In the early months of the Narendra Modi government, it had become clear that the media was not going to be a moderator in the Prime Minister’s relationship with the electorate but simply a medium. Despite being tech-savvy, he never underestimated the power of old-generation communication tools. Within the first six months of his tenure, Modi began to tap into radio to connect directly with common people. He called this monthly interaction ‘Mann ki Baat’ with the first episode getting broadcast on 3 October 2014. On Sunday, 30 April 2023, he will address the 100th episode.
Converging technology & converting message to movement
At a time when people are bewitched by digital communication, Modi never lost sight of the fact that radio continues to be a democratic medium that is accessible to all. Instead of using the TV or Internet route, he chose radio for his ‘Mann Ki Baat’. It began as a social programme and continues to be so. The programme was designed to have a feedback system where people could write to the Prime Minister and even share topics that they want him to discuss. “Mann ki Baat programme is not about politics but about people,” Modi had said in the 50th episode.
Over successive episodes, ‘Mann ki Baat’ or MKB emerged as one of the most striking cases of media convergence. The interactive and non-political programme was telecast and relayed through public broadcaster All India Radio (AIR), yet all other public and private radio stations, TV channels as well as digital platforms carried out its live telecast.
This programme has created a massive convergence of mediums. Over successive episodes, an important aspect of MKB began to emerge. The social messages delivered by the Prime Minister in the programme started becoming a social media trend. Many of these messages even took the shape of campaigns and movements over the next few days.
If we take selected episodes from different years of the Mann Ki Baat programme as case study, we can arrive at an estimate of its impact.
Clean India
In the inaugural episode, Modi highlighted the issue of cleanliness. He said, “On 2nd October, countrymen started the ‘Swachh Bharat’ movement. I had shared one thought yesterday that I will nominate nine people and they need to upload their videos of cleaning the nation on social media websites, and nominating nine more people to do the same. I want you all to join me, clean up the nation, and nominate nine more people in this drive.” This campaign was the first of its kind inaugurated by the PM through his radio address. It caught the public imagination and immediately converted into a movement with everyone – from political leaders to common people – wielding the broom eagerly and cleaning the area around them.
Selfie with Daughter
In the 9th Episode on 28 June 2015, PM Modi mentioned how he felt touched when a sarpanch gave a new dimension to the “Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao” programme. “A few days back a Sarpanch in a small remote village of Haryana, Sri Sunil Jaglan ji launched ‘Selfie with Daughter’ campaign. Such an environment was created that every father wished to click a selfie of himself with his daughter and post it on social media,” he said. Within hours of this address, the hashtag #selfiewithdaughter was trending with many prominent people from different walks of life celebrating their daughters and posting pictures with them. There were over 59,000 tweets with this hashtag by evening that day .
Startup
In 2015, the PM talked about startups in his 15th MKB address. This episode was used to share the full roadmap for this vision and involve people in it. It was in this episode that he first talked about making India the ‘Startup Capital’ of the world. This message converted into a movement in a big way. From banking to educational institutions, industry leaders to political stalwarts, all pitched for an ecosystem for startups to grow. As a result of this, the number of startups in India jumped from 452 in 2016 to 84,012 in 2022.
Cashless economy
In the 27th edition of MKB in 2016, PM Modi announced two new schemes to encourage the trend of cashless business, strengthen mobile banking, and to encourage e-payments. This inaugurated active discussion across media on the benefits and possible hurdles of online transactions. This was the first in a series of moves designed to guide the economy towards cashless transactions. This early shift proved to be very helpful, particularly during the Covid period when physical movement was restricted. Today, India is one of the countries with maximum online transactions per month. Importantly, online transactions are used as much by small shop owners, auto-rickshaw drivers, and vendors as they are in malls and cineplexes.
New India
The 30th episode of MKB in 2017, called upon people to become partners in a movement to harbinger new goals and create a New India. “‘New India’ is neither a government programme, nor is it the manifesto of a political party, nor is it a project. It is the essence of the emotions of the 125 crore Indians wanting to come together and create a magnificent India,” he said. This created a new buzzword of ‘New India’ that brought hope, renewed rigour and appealed to a sizeable chunk of youth looking to make their own mark. It gave them the vision of a New India that had room for change, improvement and betterment.
Unsung heroes
In the episode on 28 January 2018, the Prime Minister spoke about recognition for those who work silently and selflessly in the service of the society. He also talked about local freedom fighters, discussed stories of local luminaries who had contributed to society as well as those who made a difference to the society in their small way. This engendered a participative spirit and brought recognition to people’s efforts at all scales.
Vocal 4 Local
In 2020, when the world was in the grip of Covid-19, the PM pitched for local solutions to international problems. Addressing people during the festive season, he urged people to choose local products. “When purchasing goods from the market, we have to give priority to local products. As India becomes more vocal for local, the world is also becoming a fan of our local products,” he said. These ideas too were a huge hit with people. During the pandemic phase, they had realised the value of Indian herbal products and solutions. With PM pitching further for local products the craze intensified and the impact came to be seen everywhere.
Har Ghar Tiranga
In the 91st episode of MKB, Modi urged citizens to take part in the new ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ campaign. “My dear countrymen, under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, from 13th to 15th of August, a special movement – ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ is being organised. By becoming a part of this movement, you must hoist the tricolour at your home, or adorn your home with it. The Tricolour connects us, inspires us to do something for the country. I also have a suggestion that from 2nd to 15th August, all of us can place the tricolour in our social media profile pictures,” he said. This turned into a massive people’s movement. Seeing people’s response and enthusiasm, state governments like that of Delhi also adopted the movement and erected flags to mark the occasion. The national dailies carried images of city skylines dotted with flags. People responded to the PM’s call by changing their profile picture and the movement imbued a festive spirit.
The MKB programme is now completing its 100th episode. Several messages delivered through MKB have transformed into trends, movements and even schemes, bringing about shifts either in the public psyche or in implementation.
The Prime Minister has created a unique channel whereby he is able to directly communicate with the masses, share his vision-mission and seek support. Entrusted with his faith, the people have responded with unmatched enthusiasm to his calls for participation, giving government schemes and initiatives a human face that had been lacking for long. Instead of being constantly told what to do, they feel it puts them in the driving seat and gives them a chance to interact with the person in the topmost seat.
The author teaches Political Science in Satyawati College, Delhi University. He tweets @swadesh171. Views are personal.