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Social Media Star of The Week: Rahul Rajkhowa
The Assam musician and actor wins for raising funds for the Assam flood relief through social media platforms
A lot of people learned about the Assam floods this year only through social media. So, musician and actor Rahul Rajkhowa, 27, has strengthened the social media presence of the relief drive he’s been running to bring in more donors.
Reels for a cause
Rahul, currently a history and global perspectives teacher in Legacy School Bangalore, and a visiting professor at IIM Ranchi, started running his own relief drive for Assam’s annual floods three years ago. This year, however, his crowdfunded drive raised all its money through social media.
“When we started, we only had ₹7,000, and were panicking because the situation in Assam was really bad. Then, flashy videos with shocking visuals of landslides and floods started circulating on social media, captioned, “If you don’t live in Assam, you must share this”. Only then did the money start coming in,” says Rahul. He raised ₹2.16 lakh and helped 500 families in Assam at the beginning of July.
“People need to see something shocking to act. We used video footage from my mother’s former office, a news channel in Assam, in an IG Reel. It got great responses,” he adds.
Where it all began
In 2017, the floods in the North East were barely covered in the national media. A JNU student then, Rahul was getting popular for his rap songs on political and social issues. “I thought, why not use this clout and draw some light on the issues faced by the Assamese community?”
So, Rahul and his friend Higmanshu Arya got together to distribute small donations to districts in Assam, assessing damage and listening to people.
In 2019, when Rahul raised ₹40,000 from a man in Hyderabad, he thought it would be better to start his own relief campaign than to give it to an NGO. “We had seen how badly money is abused when given to unreliable organisations,” says Rahul.
This year, they used social media to push their crowdfunding. “You can either use social media to spread hate or for a positive cause. Use it well and you can drive change,” Rahul says.
Who should be the next HT Brunch Social Media Star Of The Week? Nominate using the hashtag #BrunchSocialMediaStarOTW or email htbrunch@hindustantimes.com
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From HT Brunch, July 16, 2022
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