Introduction

Satire has long been a tool for people to express dissent against power. In the past, songs, jokes, and cartoons were common forms of satire. Today, the internet and social media have transformed this form of expression. One of the most popular ways people now use satire is through memes. Memes are humorous images, videos, or texts shared widely on social media. They are used not only for fun but also to comment on social, political, and cultural issues. In recent times, especially during events like the Pahalgam attack and India’s suspension of the Indus Water Treaty, memes became a way for people to criticize the hyper-nationalistic rhetoric by governments and media, while simultaneously highlighting social problems. This essay explores how Gen Z uses memes as a means to resist and respond to current political and social situations with a focus on memes shared on social media after India’s reaction to the Pahalgam attack.

From Cultural Genes to Digital Resistance: The Sociological Evolution of Memes

Richard Dawkins, a British evolutionary biologist, introduced the term meme in his 1976 book The Selfish Gene. He described memes as cultural units that spread through imitation, similar to genes in biology (as cited in Anderau & Barbarrusa, 2024). While Dawkins emphasized long-term cultural transmission, the rise of social media in the 2000s reshaped memes into fast-changing, humorous digital artefacts. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a meme is an amusing or interesting item—such as a captioned picture or video—that spreads widely online, especially through social media[i]. Unlike traditional jokes or cartoons, internet memes are digitally altered and rapidly shared (Primagara et al., 2024).

Memes today have become significant tools for political and cultural commentary. They allow users—especially youth—to critique power structures and construct alternative narratives through humour and creativity. Anderau and Barbarrusa (2024) describe memes as “low-cost, high-reach” political texts that enable satire, ideological expression, and criticism with minimal risk. They identify eight defining features of memes: humour, in-group identity, caricature, replicability, context collapse, hermeneutical resources, low reputational cost, and signalling (p. 1529). As hermeneutical tools, memes empower marginalized groups to reinterpret dominant narratives through shared cultural symbols. Alafnan (2025) adds that memes serve as transformative tools by using emotional appeal, relatability, and brevity to amplify alternative views. Although political memes often circulate within “echo chambers,” they still influence national discourse by challenging dominant rhetoric.

This role of subtle resistance is echoed by Pian (2022), who compares modern memes to satire in socialist-era Eastern Europe. During that time, humour on state-controlled television was used to question official narratives without directly confronting them. Similarly, today’s memes allow everyday users to challenge power indirectly through satire and mockery. Primagara et al. (2024) describe memes as cultural texts shaped by community identity and resistance. They enable users not just to consume content but to actively participate in discourse. Their absurd responses to serious issues highlight contradictions in political messaging. Finally, Milhailescu (2024) shows through interviews that meme creators often see their work as both artistic and political. They view themselves as agenda-setters who use humour and irony to shape public opinion. Memes in the digital era function not only as entertainment but also as powerful tools for dissent, cultural expression, and political engagement.

Digital Dissent and Everyday Satire: A Socio-Political Reading of Memes

The memes shared offer a satirical yet profound sociological commentary on the absurdities of Indo-Pak tensions, nationalism, and militarism. These digital artefacts, often perceived as lighthearted humour, are rich in political subtext. For instance, the meme “jang mere ghar k pass rakhna mama ne society se bahr Jane ko mana kea he” (pakistanoninternet, 2025) encapsulates the juxtaposition between nationalistic fervour and the mundane reality of middle-class domestic life. It highlights the generational detachment from the real conflict, mocking the performative patriotism often displayed online.

Water politics—a serious geopolitical issue between India and Pakistan—is humorously addressed in memes like “India pani khol do mujhe fridge mai bottles bhar k rakhni hain” (pakistanoninternet, 2025) and “India Pani dedo Ghusal farz hogaya hai Nahana hai” (pakistanoninternet, 2025). These lines trivialize the larger hydro-political tensions by mocking India’s attempt to suspend the Indus water treaty. Yet in doing so, they also critique the hyper-nationalistic sentiments being used by the government to hide the security failures.

The meme “Hum cast se bahir jung nahi larty” (pakistanoninternet, 2025) satirizes the caste divisions present within the society. It mockingly highlights how people are highly conscious of caste in personal matters like marriage and feasts, yet overlook it when it comes to war thereby arguing that at least war units the society so internally divided. Meanwhile, “guys war bhi hybrid model pe dubai main hogi ya india iss baar pakistan araha hai?” (pakistanoninternet, 2025) subtly ridicules the war jingoism by highlighting broken diplomatic, sports and cultural ties between both the countries due to geo-political tension.

Similarly, the meme, “Time to erase Pakistan from the map”  (pakistanoninternet, 2025) mocks the hyper-nationalist rhetorics by some Indians arguing to erase Pakistan from the map. It, through satire, highlights that both countries being nuclear power cannot afford the war because of the devastating effect it will have on both countries, not just on Pakistan.

However, memes also mock the internal power relations within Pakistan itself. Punjab being politically and militarily the most powerful province has hegemony over the national resources in Pakistan. This meme satirizes this hegemony by arguing that even during war, Punjab is getting all the attention while other provinces are still marginalized.

Conclusion

In conclusion, memes have emerged as potent instruments of digital resistance, especially among Gen Z, who utilize them to navigate and challenge the complex sociopolitical landscapes of their nations. Far from being mere comedic diversions, the memes circulating in response to Indo-Pak tensions reflect deep-seated frustrations, generational detachment, and a rejection of performative nationalism. These digital texts use humour, irony, and satire to critique government narratives, highlight societal contradictions, and question the legitimacy of hyper-nationalistic discourse. By democratizing expression and lowering the threshold for participation in political dialogue, memes have become vehicles for alternative storytelling and social critique. Their subversive potential lies in their ability to articulate dissent through accessible, relatable, and often humorous content, making them vital to contemporary political communication. As geopolitical tensions persist, memes will likely continue to serve as mirrors of public sentiment and tools for symbolic resistance in the digital age.

[i] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meme accessed on 1st May 2025

References

Alafnan, M. A. (2025). The Role of Memes in Shaping Political Discourse on Social Media. Studies in Media and Communication.13(2).

Anderau, G., & Barbarrusa, D. (2024). The Function of Memes in Political Discourse. Topoi. 43(5):1529-1546.

Mihăilescu, M. G. (2024). Never Mess With the “Memers”: How Meme Creators Are Redefining Contemporary Politics. Social Media + Society. 10(4): 20563051241296256.

Pian, T. (2022). Memes, Satire, and the Legacy of TV Socialism. VIEW. Journal of European Television History and Culture.11(22): 36-53.

Lestari, D. A., Primagara, M., Sari, S. A., Meilina, A., Fauziah, S., Sugesti, A. I., … & Salwi, A. D. (2024). Meme Culture: A Study of Humor and Satire in Digital Media. International Journal of Advanced Multidisciplinary Research and Studies.

***

Anurag Kumar Bauddh is currently pursuing his Master’s in Sociology from the Delhi School of Economics (DSE), University of Delhi. His academic interests include caste, social movements, ecology and social justice.