Webb, Martin; Khan, Aasim; Suri, Venkata Ratnadeep; Azam, Riad and Salim, Farhat. 2024. Between hunger and contagion: digital mediation and advocacy during the COVID-19 emergency in Delhi. Third World Quarterly, 45(5), pp. 946-962. ISSN 0143-6597 [Article]

Preview

Text Between hunger and contagion digital mediation and advocacy during the COVID-19 emergency in Delhi.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract or Description

When COVID-19 struck India in March 2020 the central government announced a nationwide lockdown to slow the spread of the virus. In Delhi, the suspension of normal economic and social life precipitated a crisis of hunger for the thousands who depend on daily wage labour to feed their families. Many of these workers were unable to access the city’s Public Distribution System for subsidised food supplies because they lacked the correct paperwork. In response, the Delhi government implemented an online system, known as E-Coupons, through which those affected could apply for emergency rations. However, this digital system proved complicated to navigate for the marginalised people that it was aimed at. In the east Delhi neighbourhood in which this research took place brokers offering digital connections and online form-filling services proliferated in the crisis, but often provided unreliable or incomplete support to those in need. Recognising the need for digital mediation and support for the marginalised we argue that networks of reliable community advocates are required if welfare bureaucracies are to be digitised through mobile governance projects such as E-Coupons. The human mediation and advocacy, which underpins these schemes should be acknowledged and included in system design.

Item Type:	Article
Identification Number (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2023.2257612
Additional Information:	Funding: This research was carried out as part of the project titled Jaankaar (Knowledgeable): Leveraging Everyday Innovations in Governance and Accountability funded by Goldsmiths QR-GCRF – grant number G132618.
Keywords:	Digital bureaucracy, brokerage, advocacy, hunger, pandemic.
Departments, Centres and Research Units:	Anthropology
Dates:	Date Event 7 September 2023 Accepted 19 September 2023 Published Online 2024 Published
Item ID:	34444
Date Deposited:	06 Dec 2023 09:40
Last Modified:	26 Apr 2024 14:43
Peer Reviewed:	Yes, this version has been peer-reviewed.
URI:	https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/34444

View statistics for this item...

Edit Record (login required)