NaMo- The Road ahead

The temptation of understanding Modi is so venomous that even small time bloggers like me could not resist writing a piece for him. I have been following him like every other social media enthusiast and never leave an opportunity to listen to him by snatching extra hours from the allocated tv slots in the tight schedule of reality shows and saas bahu serials. 

So far has been so good for him but what lies ahead will decide a lot of history pieces to be written in future,

- His ascendency is not similar to VP Singh or AB Bajpayee & LK Advani combo, and different in many ways. It's not only his positives of growth and progresiviness but ability to convert the negativity into positive attributes makes him different. Every move he makes or utter a few sentences ,brings a plethora of criticism from his peer group from all sides. Even though they get mesmerized by his personality , hardly any chance to mince words is left by them. The amazing part is that every such remarks translates into creating a stronger and influencing persona in him. This facet will be critical for him in the run up to 2014 elections. He will have to continue unravelling newer ways of attracting wrath of opposition and projecting himself  a stronger cult figure. 

- One of the major factor which catapult him in larger than life figure is the vacuum of leadership in country. Historically, we have been fascinated by the aura and conviction of the leaders who appeared to be internally strong. Both MMS and RG are just antithesis of this definition of  leadership.  MMS by all account is a far superior academician , has a superb legacy of leading the economic revival and a saint like honest stature. But, what he lacks is where Namo gains. The country which has a very large population of younger generation is looking for a strong leader who can give them a feeling that he will control and steer them through the tough times. The challenge now for him is to not allow RG or any other person to come up as stronger character and at the same time keep building his character and reaching to the last lost voter of the country.

- an important aspect of his personality is his ability to Orchester even the different instrument players with different style and get them to sing in chorus. He does it in a shuttle way and coup happens before anyone could realize what is going to happen next. Even though , BJP is supposedly an ideological party, many of their top leadership has their personal ambition and sailing through to the top was not a easy process. He went about this in a very systematic manner taking each step in planned way by creating first a critical mass in the nerve center and building block by block subsequently. This left others stumped and eventually all had to align in his ascendency ,including the old patriarch. In coming months, it will be crucial for him to keep his flock together because fence  sitters will be waiting for every opportunity to destabilize him in his yatra. 

- Every other person who knows Modi closely attributes his success to his organizing skills. The path now is difficult because of the scale of operation. Organising in his home turf was much easier but now he has to reach to the territories which are mostly a unknown terrain for him. He might have the strategy laid up but covering length and breadth of country will be a tough task. The crucial is creating a trusted layered structure with complete command and control of the thread which weaves this. Leveraging the reach and in disciplined way is going to decide the outcome of war.

- In spite of all the hoopla around, ultimately the magical figure of 272 still baffles him. This also is baffling the poll pundits. The gap is too big to bridge. How ultimately, this can be achieved? one option is getting the maximum where he has strength and second is getting friends where his organization is weak. Saying is easier then doing. For him, the first option seems easier in shorter run. The best way to do it by polarizing voters who are already disenchanted with incumbent. This year's election is different because there will be large number of people both in rural and urban area who are going to be first time voters and there will a large section of people without having a legacy of 80s and before that. Attracting them will be very critical because in multi cornered election a few percentage swing could convert into large chunk of numbers. 

- The most appealing factor of his personality is his confidence and maneuvering ability with deftness. He appears autocratic in body language and decision making ,which automatically is a repulsive factor for his possible allies. This makes the back room work even more significant. He needs to maintain the fine balance in public postering to keep the options of alignment open. The way he has been trying to reach out to Naidus and jaylalithas and at same time trying to build  bridges with Marandis and Yadurappas , the result could be ominous for detracters who are banking on his lack ofinclusiveness.

A lot of analyst and writers may see his progress reminiscent of the 1930s Europe but large chunk of new generation sees him differently and looks at him as a leader of vision and standing. He is not looked as fascist, no matter what picture is painted by all .The emerging India wants a poster boy who can stand , connect and have vision for country, the attributes Modi embodies. Those who have been skeptical like me are also falling in line.

Role of Media

Media has been a potent force for centuries and because of its relevance it has been the cynosure of political bigwigs ever since. The ruling class have always been worried over the fact that in a society which is overtly dominated by the silent listeners, media is the only forum though which a challenge can be imposed.Media was non existent prior to British era in a organized form till Bengal Gazette appeared as the first formal media publication. However, Even in those days media was perceived powerful and it was not afraid to expose and challenge the mightiest.  On the other hand the rulers were never shy of controlling it.Fearing that the press may present their intrigues to the public, the Governor-General  Warren Hasting imposed government censorship on Indian papers in 1781 which continued strictly till 1835. He in fact was even impeached by British parliament for this before actually being acquitted by virtue of being the ruling class. History tells us that State interference with the press did not disappear at any stage of the British rule. During the period of partition of Bengal and Boycott and Swadeshi Movement, there were severe restrictions on the media. 

This was not only the story of British raj but also else where in the world in all kind of setup. The story of nazi's Germany and Mussolini's Italy is known to all. 
Democracy , in which the sovereignty lies in the hands of the people as their elected representatives’ rule and run the country , gave media the primary role and paramount responsibility of expressing public opinion through written/spoken words. In India, the right to freedom of expression enshrined in constitution made media the essential component and fourth pillar of democracy. 

However, The oppression of the popular opinion and the restrictions on the media, in fact, go together. No political leaders accept it by heart and look for every opportunity to restrict it or control it. But whosoever has tried to control it have been finally thrown out. Congress lost in elections in 1977, immediately after emergency and censorship of media. Democracy is in so much love with free media, that it does not forgive any attempt to control or curb it.

Even though the dimension of media has changed from a hand written periodic journals and newspaper to a highly sophisticated technology with much bigger reach, the primary role has remained same. The media is the mirror of society in a democratic country as it acts as a vital link between the governing and the governed. As a matter of fact, a bold media is the most important pre requisite of a country with a democratic set up. They are the guiding light through which those governed understand the deeds of those governing.It has immense power to influence the minds of the people.As an instrument of social change, economic progress and moral development it should uphold certain values and principles.

With the development of science and technology there has been a valuable addition in the range of  the electronic media and typescripts seem to have taken the centre-stage because of its spicy presentation. The TRP has become more important and sensation has overridden the investigative journalism. It has become a parallel parliament and judicial system where matters are being presented in a pre conceived and planned manner. The free wheeling approach has started melting and media from being un biased is now appeared to have political patronage and inclinations because of the business reason. The different political class appears to be controlling different groups remotely financially. The curbs are apparent in the race of money. Also, the people who are representing media today are the people from a select class. There is entry barrier created and only the suave with a public school background with very little abilities to understand the nerve of the people from ground are managing and controlling the output. The outcome is skewed and is making it irrelevant on many occasions.

The political parties who once feared media , now knows the art to control and mould it for them.The weakening of print media and growth of television media has been majorly responsible for the slide and  dilution of role.

However, there is always a silver lining round the corner. The mode of media is again changing with advent of Internet technology with its far reach and cost effectiveness. The social media is now taking over the role of guardian and conscious keeper .The internet is quickly becoming the centre of our lives, and it is safe to predict it will replace television’s key role in our homes.

There is going to be a technical convergence of all types of media through Internet but eventually, it will see the role of media strengthening with more participation and lesser influence of money and political power.