Modi's 'Light' treatment - What's behind the operation?

"At 9 AM tomorrow morning, I’ll share a small video message with my fellow Indians" - this was the tweet aired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 2nd and since the time such message was hopped out from the Prime Minister at the crucial and uncertain period brought by Coronavirus (COVID-19), the nation was levied with more expectations and anticipations on what could be the message delivered by the country's chief executive officer.

Most of the people had debated in their residences by having various expectations on the fray including whether the Prime Minister will declare the national emergency and extend the nationwide lockdown as the tweet from Modi has come hours after chairing the video-conferencing meet with the Chief Ministers. On April 3, he appeared before the nation at 9 am during which he delivered a message that had surprised and shocked the people.

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Prime Minister Modi addressing the nation - April 3, 2020

 

In his address that lasted for nearly fifteen minutes, he appealed to everyone to turn off the lights in their houses and to stand on the balconies and doorways for nine minutes at 9 pm on April 5th and called the people to light a candle, torch, or the mobile phones to fight the darkness spread by the coronavirus with the light.

He stated that if everyone lights a torch each, the country would realize the power of the light through which the people would uphold the objective of what the country is fighting together. By calling on people to spread the lights, Modi said that during this lighting diya, no one should gather in a group and no one should assemble on the roads or streets. Everyone must spread the light from the balconies and doorways of their respective residences. He further stated that in the middle of the darkness spread by the global pandemic, the nation must constantly travel towards reaching the light. 

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A man watches Modi's address to the nation amid the lockdown in Bangalore, Karnataka - April 3, 2020. 

 

Although his appeal had earned an optimistic note from some set of people, others quizzed the necessity of such an appeal at the high time when the nation needs real remedies to address the health crisis and ordeal brought by the global pandemic. There were expectations that Modi will announce the relief and aid package for the stranded and daily waged people who are facing hunger due to the lockdown period and his address of Light Diya had diminished the expectations. 

According to our sources, Modi's address has crafted with a larger element of getting social, sentimental, and an emotional connection with the people to persist his positive image. While Modi has been backing the nationwide lockdown, the Central government headed by him has been stormed by the state governments with the demand of releasing more funds to the states to combat the virus and the unprecedented lockdown has brought huge disturbance among the middle-class people as they have been caught up with the economic instability due to closure of all their income channels and they are ought to stabilize and run their families with the lack of regular pay during the lockdown period. 

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Daily wage workers and homeless people watch television inside a government run shelter in Delhi amid the nationwide lockdown - March 31, 2020 - Photo: Reuters

 

With the view of ensuring that the lockdown doesn't turn against him or his government, Modi needs to build a connection with the people and this was the reason that earlier appealed the people to clap their hands and now it has come in the form of the Light Diya. It's indisputable that these measures would send and share the solidarity among the people and beyond that, the government must ensure that this health crisis would never lead to the economic and hunger crisis. The light must focus on the stranded and needy people to remove the real darkness that persists even before the darkness brought by the virus.

 

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