This has seriously hindered their progress and has made it difficult for them to be on par with the general population. As per Census 2011, literacy rate was 58.95% and 66.07% respectively for STs and SCs whereas the overall literacy rate was 73% at all India level. At the intersection of gender and geography, the situation is even more grave. The literacy rate among SCs  and STs living in rural areas is 62.8% and 56.8% respectively. The female literacy rate among the SCs and STs stands at 56.4% and 49.3 respectively. [10].

CategoryScheduled Castes (SC)Scheduled Tribes (ST)Overall (All India)
Total Literacy Rate66.07%58.95%73.00%
Rural Literacy Rate62.80%56.80%67.77%
Female Literacy Rate (All Areas)56.40%49.30%65.46%

NSS data shows that only 11.2% of ST and 13.5% of SC individuals reported being able to operate a computer, in contrast to significantly higher levels of digital proficiency in upper-caste populations. This finding aligns with the assertion that educational inequalities are closely tied to digital capability. CASM shows that dominant caste households have significantly higher access to the internet than disadvantaged caste households. This disparity exists in both rural and urban areas but is more pronounced in the latter. While 92 percent of dominant caste urban households  reported having access to the internet, only 71 percent of ST households did so. [11] [12]

People working in the technical or organized sector have a greater chance of owning and being proficient at operating ICTs. Although there is no concrete data available that shows the percentage of SC and ST youth in technical fields, the barriers to enter remain rigid. For instance in December 2020, in response to a Right To Information application filed by student organization Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle, IIT Bombay said 11 departments – including four engineering departments – at the institute did not admit a single student belonging to Scheduled Tribes between 2015 and 2019. Two departments did not admit any SC students at all. IIT Bombay did not respond to a request for comment.  [13] Another data point that demonstrates the exclusion of SC and ST youth from gaining technical proficiency is the disproportionately high drop-out rate of marginalized caste students from centrally funded technical institutions. While only 23% of those admitted were from the SC/ST communities, 31.5% of those who dropped out were from these communities. [14] The usability divide highlights the ability, or lack thereof, to operate digital tools for basic functions such as communication. However, digital technologies offer far more than just utility; they hold the potential for individuals to exercise agency and engage meaningfully in the digital sphere. This raises a critical question: how many individuals from disadvantaged caste backgrounds are not merely passive recipients of mainstream culture and information, but active creators and participants in the virtual world?

The Empowerment Divide: Participation and Agency

In the book “Technology, Policy and Inclusion” Kamath writes about the way in which groups across caste hierarchies use digital tools, particularly mobile phones. The study showed that those dalit communities that reside in traditional regions of historical deprivation and those who faced a spectrum of deprivations such as lack of quality education, housing and drinking water tend to use their mobile phones as simply devices meant for communication. Individuals in this group perceived mobile phones as a device that made communication convenient.  A minuscule  number  (only  two  individuals  out  of  all  Dalit  households surveyed, and both under the age of 40) had a working understanding of the English language.  Only  these  individuals  were  able  to  access  and  succeed  in  operating  simple  employment-related  apps  or  a  rudimentary  job  search online. The research contrasted these findings with how dalit groups who have gained upward social mobility through entrepreneurship used digital devices. Individuals in this group saw their mobile devices as essential in expanding their current businesses and livelihood opportunities. They believed that the device expanded their interpersonal network and broadened their professional capabilities. Lastly, a third group made up of Dalit activists and civil society members was studied. They used digital technologies to not only communicate with but mobilize and educate people on issues of caste. They developed intervention strategies and  exercised agency  in  using  phones  as  communication  and  mobilisation  devices. “Some activists boasted about how, through social media platforms, they  were  able  to  gather  people  and  families together  around  the  purpose of  caste  solidarity  and  increased  political  participation” the study read.[15]

It is essential for disempowered communities to not only have access to digital technologies to gain upward social mobility but also to participate meaningfully in public discourse. The digital space as a new arena of public discourse has the potential to foster and build movements and sustain communities. Owning  or  not  owning  a  phone is not the only condition that characterises the digital divide in peri-urban or metropolitan India. Dalit people living in large cities might own a smartphone but they still remain excluded from the larger scope of the digital revolution. They exist on the periphery, linger on the sidelines without having the means to engage, create and participate in the digital world like their privileged counterparts.

Conclusion

The wealth gap and literacy gap in India has undeniable caste implications and also explains the digital divide in terms of caste. The first stage of digital divide is significantly impacted by the low income levels and precarious employment of marginalized caste groups and the second level of the divide is severely affected by the enormous gap in literacy levels between higher and lower caste groups. There is a critical need to close the wealth and literacy gap as a first step to resolve the digital divide along caste lines. The UN e-participation index has ranked India at 105 out of 193 nations. [16] While India ranks highly on the two dimensions of e-governance, that is, provisions for online services and human capital development, it falls short on the third dimension which focuses on infrastructural development in telecommunication. According to the report Digital India, a flagship programme by the government of India which envisions the transformation of India into a knowledge society, benefits those who are already technologically proficient and have access to digital technologies while risking the exclusion of the digitally alienated populations. It has been noted by experts that it has benefited the privileged over the underprivileged.

Recommendations

  1. The most basic step to create equality in the digital space is to ensure the availability of internet and digital infrastructure in remote and rural areas. Availability can be ensured through community networks and public wifi networks. Community networks are crowdsourced networks that are managed with a bottom up approach and rely on shared infrastructure as common resources.
  2. Given the relevance of the internet in day-to-day lives, universal access to the internet must be ensured by making it affordable for the masses. The government must play a regulatory role to prohibit the complete monopolization of internet services by private players.
  3. Lowering taxes on computers and smartphones can also be a constructive step in reducing the unaffordability of digital devices.
  4. In rural areas and in areas with a concentrated population of SC and ST communities, a robust campaign to raise digital literacy should be launched.
  5. Inspiration can also be taken from other countries who have devised inclusive policies to bridge the digital divide amongst ethnic communities. For instance, New Zealand has recognised and worked towards bridging the ethnic digital divide and disadvantaged the Māori community by co-designing  digital inclusion policies with them.

References

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