The great communicator
Modi has the easy way of someone who doesn’t feel obliged to always speak formally. It makes him a great...
“There is no mantra... I am far from the mantra and tantra world.” These are Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words at the India Today conclave last year. He may not himself think that his approach is formulaic, but, as we shall see, this is untrue. There is, of course, no question that he is a superb communicator. There are few politicians around the world, including US President Barack Obama, and there is none in India, as good as Modi when it comes to talking to the people. However, it is also true that Modi prefers reduction of issues, which are complex, into things expressed as a formula or as a slogan. He has a love for alliteration, acronym, rhyme, and on an industrial scale.
The website Scroll.in reported this fondness, saying that the “PM’s approach to rhetoric (is to) find a way to turn a simple concept or phrase into something pithy and appealing to his core constituency. Over the course of the election campaign and since his ascendance to the peak of Indian politics, NaMo has continued to add to our growing lexicon of acronyms and pithy phrases that define the Modi sarkar.”
Most recently, Modi referred to the “three Ds that only India had”. He said that “the world is looking at Asia. But they don’t know where to go. We have to give nations willing to invest an address. Demographic dividend, democracy, demand, all three exist in India and only India in Asia.”
Alliteration, meaning the use of consecutive words starting with the same letter, is one of Modi’s favourite devices. He has spoken of the “five Ts” to “build brand India”. The five being, according to him, talent, tradition, tourism, trade and technology. Describing his government’s budget, Modi said on July 10 that “development should have the three Ss — Samaveshak, Sarvadeshak, Sarvasparshi”. This means that it should be inclusive and touching everyone.
The prime minister’s mantra for his government is the “four Ps”. He says that “if we want to implement good governance, we must look to P4: People, private, public partnership. We need to move from PPP to PPPP.” I’m not sure what the difference between these two is, given that they refer to the same thing. My guess is that Modi wanted to own the phrase but thought it was overused and so changed it a little.
Another alliteration is the “three Ps”. Zee News reported on August 14 that “Modi suggested Prakash, Paryavaran and Paryatan (light, environment and tourism), the three-P formula for Leh-Ladakh and that “if these three are utilised properly, then the country will benefit”.
Then there are the “three Ss”. DNA reported on June 9 that “Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country needed skill, scale and speed to compete with China”. During the election campaign, Modi spokes of the “three AKs”. He said “three AKs are admired in Pakistan — AK-47, A K Antony, AK-49 who floated a new party”. A K Antony was India’s defence minister, who according to Modi, was soft on Pakistan. The last AK was a reference to Arvind Kejriwal. Yet another Modi formula is P2G2. “We need P2G2: pro-people good governance”, Modi said according to Economic Times on February 6.
Sometimes Modi strikes upon a very fine phrase — for instance, his promise to change the way India is seen as an investment destination: “From red tape to red carpet.”
However, at times it seems that Modi is forcing himself to come up with something clever where it isn’t required. For instance, his slogan “from Scam India to Skilled India”.
In anticipation of the visit of China’s leader to India, Modi coined the slogan “INCH, that is, ‘India-China’; towards MILES — ‘millennium of exceptional synergy’. “
Modi has the easy way of someone who doesn’t feel obliged to always speak formally. This is what makes him a great communicator. He says, “We need to put ‘life’ in a ‘file’. It isn’t enough to put up facilities, it is equally important to improve the people’s quality of life.”
On the subject of legislation, he said that “this nation does not need Acts, it needs Action”.
And fewer slogans too, one might add.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 5th, 2014.
The website Scroll.in reported this fondness, saying that the “PM’s approach to rhetoric (is to) find a way to turn a simple concept or phrase into something pithy and appealing to his core constituency. Over the course of the election campaign and since his ascendance to the peak of Indian politics, NaMo has continued to add to our growing lexicon of acronyms and pithy phrases that define the Modi sarkar.”
Most recently, Modi referred to the “three Ds that only India had”. He said that “the world is looking at Asia. But they don’t know where to go. We have to give nations willing to invest an address. Demographic dividend, democracy, demand, all three exist in India and only India in Asia.”
Alliteration, meaning the use of consecutive words starting with the same letter, is one of Modi’s favourite devices. He has spoken of the “five Ts” to “build brand India”. The five being, according to him, talent, tradition, tourism, trade and technology. Describing his government’s budget, Modi said on July 10 that “development should have the three Ss — Samaveshak, Sarvadeshak, Sarvasparshi”. This means that it should be inclusive and touching everyone.
The prime minister’s mantra for his government is the “four Ps”. He says that “if we want to implement good governance, we must look to P4: People, private, public partnership. We need to move from PPP to PPPP.” I’m not sure what the difference between these two is, given that they refer to the same thing. My guess is that Modi wanted to own the phrase but thought it was overused and so changed it a little.
Another alliteration is the “three Ps”. Zee News reported on August 14 that “Modi suggested Prakash, Paryavaran and Paryatan (light, environment and tourism), the three-P formula for Leh-Ladakh and that “if these three are utilised properly, then the country will benefit”.
Then there are the “three Ss”. DNA reported on June 9 that “Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country needed skill, scale and speed to compete with China”. During the election campaign, Modi spokes of the “three AKs”. He said “three AKs are admired in Pakistan — AK-47, A K Antony, AK-49 who floated a new party”. A K Antony was India’s defence minister, who according to Modi, was soft on Pakistan. The last AK was a reference to Arvind Kejriwal. Yet another Modi formula is P2G2. “We need P2G2: pro-people good governance”, Modi said according to Economic Times on February 6.
Sometimes Modi strikes upon a very fine phrase — for instance, his promise to change the way India is seen as an investment destination: “From red tape to red carpet.”
However, at times it seems that Modi is forcing himself to come up with something clever where it isn’t required. For instance, his slogan “from Scam India to Skilled India”.
In anticipation of the visit of China’s leader to India, Modi coined the slogan “INCH, that is, ‘India-China’; towards MILES — ‘millennium of exceptional synergy’. “
Modi has the easy way of someone who doesn’t feel obliged to always speak formally. This is what makes him a great communicator. He says, “We need to put ‘life’ in a ‘file’. It isn’t enough to put up facilities, it is equally important to improve the people’s quality of life.”
On the subject of legislation, he said that “this nation does not need Acts, it needs Action”.
And fewer slogans too, one might add.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 5th, 2014.