In medieval warfare, choosing a battlefield was critical. It played a dual role: aiding attacks and strengthening the defence. Political slogans play a similar role in the electoral battlefield. They not only pitch what a political party or formation believes in, but the truly great ones also serve as bulwarks of defence as well. “Yes, we can”; “Make America Great Again”; “Congress ka haath, aam admi ke saath” and “Acche Din” are statements that make it hard for anyone to oppose and counter.
On this count, the naming of the joint alliance of 26 political parties as “INDIA” – short for Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance – serves this dual purpose amply. It brings alive the intended message and pitches naysayers as anti-India – not a good place to be for a government that equates itself and its leaders with the country.
At the most basic level, political slogans must be easily repeatable taglines. But for political slogans to truly do valuable political work, they need to resonate with the main campaign message. The main message for the opposition from all their statements in the last few months is inclusivity and safeguarding the constitutional idea of India. Let’s see how this stacks up.
The path to inclusivity is usually one of purging one’s identity. However, this slogan takes a different route, one of claiming an identity. Political parties whose names are based on identity are not new. Bahujan Samaj Party, Aam Admi Party, Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and many others have identity at their very core, signalling that they speak for the interests of a particular group. And this makes sense. India is a nation of many identities – regional, linguistic, ethnic, caste and geographical. Some would say we only see ourselves in relation to the other.
With the name INDIA, the political parties have chosen an identity that is all-inclusive, and levels the playing field. It’s a term as applicable to the farmer in Bellary as it is to the Carter Road resident, a mechanic in Amritsar and the businessman in Assam.
In fact, this may be the finest hour of identity politics in our country. For too long, it’s been used to divide, to set one group against the other, to create others out of neighbours.
Being an ‘Indian’ is a citizen’s purest identity, where differences dissolve and get subsumed. For a coalition built on the plan of inclusivity, it exemplifies what it sets out to achieve. It addresses all voters and positions the coalition as their party. It achieves linguistically what the Bharat Jodo Yatra aimed for on foot.
The “two Indias” discourse that’s gained currency recently is an internal two-nation theory that we do not need. It’s been born of a gated mindset that seeks to keep the citizenry out whenever convenient. It allows us to view the glass as half full or half empty – depending on our argument – and creates feel-good platitudes without addressing issues that the people are facing.
To quote Article 1 of the constitution of India:
“India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States.”
And it’s time this internal two-nation theory is given a swift burial. The government is of all people, by all people and for all people who are Indians. So clearly the constitutional idea of India is one where Bharat = India!
Political slogans also signal how much fight you have left and for an opposition seen as beleaguered, beaten and without any new tricks, this slogan is an adrenalin shot – especially as the NDA is more media savvy and has been running circles around the opposition whenever required. On this count, the coinage wins as the announcement caught the eye of voters and the media has been forced to headline it – for novelty, if not praise.
The fact that we are on the verge of a cricket world cup where stadiums full of people will chant “India, India” is an added bonus. That won’t be missed by spin doctors on either side.
Sumeer Mathur is a brand strategist with over two decades of experience.
The views expressed are personal.
