India's Independence from Techno-Colonialism: Why It's Time to Build Our Own Digital Future

Following India's Independence Day, the call for technological self-reliance is louder than ever. As global trade hypocrisy and digital dependency threaten national security, it's time for India to build its own social media ecosystem and break free from techno-colonialism.

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WHY IT’S HIGH TIME TO LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR INDIA’S INDEPENDENCE FROM TECHNO-COLONIALISM

Following India's recent Independence Day celebrations, the Prime Minister's speech highlighted several geopolitical pressures facing the nation, including the need for technological self-reliance. This has reignited an important conversation: why India desperately needs its own robust social media ecosystem.

THE HYPOCRISY OF GLOBAL TRADE POLITICS

Let’s start with global trade—because, like clockwork, there’s always some drama. The US lectures India not to buy oil from Russia (lest it “fuels the war”), yet the real stats tell a different story. Between January and May 2025, America’s own imports from Russia soared by 23% to $2.1 billion. And it's not just oil. They're snatching up everything from fertilizers ($1.1 billion in 2024) and palladium ($878 million) to uranium ($624 million), aircraft parts, and industrial chemicals.

Despite claims that "Russia and the USA do almost no business together," the US imported a staggering $24.51 billion worth of goods from Russia between January 2022 and mid-2025, all while wagging a finger at New Delhi for its energy deals.

If hypocrisy had a face, it’d wear a three-piece suit at the White House.

To top it off, the US complains about trade deficits with India—conveniently ignoring how American tech giants like Google, Meta (Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp), and Microsoft rake in billions from Indian users, which barely registers on the official trade sheets.

INDIAN TECH CAPACITY: BRAINS ARE HERE, VISION IS NOT

I get this all the time: “But Shree, isn’t AI the future? Why focus on social media when AI is clearly the next battleground?” Hold that thought.

We Indians have built the backbones of global tech for years. Satya Nadella, Sundar Pichai, Arvind Krishna—you name a US tech giant, find an Indian mind running it. Yet, back home, our attempts at true social media dominance (Hike Messenger, Koo, even ShareChat) have fizzled out, not because of lack of talent but lack of mass adoption and government push.

Why? Because “ghar ki murgi daal barabar”—imported tech always seems juicier, and for too long our startups haven’t had the incentive push (or user trust) to break big.

THE TRAP OF DIGITAL DEPENDENCY: NATIONAL SECURITY AT STAKE

Let’s talk information warfare. A few months back, a brutal terror attack by Pakistani terrorists killed 26 Indians. Pakistani military channels pumped out lies via Twitter (X), influencing foreign news and dragging India’s image through the mud. It took significant Indian government pressure for X to ban propaganda accounts—action that should’ve been automatic by "X", not forced.

Here’s the kicker: today’s wars don’t happen with tanks and missiles, but with tweets, posts, videos. The battlefield is your newsfeed. Social media shapes elections, consumer behavior, even national security decisions.

If India stays reliant on outside platforms, we allow foreign actors—whether governments, corporations, or shadowy networks—to control our narratives. Data sovereignty isn’t about privacy only; it’s about protecting our democracy, our economy, our future.

Imagine if WhatsApp, Instagram, or Android itself got banned or blacklisted tomorrow. Overnight, half of India’s communication, social infrastructure, and commerce would collapse. SMS and email? Stone-age. Our data, conversations, and politics sit on servers in California and Texas—not in Mumbai or Bangalore.

This isn’t just TikTok drama. Every election, every riot, every sensitive moment has seen foreign platforms become conduits for misinformation, sometimes under foreign influence. Remember Cambridge Analytica? Imagine a deeper, more persistent vulnerability.

China saw this early. They banned outside platforms, built homegrown WeChat, Weibo, and Baidu. Now, their data and narratives are sovereign. India still relies on global networks to tell its story—and sometimes, that story gets rewritten for us.

BRAIN DRAIN: WE ARE TAUGHT TO SERVE, NOT BUILD

I know people call this arrogant, but let’s check the facts. Our best engineers, coders, investors have been lured by US companies for decades. This isn’t just brain drain—it’s a slow, leeching cancer.

Every year, we produce world-class talent, only for it to get absorbed into American billion-dollar empires. No wonder xenophobia and insecurity have spiked overseas. The narrative is: “Indians come for our jobs.” The fact is: Indians build the platforms others use.

FAILED PLATFORMS: NOT FOR LACK OF TRYING

Remember Hike Messenger? So many features, so much promise. But users migrated to WhatsApp. Koo rose as a Twitter alternative—shining for a bit, then discontinued as adoption stalled.

Partly, it’s our mindset: Indian-made feels “lesser.” Thankfully, Gen Z is shaking this up, slowly shifting toward indigenous products, but there’s a long way to go.

Policy hasn’t helped either. When crypto boomed, India’s regulations stifled growth, driving startups like Polygon Matic overseas. Same pattern, again and again.

THE AI REVOLUTION: A WATERSHED MOMENT

If the Crypto bubble was a warning shot, AI is the moment of truth. The government now seems less eager to miss out. But building an AI-powered India requires a base—what better way than to begin with an indigenous social media ecosystem?

WHO SHOULD LEAD THE CHARGE? WHY KAMATH BROTHERS AND NANDAN NILEKANI COULD DELIVER

In 2025, building a social network isn't rocket science—we've seen people build incredible things with AI in hours that used to take months. The challenge isn't the building; it's the vision. We need to create something that scales, survives, and truly resonates with Indians. So, who should lead this charge? My answer: we need a visionary, not just a CEO.

  • Nandan Nilekani (Infosys/UPI): The architect of UPI, who changed how India exchanges money, triggered a fintech revolution, and showed the world the power of Indian platforms. UPI wasn’t just tech—it was infrastructure, possibility, and pride.
  • Kamath Brothers (Zerodha): They built the single largest retail broking app, rewrote the rules of finance with user-first products, embraced open-source, and built trust across generations. Their style: Invent, disrupt, stay grounded.

That’s exactly the philosophy needed for a true Indian social network—platforms with reach, reliability, and meaning. Tata, Reliance, Infosys, Godrej—the names are countless. But for this revolution, we need a leader who can unite tech, business, and public good, the way UPI did for digital payments—with government support and vision.

WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE?

  • Government must incentivize and back media startups the way it did with payments and fintech. Subtle pushes, regulatory clarity, seed funding, and public campaigns are crucial.
  • User mentality must evolve. Imported isn’t always better. Trust homegrown.
  • Talent is here. Vision is missing. Give the right incentives, and India will build platforms rivaling Silicon Valley, not just serving them.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The time for India's social media independence has arrived. With the AI revolution reshaping digital landscapes globally, India cannot afford to miss this opportunity.

India's digital sovereignty depends not just on having alternatives, but on having better alternatives – platforms that understand Indian users better than any Silicon Valley algorithm ever could. The question isn't whether India needs its own social media platforms, but whether we have the collective will to build and support them.

The choice is clear: continue digital dependency or embrace technological self-reliance. For a nation that has produced global tech leaders, the latter should be the only acceptable option.