Introduction to the Special Issue Forum “Digital Cultures of South Asia: Inequalities, Informatization, Infrastructures”

This short introductory essay first lays out the broader map of the digital media ecosystem in South Asia and then establishes the importance of this region in the global south--with its growing networked population--for understanding the future trajectories of global digital culture. Just as any other part of the world that is gradually getting on board the digital bandwagon, the South Asian digital landscape shows signs of both ingenuity, innovation and progressive potential as well as unchecked power, surveillance and exploitation. Our introduction uses the framework of digital culture's promises and its challenges to organize the collection of essays in this special forum.