Revolutionary Without Being Online: Gone are the days when resistance movements and revolutions were carried out using the power of a pen — now they are fought with a keyboard. Due to the rise of the internet and technology, today’s rapidly evolving world is marked by the overpowering use of social media for raising a voice against any sort of injustice and oppression, and that too predominantly by the urban population who have access to the internet and know how to use it. This evolution has rendered the world an opportunity to stand for the voiceless and powerless. However, there is a flip side to it as well.
Here, the question rises: does social media really represent every grassroots movement, or does it overshadow the actual activism happening on the ground, which not only fails to garner the attention of mainstream media but also the internet? In these fast-paced times, where every social or political issue becomes a hashtag and trend, does a local farmer, who faces rights violations but does not have an X, Instagram, or Facebook profile, become heard? He does not get heard, just like countless others who are fighting for their causes in the unknown nooks of the country.
In the realm of social media, every debate and so-called “advocacy” has a short and uncertain lifespan. A new topic or “trend” emerges with a new hashtag, and the previous one abruptly disappears from the scene, as everyone appears to share their opinions on the latter, despite their lack of understanding. Here, another essential question arises: has the true spirit of revolution and resistance died? The answer is complicated: social media has changed the nature of revolution, but the consequences are the same. They still are abducted and imprisoned for speaking out. Nonetheless, the impact of contemporary resistance and revolution has diminished, as it is quickly forgotten once keyboard warriors shift their focus to a new issue for discussion and debate.
The truth is that social media activism is selective. In this new era of revolution, the revolutionaries operate according to the algorithm. They talk about the issues that are already trending, so they stay relevant and garner views and reshares. Consequently, the ever-changing and unpredictable landscape of social media, along with the facade of revolution online, fails to acknowledge the plight of those who suffer from various forms of oppression while existing quietly around us — such as a househelp working for an elite family who faces abuse from her husband without anyone caring; a farmer enduring oppression from his feudal landowner in remote villages of interior Sindh; or a mother whose son is illegally detained or “disappeared” by unseen forces in distant areas of Balochistan.
This piece aims to present a brief overview of a few of the grassroots movements that keep driving forward, regardless of the pressures and social media limelight.
Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement
PTM stands for the rights of the Pashtuns who have been suffering oppression from the state in the war against terror (WOT) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the former FATA regions, now a part of KPK. Led by Manzoor Pashteen, a young activist who has stood firm in the face of trials and imprisonment, PTM is declared a banned militant organisation by the state of Pakistan.
Even though a significant number of prominent social media leftists and human rights activists have shown support for the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement, they have remained hesitant in openly becoming a voice for the movement due to social media surveillance and the threat of being labelled as a traitor by the state. Nevertheless, Manzoor Pashteen and his PTM continue to stride forward.
Pakistan Fisher folk Forum
This indigenous rights activism movement is rarely discussed in the social media discourse, most probably due to the ignorance of keyboard revolutionaries about its existence. As the name suggests, PFF represents the indigenous community of fishermen who have been residing along the coastline of Sindh for centuries, but instead of being protected by the state for bearing a unique cultural identity, their existence is continuously threatened. They are forced to migrate from their land due to urban development projects.
The profession is losing its relevance, and this small population of fishermen, which has survived and thrived on fishing for generations, is fighting for its right to exist freely as one of Pakistan’s indigenous communities. This movement has never surfaced over social media in the form of a trend or hashtag, but it still holds an undeniable presence on the ground.
Karachi Bachao Tekreek (Save Karachi Movement)
This is a grassroots movement to claim climate justice for Sindh. It emerged after Karachi was ravaged by floods in 2020, and as a response, the disaster management authority, along with the Sindh government, carried out a large-scale anti-encroachment drive, demolishing the residential buildings that accommodated disadvantaged working-class families, to clear Karachi’s natural drains.
This led to a great urban displacement. Therefore, a group of grassroots activists in Karachi was formed as a force against those measures, to create public awareness about the government’s mismanaged response to disaster, and to organise rallies to protest against climate injustice. Despite being present on social media, this movement remains unseen and unheard by the majority of social media revolutionaries.
These movements remind us that real resistance does not always trend and that the struggles of the marginalised often unfold far from the glow of our screens. Social media can amplify voices, but it cannot replace the courage, persistence, and risks borne daily by those fighting on the ground. If revolutions today are partly fought with keyboards, then our responsibility as digital participants is to ensure that our clicks and shares do not overshadow but rather support the lived struggles of those who continue to resist in silence.
