Based on an ethnographic study of Afghan Sikh refugees in New Delhi, India, the present paper explores the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs), especially social media, in their lives and practices to survive after the forced migration. The unique identity of being Afghan Sikhs in India is largely unknown, as the notion of Afghans is attached to the Muslims and Sikhs to the Indians. The extant knowledge on literature on their narratives of forced migration and struggles of re-settlement is inadequate. The present paper employs the concept of ‘capital’ by Bourdieu to argue that ICTs enable refugees to gain different forms of capital in their journey of survival in a new country post forced migration. The paper highlights the importance of ICTs being equal to the physical infrastructure for the refugees. The digital practices provide them with a collectively owned capital in the form of relevant information and experiences of being refugees. The visibility enabled by the ICTs has contributed to their social, economic and symbolic capitals.

Introduction

According to United Nations refugee’s agency, the number of refugees and asylum seekers’ population worldwide has crossed 60 million in 2015 (UNHCR, 2016). Afghan and Syrian refugees constitute a larger part of this population and are taking refuge in the neighbouring countries. They face extreme conditions and limited opportunities to revive and rebuild their lives. The present paper attempts to understand the role played by information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the refugee’s survival practices. The ICTs, especially social media, have been studied in the context of migrants – how migration is facilitated by sustaining the strong ties of family and friends in the home countries and by maintaining the weak ties at the destination with those who provide support (Dekker and Engbersen, 2014). It is also argued that social media slows down the process of integration as migrants tend to interact with their people, but facilitates potential migrants as a great source of information (Komito, 2011). The extant studies on the role of ICTs for refugees in host countries seem to be inadequate, where the context is more of forced migration. ICTs have contributed immensely to the transnationalism and transnational identities (Burrell and Anderson, 2008; Vertovec, 2004) whose understanding is informed by their reflections on the social, cultural and political dimensions of forced migration (Castells, 2003).