Page 110 - EW November 2023

ANNIVERSARY ESSAY

Why public relations has

a bad reputation

RAJIV DESAI

ANY OF US PROFESSIONALS ON THE front- The entry of this sophisticated commu-
lines of public relations consulting were justifi-
ably proud to have introduced a whole new dis- nications discipline dovetailed with the
Mcipline that would help Indian business firms big bang economic reforms introduced
reach out to target audiences with messages about their
products, services and practices. Until then, this modern- in the 1991 budget. That was when the
day approach to promotion was hamstrung by a submis- government introduced major changes
sive corporate culture of pleasing bosses and indulging their
fantasies. Advertising was the big gun, dealing with the ex- to the industrial licensing regime
ternal environment: markets, recruitment, finance, labour,
government. That changed in the final years of the 1980s. barred campaign for power, the BJP seems to have found
The entry of this sophisticated communications disci- it easier to dodge and weave around its campaign promises.
pline dovetailed with the big bang economic reforms intro- That’s because its members don’t hold ethics or decency as
duced in the 1991 budget. That was when the government important in the hierarchy of values. What’s more, appar-
introduced major changes in economic policy, principally ent lack of understanding of how policy is made, leads to
the industrial licensing regime. Liberalisation, privatisation huge confusion about positions the government articulates.
and globalisation were the new mantras that dismantled From prime minister Narendra Modi downwards, attitudes
what was mocked as “licence-permit-quota raj”. are often simplistic.
Under the new policy, the economy surged. The resultant For instance, in an address early in his term to school
increase in GDP growth rate swelled the ranks of the coun- children, Modi said there’s no such thing as climate change.
try’s middle class that had been driven by the political lead- It’s just that as we grow older, we feel colder. He’s also made
ership to first spread the message of freedom and then of other comments about Indians doing nothing to harm na-
economic reforms. The growth of GDP vaulted what a sar- ture. The sun is our grandfather, the earth is our mother,
castic economist described as the “Hindu rate of growth”. the moon our uncle: that’s what Indians call them, he said.
Fast forward to the second decade of the millennium and He also told eager beaver television reporters that following
we witnessed a profusion of business ventures, domestic as a terrorist attack in Kashmir, he had suggested the Indian
well as global. The change was visible in towns and cities Air Force could use cloud cover to carry out raids in Paki-
and even in villages. Store shelves groaned under the influx stan: that way they could avoid radar detection.
of new products, indeed even the way of shopping changed mazingly, India’s normally loud and boisterous media
to a modern idiom encompassing grocery stores, shopping Acompletely ignored these absurd comments. Just as it
carts, billing counters, credit and debit cards, discounts, overlooked the fact that he showed up much after a train
loud advertising… The mercantile culture that drew Euro- accident in Gujarat took several lives because he had cam-
peans to India from the 17th century onward was back with paign stops to make. In much the same vein, they overlook
a bang. Except they came to trade and stayed to rule until his eager-beaver hugs of visibly uncomfortable leaders at
the mid-20th century. international meets, not to mention the faux pas with the
In the process, India learned a lot about modernity: Pope; he could be the only head of government who hugged
trade, governance, politics… and also learned the utility of the supreme leader of the Catholic church.
having a PR program to showcase its prowess and explain And yet Modi continues to enjoy widespread support.
problems and muster support from the masses. It was go- People believe he will win a third term in 2024. What is it
ing well for the country until those who flocked to the BJP, about him that leads to this conclusion? Both supporters
loudly proclaimed hindutva as a new ideology to replace and opponents believe this. Is this an expression of sup-
a defeatist mindset in which the West was given undue port? Or is it a vote of no confidence in the alternatives
prominence over native culture. available to voters?
This message found acceptance at the ballot box. In Many of his rivals believe that in his years in power,
2014, a BJP government was voted to power and given a the PM has completely undermined the institutional
mandate to herald hindutva. The party made a bunch of structures that won India pride of place in the world — as
commitments to preserve, protect and defend democracy. a nation that defied international norms, a poor nation
But without the basic skills of governance, it found the that stood proud as a democracy among the authoritarian
going difficult because of the huge diversity of India, its ruins of former colonial conquests.
uneven levels of development, a population keen to experi- That anomaly seems to have been sorted out. India has
ence the good life that had been promised in over-the-top taken its rightful place among Western stereotypes.
rhetoric deployed by the BJP leadership. (Rajiv Desai is president of Comma Consulting and a well-known Delhi-
Having learned the art of deception in its no-holds- based columnist)

110 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2023