Underground Activities — Current Affairs 2026

Current Affairs Connections

Recent developments and news linked to Underground Activities.

Digital Disobedience: Farmers' Protest 2.0 and the Use of Encrypted Networks

February 2024

The recent farmers' protests in India, particularly the 'Delhi Chalo' march, saw extensive use of encrypted messaging platforms and social media for coordination, information dissemination, and countering official narratives. This mirrors the clandestine communication methods of the Quit India Movement's underground activities, such as Congress Radio and underground newspapers. Despite attempts to block internet services and social media accounts, activists found ways to maintain communication, highlighting the enduring relevance of decentralized, covert information sharing in modern civil disobedience. From a UPSC angle, this connection allows for an analysis of continuity in resistance tactics across different eras, adapting to technological advancements.

UPSC Angle: Analyze how modern digital tools serve as 'clandestine radios' for contemporary movements, drawing parallels with QIM's communication strategies. Discuss state responses to such digital disobedience.

Global Rise of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) and Citizen Networks

Ongoing (2024-2026 projection)

The increasing prevalence of Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) and other blockchain-based citizen networks globally, which operate without central leadership and rely on distributed decision-making, offers a contemporary parallel to the leaderless, spontaneous, and decentralized nature of the Quit India Movement's underground phase. These modern networks, often formed in response to perceived state overreach or to champion specific causes, demonstrate how collective action can be sustained through distributed intelligence and coordination, much like the regional cells and parallel governments of 1942. This connection allows for a broader understanding of how resistance movements adapt to technological and political landscapes, emphasizing resilience and self-organization.

UPSC Angle: Examine the concept of 'leaderless resistance' and 'decentralized governance' in historical (QIM) and contemporary (DAOs, citizen networks) contexts. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of such models.