Hard Pill Strategy of Bharatiya Politics

Of late we see a distinctive shift in the narrative being resorted to by political parties in Bharat. This shift is marked not subtle. Indian politics marks a departure from the era of voter gratification to one where politicians are administering voters hard pills to swallow.

The Hindi term "rijhana" is the best descriptor of the former era. The lionising slogan like "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" is representative of the same, one where the politicians elevate the lowest common denominators of the Indian population to an imaginary pedestal. Or the clarion call of "Garibi Hatao', a populist call so popular that the how and why follow ups hardly mattered.

The "sarkaar" was the "karta-dharta", the "mai-baap" for the common Indian citizen. They took upon themselves all the onus for their welfare, shielding their citizen subjects from the dangers of the world beyond. In such a context, breaking hard realities or egging them to take individual responsibility was not the norm; a placid society dependent on the "sarkaari" system for welfare was groomed. The license raj and red tapism is best representative of this mindset, one where the government neither trusted the citizen; nor wanted to empower them at the cost of its own hegemony over resources.

From mollycoddling the voters to administering them the hard pill, Indian politics has come a long way.

PM Modi led BJP government has been the frontrunner and trendsetter on this account. For the first time, a politician in the country placed a sense of responsibility on the common Indian, egging them to be "aatmanirbhar" by unshackling from years of dependence on the sarkaar above. To activate the citizen into action, PM Modi gave the clarion calls of "Make in India", "Fit India" and popularised schemes focussed on cleanliness. By doing so, not only the leader masterfully involved the voter in their politics, but showed the Indian society a mirror, an unpleasant sight with the onus to change; to become cleaner, fitter, entrepreneurial etc.

Demonetisation stands out as the biggest example of the hard pill strategy in action. A shock and awe announcement that led to upteem inconvenience to the people in the short run, and led to long term economic consequences for the lower strata of economic; it was not an ideal political move. Political pundits felt that this one policy and the consequent economic distress was enough to boot out the Modi government, but nothing of that sort happened. The hard pill of demonetisation was swallowed by the Indian voter, with the belief that such stringent measures were necessary to fight the greater evil.

The same played out for other structural reforms such as the GST and IBFC, where the senses of "today's pain is tomorrow's gain" and "accepting inconvenience for the greater good" prevailed.

This trend has caught up in a few different manifestations.

Political consultant turned politician Prashant Kishor who founded the Jan Suraaj party focussed on Bihar has been undertaking a district wide padyatra in the state. However, his rally and speeches are markedly different than any other that the voters of Bihar have attended. Here PK holds the harsh mirror in front of the people; breaks hard truth about the social and cultural reasons for Bihar to have lagged behind. Instead of promises he seems to be educating his listeners; scolding them like a school teacher if need be.

Attendees of his yatra appreciate this, they feel it is about time that someone articulates these harsh truth about Bihari society and politics on their face. They agree in principle that their society needs a jolted awakening which is possible only through a curated dosage crude and hard hitting fact speak. By doing so, PK's ststaure as social activist and as a political leader is increasing in the state.

Another attempt at the hard pill strategy is being meted out by an immensely angry Rahul Gandhi during his campaign trail. He is administering the hard to swallow caste pill to India as a whole. His ideas include a nation wide caste and wealth survey to determine the population percentage and wealth accumulation percentage by caste groups in India, post which he plans proportionate redistribution of wealth. While critical analysis of this loony idea is beyond the scope of this article, the narrative and fervor around this idea is again one that wants the Indian society at large to accept and face a harsh reality, instead of the usual mollycoddling.

So what explains this shift in the meta narrative? Why is the hard harsh talks and pain inflicting policies being welcomed by the Indian voters and society at large? Is this indicative of some fundamental traits or shift in the cultural zeitgeist?

Politics of the day in a democratic setup is a reflection of the society. The narrative shift in political pitch is both indicative of a social trend as well as reflective of inherent cultural genes:

1. Frustration with the status quo in Indian political system and polity: A general sense that since Independence there has been a degradation of the political ecosystem and the systems running the country, a huge reason for the popularity of PM Modi in 2014.?
2. Acknowledgement of the shortcoming of Indian society and culture: A sense of agreement that there are few fundamental shortcomings with how Indians as individuals and society operate and that it is about time that someone awakens us, a late realisation of the dreams of Swami Vivekanand one may argue.?
3. A culture that is inherently power fearing instead of law abiding: The restrictive fear of fine is more potent than the prescriptive advice to abide law; this is human trait which is most accentuated in India. The hard pill is a cultural need, the need for a strong call to action in hope of a better future.?
4. Cultural allure of the personality cult: The personality cult of the public figures from politicians to cricketers is the most potent in India. They are adored, worshipped and followed. Once established, there is a higher degree of trust.?

All these also mark a flux in the Indian society, one which is willing to change, is transforming and is getting ready for the future ahead. To achieve the promised better future finally, Bharatiya voters do not mind a bit of the hard pill it seems.