Digitally networked action of West Himalayans: A survey of the politically marginalized group

This study examines the emergence of a contemporary social movement focused on preserving the regional identity and achieving political sovereignty for the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region of Pakistan, a territory controversially linked with disputed Kashmir amidst the Pakistan and India. Located in the West of Himalaya, the thinly-populated the federally-administrated region enjoys immense geostrategic significance surrounded by China, India, and Afghanistan. However, constitutionally locals have minimal rights and almost no role in critical decision-making institutions of Pakistan. Since the proliferation of the internet and social networking sites in GB, activists started actively expressing their voice on social media as well as organize and mobilize digitally networked action (DNA) by sharing the collective and connective identity—lack of political rights. Recent protests of locals in the Mighty Himalayas, Islamabad, and Karachi are instances of DNA. According to prior studies, expressive social media use is associated with political participation. This study further conceptualizes ‘soft expressive social media use’ and ‘hard expressive social media use’ related to the political status of GB. The findings show that both types of expression predict protest participation. However, the effect size of ‘soft expressive social media use’ is smaller than ‘hard expressive social media use,’ and the latter mediates the effect of the former on the outcome variable. This study discusses the DNA of an increasingly becoming digitally connected politically marginalized group. GBians were previously disconnected due to physical distances that used to limit a spread of communication and hampered earlier mobilizational efforts despite common political grievances. In sum, digital activism of the politically marginalized group has the potential to transform the politics of the society locally and effect Indo-Pak debate over the whole region globally.