The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed and deepened multiple layers of social and economic inequalities in India and around the world. Prolonged or partial lockdowns, and the ensuing restriction of movement, have given rise to new and multiple forms of exclusion. Preventive health protocols of
distancing and keeping physical interactions to a minimum have transformed work, home, and social lives in many ways. Online ways of living and being have become the norm, and spatial boundaries
between the public and private have reduced. The internet has emerged as a primary cord connecting the home to school and work, and owning laptops and smartphones has become essential for day-today functioning. The lack of access to the internet, smart cards, and gadgets is exacerbating an existing digital divide, creating new forms of exclusion, and leaving behind whole swathes of disadvantaged populations.
What stands out during the pandemic is that access to food, work, education, and health – resources key for human survival and development – is increasingly dependent on access to the digital world.