Online push gets Marathas on streets SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE

As many as 50,000 WhatsApp groups, a website, a Facebook page, Twitter handles and mobile apps all with the name of Maratha Kranti Morcha run by around 1,000 youngsters are driving the huge silent protest marches by the Maratha community, which have taken over the political and social landscape of Maharashtra in the past month-and-a-half.

Insiders told HT the movement, which initially started with the help of just circulation of messages on WhatsApp has turned into a full-fledged socialmedia driven exercise that now also includes the use of drone cameras to broadcast a live feed of rallies.

“In the beginning, when protests were held in Aurangabad and Osmanabad, the mainstream media ignored and shunned us. That’s when we decided to rely on social media to spread the mass movement. And we have proven that the social media platform can be used in a positive way, the mainstream media is too biased,” said Bhaiya Patil, a co-ordinator from the social media team of the movement.

THE CENTRAL COMMAND A central war room, working from an undisclosed location, works on designing messages that are to be circulated on the Whatsapp groups, besides updating the website, Facebook page, Twitter handle and mobile app with news and videos about the protests and upcoming events. All social media decisions are filtered from here.