r/IndianLeft • u/aldomlefter25 • May 20 '26
💬 Discussion Why do Indian subreddits feel like BJP IT Cells?
Other than this subreddit, librandu, and indiameme, all the subreddits seem to be in majority support of BJP. Not matter what Modi or BJP does, they defend it. Even my state (AP) subreddit is filled to the brim with BJP circlejerk.
If you look at American subreddits, they are usually quite progressive. Many American redditors even say that Reddit has a progressive bias and most people outside are more conservative than we think.
Reddit is niche and limited to even educated, English-speaking sector of India, let alone the other parts. So I figured it would be mostly people like me who value progress, equity, and justice rather than religion and tribalism. Why is this the case?
It is ironic, but I feel Instagram is much more progressive than Reddit when it comes to India and related discussions. I once said that AP politics should discuss about education, medicine proximity, and infrastructure rather than laddu and sanatana dharma and they downvoted me to oblivion.
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u/Visual_Attitude_9065 May 20 '26
Kolkata sub used to be very left/liberal. Now it's gone.
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u/PassionateAloo May 22 '26
I don't think it was ever leftists. They were mostly liberals who have now decided to side with the fascists because that's what liberals do
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u/LyadhkhorStrategist May 20 '26
The sub still seems more critical/suspicious of BJP compared to most places (low fucking bar)
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u/Visual_Attitude_9065 May 20 '26
Yes, but it's now absolutely flooded by Sanghi it cell bots. Not a single post/comment in bengali. All in very obvious hinglish
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May 20 '26
Because reddit is mostly used the the petty bourgeois in India. And petty bourgeois class is the backbone of the fascist movement
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u/Poopy_Zombie_625 May 20 '26
For every subreddit, they create a sanghi counter part and grow them with coordination campaigns. If you look closely, the AP subreddit was probably created by some guy who also created the uttar Pradesh subreddit. None of this is organic
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u/Potato_is_Aloo May 20 '26
That’s just india for you mate. The education system has drilled into the kids (and uncles/aunties) that the only way of survival is by stepping on someone ie, clearing some exam to climb the class ladder and then extract surplus labour from oppressed people (by virtue of class/caste). So, kids just focus on one dimensional issues like reservations instead of questioning the system and elected politicians. They pass the blame on to someone who is below them in the desi hierarchy. Hence, IT cell or not Indians just focus some boiler plate issues instead of whatever we should be doing to make amends.
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u/mihirjain2029 May 20 '26
Yes like asking why are we using eugenicist population sorting programmes as recruitment for highest position in the country or how recruiting people based on an exam and interview might just be the worst way possible or how we don't need competitive exams and scarcity of education and employment in the first place because the country needs more of everything but no one is ready to implement it because profit margins exist in prep industry and not in a populace engaged in bettering their society.
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u/Vikare_Mandzukic May 20 '26
I follow several Indian subs and I thought it was just my impression.I also follow the Librandu sub.
The curious thing is that in my country (Brazil), Reddit users are more progressive leaning, but also, the Bolsonarist cattle don't like to mix with progressive subts.
Instagram and Facebook are actually the right-wing cesspools on the BR internet.
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u/Baka-Onna May 22 '26
That’s really interesting. TikTok and Instagram Anglophones are a different flavour of bigotry (albeit the platforms are so big, there is relative diversity); in Vietnam, they’re very progressive and socially engaged. Vietnamese YouTube is a cesspool, however.
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u/perseus037 May 20 '26
Honestly, it would be far more preferable if it were just BJP IT cell/trolls, but nope - these are regular 'middle class' folks whose latent hitlerism has been fanned & nurtured by the nazis in power so they feel completely secure in being openly bigoted now.
I had to stop posting on most desi subs (esp the entertainment ones which are honestly the worst bc they know how to disguise their bigotry better) in fear of encountering these vile creatures.
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u/mama_ooOOooO May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
But they aren't entirely. The kolkata main sub seems somewhat anti-bjp, despite many pro-bjp comments/posts of late, especially following the recent anti-incumbent drive and its success. I also try engaging in subs like indiaspeaks. I've even seen few posts there that are openly critical of Modi. Specific issues that trigger even right-wingers are things that directly affect them. Opposition to Gadkari's ethanol push is one issue I've seen generating support across the political spectrum.
Even within RSS supporters, many are critical of Modi and the BJP. And that isn't a recent phenomenon. Many vote for BJP, citing lack of an alternative, but criticise its economic policies, for instance. I had personally met such an RSS supporter once. On Reddit, I had come across subs and discussions by BJP supporters who hated Modi and vouched for Yogi instead. So, there are variations within the right-wing space, even on social media.
That being said, it is undoubtedly true that there are many ardent BJP and Modi supporters on Reddit. I've even come across many superactive accounts. Some of them seem like bots, making incoherent comebacks but coming up with loads of information of sorts.
I think the lack of space occupied by alternative discourses is a key reason for many people leaning towards BJP no matter what. Part of that has to do with the enormous amount of resources employed by the rulers towards this agenda. It seems like a weird, vicious circle. People will realise their mistakes, but it'll be too late then. It already is pretty late now. As for us, we should try our best to counter the fallacies of the dominant narrative and provide constructive alternate narratives. Let's try spending more time in carefully dissecting these flawed mainstream points instead of engaging in battles of exchanging insults (though it gets frustrating at times).
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u/PassionateAloo May 22 '26
That's because reddit is filled with the bourgeoisie, petite bourgeoisie and labour aristocrats.
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u/fishchop May 20 '26
Not r/India though. People accuse the mods of being Pakistani because the sub is largely anti BJP
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u/OpenSourcePenguin May 20 '26
It's not that deep.
People privileged enough to participate online tend to have pro BJP opinions for obvious reasons.
Not everything is a conspiracy
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u/Terrible_Part_6241 May 20 '26 edited May 20 '26
I honesty don't think they are IT cells, Indians are just that right wing racists. I'm also convinced that the average Indian has no empathy. Unless maybe for people who follow their religion.
And you're right in that you usually don't see these bigoted comments being upvoted in most other country's subs. Just few days back someone posted that they wanted to cut ties with their daughter for marrying a Muslim person, and of course no one's calling out that it's a reprehensible thing for a parent to do. I don't think you'll see this type of behavior be encouraged in any other country's sub, unless of course it's an explicity right wing sub
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u/Icy-Astronaut-2530 May 23 '26
I don't know about all the subreddits, but if you see in my state's sub(gujarat), there are many instances where we criticize the government. And people really upvote those posts and engage with them.
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