Caste in the Social Media Age

A couple of weeks ago, Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey got himself into hot water on a trip to India when he was photographed holding a poster calling on people to “Smash Brahmanical Patriarchy”.

The political stance was quickly retracted by Twitter after huge online backlash, calling Dorsey’s stance racist and an incitement towards violence against those at the top of the caste system.

The whole controversy has raised the question as to how Twitter and other social media companies are meant to interact  and engage with traditions like the caste system.

To discuss the caste system in the social media age, I’m joined by Dr Hari Bapuji, Associate Professor in Marketing and Management at the University of Melbourne.

You can find Dr Bapuji’s writing on the subject at The Conversation.