Decoding PM’s corona messaging in four words: It’s all about Modi

A fellow professional, quicker with her sarcasm, messaged shortly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fourth engagement with citizens (including the latest episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’) on April 3: "Isn't Diwali being celebrated early this year?"

Author and mythologist, Devdutt Pattanaik Tweeted on April 4: “Hinduism = Hindu Dharma = During war, king is commander-in-chief; Hinduness = Hindutva = During war, king is cheerleader-in-chief.” Late at night, on the day the prime minister made his 'at 9 pm for 9 minutes' speech, a message began circulating on social media, warning of grid collapse due to abrupt drop in electricity demand, followed by a corresponding increase in demand once the collective performance, which is to enable people to have a sense of oneness, is over.

Any doubt of the message being a thesis produced by an honourable faculty member of WhatsApp University was dispelled by several reports in credible newspapers on April 4. There may not be a grid collapse eventually, but this would be courtesy officials and engineers of Power System Operation Corporation Ltd who will be working extra-time.

In the time they additionally put in, preparations will have to be made to drastically scale down electricity supply during this 9 minute period and ramp it up once the clock tells us that early Diwali is over, and the base load demand returns in full strength. Any miscalculation or mishandling during this crucial period could trigger a high voltage surge, tripping the lines, causing damage to the national grid and an extended power outage. Sudden load change can cause serious oscillations and cause generators to pull out of the synchronism system. This was a risk best avoided amidst India's gravest medical, administrative and humanitarian challenge after Independence.

Keeping it spectacular

It is not the first occasion that a grandiose plan has been put before people by Modi without weighing all pros and cons and assessing all implications. From the beginning, the prime minister has exhibited a weakness for the spectacular or the grandiose whether in policy, programme or act. Some of these programmes worked, while others either withered away, were non-starters or abject failures. The intention is not to list past events but merely to remind people that the Tughlaqian nature of the PM’s persona cannot be ignored.

This time too, Modi's call for people to clap, ring bells, blow conch shells and bang eating plates on March 22, the day when the so-named ‘Janta Curfew’ was observed, ended up becoming a subject of ridicule because it eventually ended up as a public event in several places, risking further spread of the coronavirus. That a few nations followed him or he rehashed similar spectacles from elsewhere, does not justify the strategy of repeatedly giving tasks to people when their attention and energy could be better utilised.

Modi is the message

Despite this, little flak on him has never stuck and as it appears at the moment, it may not do even with his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. From the time Modi opened his line of communication with the people on the matter of the contagious virus on March 19, he has cleverly sidetracked public attention and concern on all matters – but one – that are essential to their safety, security and survival. The only matter where Modi has tried influencing mass sentiment is by raising fear among people. But, on other issues, pertaining to different immediate matters, he has spoken little. None of his speeches elaborated any plan that the government is working on. It almost appears as if the prime minister was of the view that there is little need to intimate citizens about what is being done for them; it is enough to raise faith in the prime minister – a recasting of the old slogan: Modi hai to mumkin hai (everything is possible if Modi is around).

Inevitably, after an as yet indeterminate period, India will return to normalcy and we will be back to the excitable world of party-politics. While a specially hand-picked team works insularly in meeting the COVID-19 challenge and its fallout on society and economy, Modi's messaging is aimed at consolidating his support. The objective is to ensure that every candle, diya, mobile or any other source of light translates into a BJP vote in coming elections – there is one looming ahead in Bihar within five months.

Return of the mai-baap culture

Giving tasks to people keeps them engaged and guides them towards targets that are of least consequence to their lives in the long run. This thwarts discussions with others, the little that one is having over the phone, and thinking about a basic question: Is the government doing what it should have done? Is enough being done? Could the response have been better and earlier? What steps should the government take to revive economy?

The intention is for people to decide to outsource their thinking to the government. People must give no thought to matters that will determine their futures. It's the return of the mai-baap culture – the government (hopefully benevolent) does what it thinks is in the best interests of people. Because the task is posed as essential to fight the virus and forging a common front in society, anyone striking a discordant note faces social profiling. The past few weeks have already witnessed targeting of individuals in quarantine and those who tested positive – an impression has been created they were responsible for jeopardising others.

Modi has always been aware of the power of his words and the way he delivers it – also how these can change the minds of people, even his detractors. He has used words to reduce his opponents to ciphers – the use of his naamdaar versus kaamdaar, is a prime example and was used with telling impact during the previous Lok Sabha election. The BJP currently has 37% of the vote share and not all of this is distributed evenly. Every crisis for him is an opportunity – Uri, Balakot was and so is coronavirus.

No choice but to side with Modi

Leaders have in the past won wars but lost subsequent elections – the primary objective of all political leaders – because they were poor in messaging. Even before he has won this war, since March 19, Modi used words with precision, presented to people actions that will keep them engaged.

He has positioned himself as a schoolmaster who gives people tasks and even homework. But he knows that tough taskmasters are universally disliked. So he is always appreciative of people's 'performance'. No matter that people have bent thousands of plates by merciless beating and the woman who screamed "go corona go" (probably inspired by Union minister Ramdas Athawale) or those who risked the disease by taking to streets and community parks, Modi had nothing but words of praise. He has not been unkind to those who attacked doctors or been harsh to those who violate lockdown measures repeatedly. He is like the parent who knows that you cannot get the child to obey by sternness, you can get them to do only by reaching out, saying they are not foolish but still have a long way ahead.

In Modi's latest messaging, India's oneness is a given and anyone staying away from the event, not switching off lights, would be recognised in the neighbourhood. It is a visible election where the vote is cast in the open. Modi's politics does not recognise the need to emphasise that despite the remarkable diversity of this country, Indians are now united by a common concern. In all his speeches, there is the subtle messaging of cultural nationalism – in which culture (read religion too) is the principal adhesive and not the law of the land or even the "only Holy Book" as he describes the Constitution.

The crisis is still ongoing and this certainly is not the last that one has heard of Modi's messages. Despite the need to broaden the thrust of his speeches, he will possibly stick to the same refrain. In a few months after all, he will again fold his hands before people, only to seek something different: Their vote.

(Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay is a Delhi-based journalist and author. His latest book is RSS: Icons Of The Indian Right. He has also written Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times (2013))

The views expressed above are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.