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Translating Public Protests into the Digital Realm
Notes from an Ambedkarite cultural troupe about taking the protest site online.
“As soon as we start singing and drumming the duff (drum) on the streets, a crowd starts forming, and if we’re on stage, the audience becomes attentive and passers-by intrigued,” says Suvarna Salve, member of the Samata Kala Manch (SKM), an Ambedkarite cultural troupe. A key organisation that spearheaded the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) protests in the state, they held performances more than thrice a week since the beginning of 2020, making their energising, emotional, and impactful songs—like “Shaheen Bagh ki Avaaj, Inquilab!”—iconic staples of the larger movement. Three months into the start of the year, however, the movement came to a grinding halt with the Prime Minister’s announcement of a strict lockdown on 23 March.
SKM performers Shrushti (left) and Suvarna (right) dressed in sky blue and performing at an anti-CAA protest on 22 January 2020. Credit: SKM
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