Words of Power
Today the last of the campaigns for the 2014 Lok Sabha Election comes to an end. Thank God that CEC did not make it longer.
It was a test of stamina for the Politicians and a Test of Patience for the Citizen. The largest beneficiary, however, was the Media. TRPs must have been huge. Even at the risk of being accused of partisan approach in giving exposure to various leaders, they knew exactly what sells.
So, it is time to consolidate the experiences of such a protracted Election.
For the young Voter it has been an object lesson in many facets of social life. The youngsters have been treated with some of the best and worst in oratory. Without going into personalities, the range has been admirable. We heard the comic, the tragic, the emotional, the assertive, the tentative, the challenging, the condescending, the consistent and the inconsistent. All kinds in sufficient quantity.
We had Rallies, Roadshows, Nukkad Sabhas, 1D,2D and 3D shows and we had epic interviews of National Leaders by not so epic anchors. We had our share of painstaking panel discussions which progressively took the shape of roadside mudslinging.
The common and the uncommon people discovered the power of Social Media. Such was the force of attraction that even Superstar Rajnikanth could not resist the temptation of eating this apple. Twitter may not have yet consolidated the reports of the increase in number of users and traffic during the Elections. It would reveal interesting facts.
No one remained untouched by the heat of the Election. Constant vigil by the Social Media brought a sense of equality and empowerment to the common wo/man who could now, in a trice, let the High and Mighty know what exactly what s/he felt about their exhortations or revelations about their dignified indiscretions.
The most telling impact of the prolonged campaign has been the redefining of some words. There has been an interesting transition in the meaning and perception of some Words and the underlying concepts. It is this impact on the language of society that is worth recording.
‘आप ‘ beats all other words in acquiring new overtones and undertones. Many in the Hindi speaking belt were in a dilemma whether to use this word in their Daily Conversation ! Some felt elated and some demeaned when addressed as आप .
Secularism was finally redefined as ‘Anti-Hindu’ during this Election. What was an undercover activity for such a long time got discussed in all fora resulting in a decisive divisiveness. Many people were proudly proclaiming their non’Secular’ stand. A certain boldness in dissent to be forced into an acceptance of Secularism as a National Spirit has probably been a permanent change that the society has seen.
‘Butcher’ became a buzzword. The poster boy of the Indian Quiz World brought it out of his reserve words to make it an Open Public Abuse. It took away the respectability of the profession in one stroke.
ज़हर was a gracious contribution by the 125-year old senior citizen among the parties. The next generation found it rather worthwhile to explore the possible nuances that could be added to it to make it one of the best take away from this Election. Agriculture was the proud beneficiary of a new crop ‘ज़हर ‘ which does not require any seeds, any fertiliser and certainly no irrigation. The Singular Support Price being ‘Power’ we may see an abundant growth in this crop which has hitherto unexplored ‘Export’ Possibilities.
If Politicians contribute so magnanimously, the Media cannot stay away. It took language to a new paradigm by constant use of ‘हमला ‘. Any statement given by any politician was graded as a हमला on the rivals. The Regulators, The Judiciary and the Stingers consistently provided opportunity for the media to use झटका as a Breaking News.
However, this Election also signified the fading away of the glory of ‘Liberalism’ oriented English Mainstream Media as one of the main political players decided to focus on Hindi and Regional Languages. This would have been looked upon as a क्रांतिकारी change had क्रांतिकारी itself not redefined itself in a Video which was circulated to score the most telling point about how language is changing.
With this new set of sensibilities that accompany the linguistic revolution that has taken place, we look forward to a Government that would transcend the ephemeral nuances of the words.
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Good Article Sir…Thank You…
Author tried to show the falling standard of media and political class which has really gone in to drain.Both class think people are gullible and whatever they will serve them innocent public will grab it.Results will show what author tried to say in between the lines .Kiddos Shashank Sir. Pleasure to read.
Last word of a lost world ?
The last word ?
गंगा आरती!
Jai hind …