Cult of Personality- (dissecting the 'Modi Wave')

White Hat-Facts and Figures
By- Srivathsan Nadadhur

What makes ordinary people turn game changers overnight? Of course, the work they do is a better definition of their personalities. But how can we bring to terms, the million-dollar mysterious cults that surround them?

However, there are gentler hints that most of these 'cult' stories provide. Narendra Modi, as the media has very much proclaimed, surely makes for an interesting analysis. Apparently for his pre-election campaign, according to a PTI report, the BJP spent about Rs 5000 crore.

In his recent visit to Australia, nearly 21,000 persons attended the Allphones Arena event just to hear him speak. Naming an Express train after him, between Melbourne and Sydney to most of his tour-itinerary, media representatives from both countries actively referred him as a "rock-star".

In the sports-context, when Tennis player Maria Sharapova claimed of not knowing Sachin Tendulkar, it created quite a furore among the fans, which bombarded her page with nearly 70,000 comments on the next day, hurling abuses, verbally and pictorially.

The recent Jayalalithaa arrest in her illegal assets case saw the current TN CM Pannerselvam went teary-eyed while taking oath in place of her. She's hereby called 'Amma' in her home-state, literally meaning 'mother' of all, whose arrest also had the regional film industry being shut down for a day.

The recent example of the self-proclaimed god-man Sant Rampal, in spite of the allegations faced in as many as 35 cases of murder, rioting and illegal confinement, had followers aplenty backing his case and attacking police with a rage, to an extent that saw 6 of his followers being killed. In spite of a tainted image, the public continued to bat the figure.

*********************************************************************************

Black Hat-Criticism
By- Bhaswar Kumar

Can one person serve as a messiah and a panacea for all the evils that beset us? An honest account of the modern world's history might answer in the negative but it is clear that we have laid great store in such messiahs for a long time.

 Most disturbing is the dominance of such personality cults, centered around larger than life images of leaders rather than substance, in Indian politics. The danger does not lie in Narendra Modi turning into the next Hitler as many hysterical political pundits would have had us believe when the elections were in full swing. The danger lies in the subversion of the political processes which define our democratic setup. Consensus, honest appraisals, and a professional working environment for the state's functionaries are the first casualties when sycophancy and power-brokers arise out of the cult. At the extreme end we saw Indira Gandhi, who turned the Congress into a dynastic party, impose emergency with Dev Kant Barooah's famous proclamation “Indira is India, India is Indira”.

A cult of personality is engineered through propaganda and the use of mass media. In the classical sense a state's mouth piece- think the Soviet press's love affair with Stalin- is an essential tool in engineering such a cult but in India it is the free press which has participated in said venture. The 4th estate, a prerequisite for a functional democracy, has willingly entered into a vicious cycle where it creates hysteria and hype so as to put individuals on a pedestal and then feeds off the image they themselves have created. Such a symbiotic relationship can only lead to self-censorship on part of the media and a greater dependence on their creation which leaves them hamstrung when it comes to serving their true purpose as the voice of the masses. Most importantly, expressing dissent, an established democratic tradition, ends up being suppressed either through violence or in our case through subtler methods.

It falls on us to decide between being lead down a path not of our choosing like sheep, or being bold enough to lay claim to our rightful role in the great Indian democracy and life at large.

*********************************************************************************

Yellow Hat-Optimism/Support
By- Arnab Mitra

Our politics, our religion and our society is dominated by leaders who have created a larger than life image. The result is the existence of Cults of personalities which hold sway across the country. While this phenomenon has faced much criticism, it is not necessarily bad.

A strong leader, an essential element of such a cult, can have a positive effect in terms of decisive decision making. Cults of personality are created by using mass media; in turn the leader at the center of the cult faces greater scrutiny by the same media. This heightened scrutiny along with the expectations attached to the leader can serve as positive and strong motivators. It is simplistic to state that a country of one billion will allow a leader, however charismatic, to enjoy their adoration if he does not serve a useful function.

The ‘Modi’ wave which crisscrossed the nation proves this point. It is his appeal as a decisive leader who has a strong administrative record which drew the massive crowds and the result at the ballot. His decisions and initiatives draw upon his personal charisma, his call for mass participation in the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ is centered on his ability to draw the attention of the masses and mobilize them. A leader who can cut to the heart of the proletariat’s concerns needs the unwavering support of the masses. At their best, leaders who have engineered larger than life images for themselves have been able to bring different people to the table, build consensus, and take bold actions because of their support base. As Mr. Modi has demonstrated, a strong national support enables the leader to project a strong national image in the international sphere.

Modi is currently engaged in fulfilling the massive expectations that his own image and cult following have created. With the media watching his every move he will be well motivated to deliver.

*********************************************************************************

Green Hat-Creative Solutions
By- Prateek Kumar

The debate about the prevalence of personality cults in India, in all spheres, is not a new one and its most recent example surfaced during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. While the debate will continue, as it should, we also need to look at solutions and measures which can be taken to actually address the issue.

Narendra Modi has excelled the level of popularity that a Prime Minister can get by refuting the perseverance of social structure. The bitterest part is always played by media that induces the crowd to fix a disproportionate imagery of an individual. The media should understand that creating a picture of an individual as a supreme power can lead to mass exploitation.

The portrayal of few dignitaries compiled in interjection of social affairs might create a deep impact on the repressed section of the society. Media can make some hoist decisions under their porch leading to a reluctant measure of disaffection. The media needs to take a step back and reassess its priorities; driven by TRP figures the media often latches onto select individuals who can sell their news. Substance and detached analysis must take over from sensationalism and access journalism.

Educational institutions can turn this interrupting distinction of personalities and can make a non partisan and sensible society. We can teach children how to make a distinction between a cult made and cult to be followed by conducting distinctive debate sessions, so that they can make preferences of their own. At the grass root level we can teach children how make a distinction between a cult based around an artificial image and personalities with actual substance and modesty.

At the end of the day it is a duty of every renowned person to serve society by promoting rational and productive thoughts. They should also acknowledge that they owe their acclaim to society and so they must turn it towards causes which benefit all.

*********************************************************************************

Blue Hat-Expert Interview
By- Erick Massey

Mr. Dayaram Yadav, Delhi, Secretary, ASPIRE (A Society for Promotion of Inclusive and Relevant Education).

Q.What is your opinion on Personality cult?

A.When institutions fail to deliver on their mandated responsibility an environment is created which is ripe for exploitation by individuals who wish to subvert institutional processes for various reasons. It is a sign of weak political institutions and structures. Especially in India, years of sustained failure on the part of the various organs of the state has created a warped frame of reference for the masses, anything related to procedures and rules is regarded as inefficient.

Narendra Modi’s rise can be understood in the backdrop of such institutional failure. The institutions of the PMO, Union Cabinet and also the Parliament were perceived to be highly ineffective. In this back-drop, Modi was projected as person with strong determination who is willing to bypass such institutions and deliver quickly.

Q.Do you think the prevalence of such cults is justifiable in a country like India?

A.It cannot be useful for any country.  Relying completely on individual at the cost of weakening and ignoring your institutions can not be beneficial for society in the long run. Our democratic institutions can only be ignored at the peril of weakening our democracy itself.

Q.How should media behave in order to avoid deifying of a person?

A.The media should understand that long term durable solutions for national challenges lie in building and strengthening suitable institutions, and not in subverting them. But in this day and age where the media is controlled by big business and they are fully aware of their capacity to construct consent and build opinions in favor and against certain things, expecting them to work in the larger interest people seems unrealistic.

Q.What should be the ideal solution for the awareness of people in order to avoid the exaggerated publicity to influence opinion? 

A.Engineering a cult of personality requires propaganda and extensively utilizing mass media. So it should be obvious that if using the media in such a manner is made difficult for people with vested interests then it will be difficult to propagate such cult followings. Media houses and professionals need to be answerable to the people, and that can only be possible if the financial structure of such organizations is altered. Crowd-sourced financing for smaller media institutions might work.

 *********************************************************************************

Red Hat-Public Opinion
By- Namit Hans

 Aparna Sharma, 22, D.U. Graduate,  Sales and Operations trainee in a travel company

 Q. Do you think that making a cult of a personality may affect a democracy in negative way?
A. No, I do not think making a cult of a personality affects a democracy. In fact, it increases accountability. In the current Indian scenario, where there was a dire need of a strong face and personality to relate to, Modi and also Kejriwal, are a welcome relief. Both are leaders with credentials and if either underperforms, they will come under heavy scrutiny which is good for a democracy.

Q. We see mass hysteria in the name of Modi wave. Share your thoughts about it.
A. We are not living in an ideal world all classes cannot be "thinking classes" and "intellectuals". Common people need a leader to look up to and we finally have that. People want work done and are willing to give one man the power to do that.

Q. How do you think we can promote idea of rational thinking among common people?
A. One cannot promote rational thinking, it comes from experience. A lot of information is out there and it is for the individual to make sense out of it.

Abhay Punjabi, 22,  Film-maker and Entrepreneur, Intern with Arvind Kejriwal

Q. Do you think that making a cult of a personality may affect a democracy in negative way? why?
A. Yes, making a cult of a personality is the biggest threat a democracy can have, because democracy works best when there is an opposition, but in our current situation where one man is being demonstrated next to god worries me, as this could any day turn into monarchy or pseudo democracy within our constitution.

Q. Is Kejriwal becoming a cult for people too?
A. I think kejriwal had started becoming someone who people were following blindly, but after his resignation many of those blind believers left.

Q. How do you think, we can promote idea of rational thinking among common people?
A. We have social media for the middle and upper class, and we can provide a personal touch by mohalla sabhas to get ideas across to lower and lower middle class.

 *********************************************************************************

Introduction
Srivathsan Nadadhur, 23, Graduate in CSE from SNIST, Current film critic for CineGoer.com, Pursuing Diploma in English Journalism from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal

Bhaswar Kumar, 23, Graduate in English literature from Delhi University, Pursuing Diploma in English Journalism from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal

Arnab mitra, 23, Graduate in English Literature from Calcutta University, Post Graduate in Mass Communication from Jadavpur University, Former space seller in The Telegraph, Pursuing Diploma in English Journalism from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal

Prateek Kumar, 22, Graduate in English Literature from Delhi University, Pursuing Diploma in English Journalism from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal

Erick Massey, 23, Graduate in B.Sc from Delhi University, Pursuing Diploma in English Journalism from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal

Namit Hans, 22, Graduate in Economics from Delhi University, Former Gandhi Fellow at Piramal Foundation for Education Leadership, Pursuing Diploma in English Journalism from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, Dhenkanal