A Comparison of Internet Based Populism in India and China

Our world—online and networked—is immersed under a wave of populism; populism spreads on the wings of internet. Internet as a media platform is essentially different from the traditional media platforms witnessed so far. Internet and digital media inherently follow bottom-up approach whereas traditional media adapt top-down approach to connect with its audience. Similarly, gatekeepers of internet are very different from traditional media. Internet platforms offer an agency to the common man to express his opinions which were never possible before. This shall definitely have political ramifications. India has witnessed religious-Hindu populism under BJP-NDA government since 2014. Recent elections confirm that this trend is likely to continue for next five years. It aims to present a stronger India which gives fitting reply to terrorist outfits and thus is in a better position to safeguard Mother India. It also aims to go back to its ancient roots something which was ruptured under the process of modernization under Nehru. In China the aim of populism is to re-achieve what it had in its glorious past—number one position in Asia—which can be inferred as China Dream. This populism is based on Confucian values and insists on its party-state to take strong measures especially towards US’s anti-China moves. But, in China any comments which question the legitimacy of the party-state are deemed unpatriotic and removed from the online platforms. Chinese populism is against elite corruption. Populism in China can be referred as CCP guided populism.