(a) Underline the role of social media in contemporary social movements and describe its challenges. (20 marks) (b) How does a…

Part (a) Social media has become the mobilisation infrastructure of contemporary social movements. It reduces the cost of organising, enables horizontal coordination, and allows movements to bypass gatekeepers by creating hashtags, livestreams and viral narratives. In Castells’ network society, power shifts from mass media to networked publics, where information flows shape collective action. Tufekci’s Twitter and Tear Gas shows that speed can accelerate mobilisation but also weaken deliberation, making coalitions fragile. In India, CAA-NRC protests used WhatsApp, Twitter and Instagram to counter misinformation, organise sit-ins such as Shaheen Bagh, and mobilise legal and material support. The farmers’ protest sustained long-term visibility through Twitter/X, YouTube and live streams, coordinating rallies and sharing updates. MeToo India used social media to break silence, create public accountability and sustain solidarity, though it also exposed victims to privacy violations and gendered harassment.

The challenges are equally significant. Slacktivism reduces participation to likes, shares and performative outrage without sustained commitment. Algorithmic bias amplifies polarising content and marginalises nuanced voices. Surveillance, data misuse and platform repression can expose activists to state or corporate control. Misinformation and disinformation distort facts and inflame tensions. The digital divide excludes rural, poor, elderly and many women users, making movements appear urban and elite.

Part (b) A multicultural society accommodates diversity through constitutional safeguards, federalism, minority rights and plural citizenship. In India, Articles 29-30 protect language, culture and minority educational institutions; Articles 350A-B promote mother-tongue instruction and regional languages. Federalism allows states to manage linguistic and ethnic identities, while minority rights and cultural pluralism recognise that citizenship need not require cultural homogeneity. Kymlicka’s multicultural citizenship argues for group-differentiated rights, balancing individual equality with collective identity. This differs from Indian syncretism, where shared festivals, Sufi-Bhakti traditions and composite cultural practices create overlapping identities.

The major challenges are majoritarianism, religious polarisation and competitive communalism, which can turn cultural difference into political threat. Linguistic state reorganisation has limits: it can settle some disputes but also harden boundaries, as seen in Hindi-Tamil tensions and Northeast insurgencies over ethnic identity. Anti-conversion laws and the abrogation of Article 370, eroding Kashmir’s autonomy, raise concerns about religious freedom and federal balance. Accommodation therefore requires not merely tolerance but institutional recognition, redistribution, representation and protection of vulnerable communities.

Part (c) Animism, in Tylor’s “minimum definition of religion”, is belief in spiritual beings, including souls, spirits and ancestors. Marett’s pre-animism critique questioned whether such beliefs are necessarily intellectual constructions, suggesting that simpler magical or animistic practices may precede elaborate religion. Naturism, or nature worship, associated with Max Müller, locates religion in awe of natural phenomena, especially solar mythology and the personification of natural forces. Frazer’s contribution was to argue that magic preceded religion, including animism and naturism, rather than to reject intellectualist assumptions.

The two differ in object, emotion and evolutionary interpretation. Animism focuses on spirits or beings, often involving fear, awe and negotiation with unseen agents; naturism focuses on natural phenomena, often involving dependence on, or reverence for, nature. The evolutionary stage debate shows that these categories are analytical, not fixed. Today, animism has relevance for indigenous rights, sacred sites and environmental sociology, while naturism informs ecological ethics and conservation.

In conclusion, contemporary Indian society must combine digital accountability, constitutional multiculturalism and respectful engagement with religious diversity. Social media can empower movements but needs literacy, platform responsibility and protection from surveillance. Multicultural governance must balance unity with recognition of linguistic, ethnic and religious difference. Religious sociology reminds us that beliefs in spirits and nature continue to shape identity, rights and environmental politics. This integrated approach is essential for a secular, plural and digitally connected India.