Mass Movements and PR
Society is dynamic so is the political scenario. The way
social and political movements have budded, bloomed and withered is a subject
of study. A movement whether social or of any other nature has a story behind
it. Our country is guided by the Constitution as its ‘Grund Norm’[1]. It is a detailed document
and covers almost all the aspects related to affairs of the country. Thus,
almost all social or other forms of movement have a legal or political angle to
it. When one takes into consideration the various mass movements that have
taken place since independence the JP Movement seems to have had the largest
impact. But then there are various factors which made it possible. Next to it
we can place the Anti-Corruption Movement which had Anna Hazare as its projected
spear-head. The Movement saw more than hundred thousand supporters during its
span.
Anna Hazare might be a very popular figure today but
what were his credentials prior to this movement. Hazare contributed to the
development and structuring of Ralegan Siddhi, a village in Parner taluka of
Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan—the
third-highest civilian award—by the Government of India in 1992 for his efforts
in establishing this village as a model for others. He was said to be a
practicing Gandhian who followed the principle of going on fasts similar to
Gandhi’s way of protest. But then if one tries to locate such activists across
India one would find that what he did is not a novelty.
If what he had done was not something rare and
extra-ordinary then the question arises how Anna Hazare became such a big crowd
puller? Mr. Hazare’s movement had a backing of civil societies. Some 150 people
sat on fast along with him. Most of these people were social activists, among
them some were internationally acclaimed for their various contribution to the
society say Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi. Even this cannot be said to be
enough to generate such hype as was witnessed during the movement. Then, what
was it? It was an effect of a well-planned and wonderfully executed work of a Public Relations Agency.
If one would try to recollect the times before the
movement he/she would remember that they had been getting mails and messages
regarding the upcoming movement. This along with the various times the leaders
of this movement got media coverage was due to the diligent effort of some PR
Professionals and could not be said to have happened without any solicitation.
And when the movement finally happened the media coverage it got was
unprecedented. And it was due to the excellent media relations that the news
were broadcasted even on regional news channels and garnered huge support from
the masses.
The Time Magazine listed the Anna Hazare movement
among ‘the top ten news stories of 2011’. This was despite the Arab Spring at
its peak during that time. PR agencies role cannot be negated in anything
that grabs eyeballs in today’s society. But with time all the steam generated during
the campaign has evaporated and the person who seemed close to rewriting the
political history is nowhere in the limelight. Though some of those who used
his image have managed to propel a political career out of the movement by
further engaging in an honest and clean image projection which again doesn’t
seem to be possible without the role of a PR firm.
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