DailyPost 3023
PIPEDREAM DEMOCRACY – FROM CATCHY SLOGANS TO SARCASTIC POSTERS!
The current political poster war on the roads of Delhi, unconnected with anything people need and aspire for, forces you to think of the vitiated route Indian democracy has taken. There is a palpable consolidation of this approach and mode of democracy, whichever party wins, the vitals don’t change, the difference is only between the surface level political cacophony. 2014 promised us a monumental change in the nature of governance in this country, aptly summarised by the sentiments of the Acche Din, if it were ever meant be that way.
Delhi is the political churning pot of the nation. Out of India Against Corruption was born a political party, which succeeded in getting reins of power in Delhi and continues steadfast even to this day. It is necessary to reiterate that the party comes from a ramshackle NGO fold, in its thinking, method of operations, protest and governance too. The central government of 2014 owes a lot of its genesis to the India Against Corruption which was harnessed to the hilt. Both the dispensations have believed in razzmatazz and their politics and governance have fully submerged into it.
From Acche Din for our countrymen to the most recent AAPda slogan in Delhi, we have come a long way from 2014 to 2025, not realising the utility of this rollercoaster ride and its purpose. Hindi words being used as abbreviations for a full form in English, slogans apt for every situation, event, to one India to one everything, supported by the social media hype making governance an unending battle cry at best. There are no symptoms of struggle the governance has to get into to actually deliver.. The renaming of places and branding and rebranding oneself is also a part of the same thought process. The hype and reality has finally been enmeshed into an incomprehensible concoction.
Scheming to make them think in a manner they want and consequently impress the electorate is the name of the game. Creative ads with eye-catching captions / slogans, without any creative intent, are flying thick and fast. This has caught on with all political parties. AAP born out of broadly a protest mode were very adept in street corner drama, to well organised protests, attracting the electorate supposedly for a cause; posters and placards doing their job, to press for their causes, with a punch of emotion. India is an emotional country and stakeholders know how to bring the voter to the booth and get the best out of him. We are still ages off from a serious fact based democratic engagement and functioning as a consequence to it. This is the new normal. Indian democracy is operating at its new found equilibrium.
DO WE STILL HAVE FEUDALISM IN OUR DEMOCRACY, WRAPPED IN THE MODERN IDIOM, SUPERFICIALLY.
Sanjay Sahay