Discord, diaspora, and desi DJs
Keeping it short this week :)
Hello DoorDesi,
This week I’ve been thinking about how quickly the ground can shift beneath us. One moment, young Nepalis were poking fun at “NepoBabies” online, the next they were on the streets facing bullets — and then, unbelievably, electing leaders on Discord. It is a reminder of how the world around us is constantly moving, constantly changing, but it’s also a reminder that politics isn’t something abstract happening in parliaments — it is lived, argued over, and sometimes fought for by people our age, in real time.
That theme runs through a lot of what I’m sharing today: how India’s diaspora shifts politics of the places it is in, how women’s votes in Bihar have been influential and how they might be undermined now, how inflation makes your remittances stretch (or not). It is about the ways we move, count, and value ourselves — and how those in power respond when we do.
So without further ado, let’s dig in.
Just the gist
🔗Online trolling to Discord polling
For weeks, Nepali Gen Z had been roasting the country’s “NepoBabies” online — the political and business kids flashing designer bags and Euro trips while most families scrape by. The resentment had been building for years, and when the government suddenly banned social media on September 8, it felt like the last straw. That morning, thousands of teenagers showed up in the streets with placards, chants, and songs.
By afternoon, everything changed. Police opened fire, killing students. Protests spread, politician’s homes burned, and by week’s end, 51 people were dead, the deadliest protest in Nepal’s history. The sitting PM, KP Oli resigned.
But something fascinating followed. Young Nepalis elected their interim leadership on Discord. Millions showed up to vote on a Discord server! They rallied behind former chief justice Sushila Karki as a symbol of clean leadership. The movement remains fractured though and longterm future is uncertain.
➡️ Social media and mainstream media are rife with misinformation. It has been a confusing few days. I want to take this opportunity to point you in the direction of a friend, colleague, fellow newsletter writer, and an accomplished Nepali journalist - Pranaya Rana - for reporting about what is happening in Nepal. He has done some phenomenal reporting on this.
That diasporic identity goes beyond national borders is a new concept. Until recently India’s diaspora is estimated around 30 million. However, turns out it is 3 times that if you consider the internal immigrants. Taking the spread of languages as a marker for diaspora shows that India’s internal diaspora far outnumbers its international diaspora. Gujaratis in Madurai, Telugus in Bengal, Malayalis in Mumbai — entire communities have been carrying their languages, festivals, and food across state borders for centuries. In fact, barring Tamils and Malayalis, every major language group has a bigger internal diaspora than international one. Like their overseas cousins, these groups form associations, keep their language alive (at least for a while), and even have the same family tensions across generations.
➡️ Migration is shaping the polity of India just like any country but given India’s population every change, every shift is tectonic. If diaspora indeed starts to be defined as all migrants - domestic and international - it is bound to have an impact on how elections are conducted, how budgets are allocated, how resources move within the country.
🔗The gendered politics of voter rolls
In a call back from previous newsletters, I want to remind you of the intensive revision ongoing in Bihar of the voter rolls in the run-up to the elections. Something strange is happeningthere: apparently, women are “dying” faster than men. At least, that’s what the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision suggests. In just one month, 65.7 lakh names were deleted — and 7.6 lakh more women than men vanished from the lists. Most of these deletions were chalked up to relocation and death, but the catch is that state records show men actually account for nearly 60% of all deaths in Bihar.
This matters because women have played a decisive role in the last three elections in Bihar. They have turned out in higher numbers than men despite being fewer in total. Could this be a ploy to protect certain political interests over other? I am no election analyst but something smells funny.
➡️ At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I would still like to urge all of us with voting rights in India to show up for the relevant elections. Seeing the state of the world, including India, the right to vote should not be taken for granted.
Retail inflation ticked up a bit in August, moving from 1.61% in July to 2.07%. Economists aren’t too worried though — they think it’s a temporary bump, with GST reforms doing their job of keeping prices in check. The RBI has already nudged its forecast for FY26 down from 4% to 3.7%. Some see this as a sign rate cuts could be on the table, while others say it’s too soon to call. S&P Global, for its part, said the numbers matched expectations, so the broader story of price stability still holds.
➡️ Inflation naturally affects the cost of living for those in-country. Keep an eye on the number to determine if you need to up your remittance amount.
Keeping up with the internet
I don’t know about you but my Instagram FYP is full of these boiler room-esque clips of desi DJ sets playing at parties. And I am vibing. So much so that a non-desi friend of mine messaged me the other saying she is desperately looking for a reel I had ‘reposted’ of a Rajasthani party because she loved the music. I am dying to attend one of those parties. So I did some digging and turns out Desi Boiler Room is actually a thing. For the uninitiated, Boiler Room is a media company that supports and organises underground music scenes, especially DJs.
➡️ I have not found a proper Desi Boiler Room event taking place anywhere but if you know of one, let us know! For now, I am just aiming to turn my home into one in the near future. :P
Desi culture
Tucked away in the forests of Tripura lies Unakoti — a place whose name literally means “one less than a crore,” and whose legends are as wild as its landscape. Local lore says Lord Shiva once camped here with his crew, told them to wake up early, and when they all overslept, cursed them into stone. It is a hillside full of gigantic 8th–9th century rock carvings of Shiva, Ganesha, Durga, and more, some as tall as 30 feet.
Unlike the polished reliefs of Ellora or Mahabalipuram, Unakoti’s sculptures are bold, tribal-influenced, and carved straight into the cliff face, surrounded by streams and kunds that still host an annual Ashokashtami Mela.
➡️ Next time you are in India and want to plan a trip with the family, how about you try out this off the beaten path destination?
💌 Community feature
Every week, one of you sends a little postcard from your DoorDesi life — a snapshot, a story, a moment worth sharing. Think of it as our way of waving hello across cities, countries, and dosa queues.
This week we encountered some more delays so keep an eye out for next week!
To share your own postcard with the rest of us, drop us an email or drop me a message!
With love on behalf of two women who cringe at the mention of chai tea latte,
Sudeshna
Co-Founder, DoorDesi 💃
Housekeeping
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