Rahul Mukherjee, "Unlimited: Aspirational Politics and Mobile Media Distribution" (MIT Press, 2026)
Rahul Mukherjee's book 'Unlimited: Aspirational Politics and Mobile Media Distribution' dismantles the myth of digital liberation in India by exposing how mobile media infrastructures—driven by state-corporate alliances like India Stack and Aadhaar—reproduce inequality under the guise of upward mobility. Far from being neutral tools of empowerment, mobile phones and streaming platforms function as complex assemblages that amplify existing hierarchies, particularly through gendered and caste-based assumptions embedded in fintech algorithms. Mukherjee reveals that 'consent' in digital lending is often a fiction, with users exchanging data as collateral under duress. He also uncovers how talent agents, not just algorithms, shape content distribution by recruiting hyper-local creators, reinforcing regional and class divides. The book’s most radical insight? The 'everyday' is where power operates—not in grand narratives, but in routine acts of data sharing, micro-loans, and viral content creation. These mundane practices, Mukherjee argues, are not neutral; they are the very mechanisms through which aspirational politics becomes a tool of control, not liberation.
Mobile phones in India are not neutral tools of empowerment but infrastructures that reproduce caste and gender hierarchies through algorithmic assumptions.
Financial inclusion platforms frame loans to women as 'family loans,' reinforcing patriarchal control under the guise of economic mobility.
Consent in digital lending is often coerced—data is exchanged as collateral, not freely given.
Talent agents, not just algorithms, are crucial in shaping content distribution by recruiting hyper-local creators from small towns.
The 'everyday' routines of data sharing, micro-loans, and content consumption are where digital power is exercised, not in dramatic events.
…and 3 more takeaways available in PodZeus
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Introduction to the Guest
Host Priyam Sinha introduces Dr. Rahul Mukherjee, Associate Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and sets the stage for the discussion of his new book.
The Rise of Aspirational Politics in Digital India
Mukherjee introduces the concept of 'aspirational politics' in India, linking it to the 2016 data revolution and the first-time internet access of a new middle class via mobile phones.
Imaginaries of Abundance and Mobility
The book explores how mobile media creates a fantasy of unlimited freedom and access, rooted in historical technologies like trains and radio, but now intensified by digital convergence.
The Double Bind of Mobile Media
Mobile phones simultaneously enable new vulnerabilities—mob vigilantism, trolling, and economic precarity—while stoking unrealized aspirations.
“that the consent is not the right word. It's almost like data is the collateral that one exchanges for, you know, the ability to get to borrow some money.”
“my interlocutors. They suggested that this was a very upper caste way of talking about kind of, in a way kind of saying that in this moment in India, we should talk about aspirations because this is about upward mobility where caste does not matter but caste certainly matters.”
“you know, aspirations today is an empty word anymore. It's about empty promises because so much of this kind of aspirational discussion over the last decade or so has led to, you know, continued unemployment.”
Host
Guest
Rahul Mukherjee
person
Priyam Sinha
person
Aadhaar
other
India Stack
other
TikTok
other
Bhojpuri
other
MIT Press
organization
Microsoft
organization
Mevati
place
Princeton University Press
organization
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