Modern-day Mahatmas?

What if Gandhiji had a twitter account? What if Nehru could podcast his speeches across thousands of locations across India simultaneously? What if Jaiprakash Narayan had as many electronic channels to expose the inefficiencies of the ruling government? Or what if Annaji did not have any of the technology, which his team uses with such adroit?

In the wake of the ‘Anna – shan’ chaos in the capital, a leading news channel termed the uprising as one of India’s most successful movements, almost as popular as the freedom struggle or the 1970’s movement, a conclusion drawn based on the statistics of total number of supporters, rallies held per day etc. However, I disagree.

The strategic management and planning of the campaign leaves little room for error as compared to the freedom movement, which as compared to today’s PR driven- meticulously media managed campaign had negligible planning. In the ‘Lokpal Revolution’ as it has come to be known, roles and functions of each member are mapped to perfection to ensure a smooth running fission reaction:

• While addressing India’s post-independence story, corruption has always been a dominant factor. While no political party was in a position to sound a war cry against it due to their own inefficiencies, an independent crusader was the ideal solution to address this paining issue of corruption within the Indian polity. As a result, Anna’s ‘Lokpal Revolution’ and its agenda was able to connect easily with the masses.
• India’s infatuation with Mahatma was instrumental in Annaji’s image management. Simplicity in dressing, in language and in method of protest was adopted from the fundamentals of Gandhian philosophy. A total of 20 Cr. Indians are educated youth under the age of 35, who have grown up studying India’s freedom struggle, Gandhi’s principles and the oppression by people in power. This population is rearing to have a go at making a difference in the society and to associate with the ideology of Mahatma.
• If we take away Annaji’s technological support base, social media network or media management, the struggle would be based only on Annaji’s presence, which would collect no momentum. This is what had happened throughout Annaji’s activist career in Maharashtra. Chief Ministers like Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde & Ashok Chavan have tackled Anna’s fasts and its deadlines far more effortlessly due to the lack of its media management and technological absence.
• Planned media placements, photo-opps for the print media, identification and activation of TG hot spots and endorsements from key opinion leaders has worked in Anna’s Lokpal bill campaign. The campaign’s media management has been impeccable and unprecedented. News channel’s TRPs going through the roof ensures happiness for blaring news anchors from all channels and keeps Anna in the 9 PM prime time slot for days to come.

Morale of the story:

Annaji’s effort to address the issue of corruption in the country is worth more than a notice and surely merits all the support that it is receiving. However, the campaign’s success has to be attributed not only to the thought behind the protest but to the strategic PR planning and optimum utilization of media’s outreach.