This thought follows from a piece written by my colleague Amy Kazmin in today’s FT, on the growing profile of opposition leader Narendra Modi.
Amy writes:
In India’s capital Delhi, Narendra Modi is everywhere. His brooding face looms from billboards, bus-shelters, metro trains – and paid ads on newspaper front pages… not since the days of Indira Gandhi… has India seen such a personality cult created around a single national leader.Anyone familiar with the iconography of Indian politics will spot an obvious change in the billboards in question — namely that Modi almost always appears alone.
Historically, Indian political posters have been many-headed beasts, featuring myriad party leaders awkwardly photoshopped alongside local candidates. Almost all are men, many sporting a bushy moustache, while the size and location of heads carefully conveys their relative power and influence.
This semiotic style was largely a function of India’s economic development. Many voters could not read, so visual images of politicians and party symbols mattered. Television ownership until recently remained relatively rare. As a result, political parties pushed for street visibility, promoting local and national leaders alike with such real estate as they can acquire.
To get an idea of the change, the image below is typical of Modi posters at this election. Similar examples adorn billboards all over cities like Delhi and Mumbai, although I spotted this one in Ranchi, the capital of the central Indian state of Jharkhand.
Photo: James Crabtree
