Several government initiatives are named after Gandhi to gain legitimacy in the eyes of the public. While MGNREGA is quite popular for reasons both good and bad, there are other lesser known initiatives like Mahatma Gandhi Bunkar Bima Yojna, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti etc. launched time and again by the Government of India. Every major city in India has a key road, or a bridge, or sometimes both, named after him.
Dr. Ramachandra Guha, historian and biographer, in the prologue to his biography of Gandhi, recalls an incident at Berkeley in California, where he was about to teach a course on the Mahatma’s contentious legacy to university students. He was nervous thinking that a seminar on Gandhi would attract only a few students, in the western coast of America. His fears were allayed when, in a local weekly, he came across an advertisement for a photo studio that read, “Only Gandhi knows more than us about fast”. This shows that not only large firms and Government initiatives, but also small and anonymous businesses all the world over, woo the customers and garner authenticity by cashing in on the popularity of Mahatma Gandhi. How and more importantly, what factors helped in the rise of Gandhi as a brand?
The quintessential quality of Gandhi was his uniqueness of thought and practices. His original and exceptional techniques, such as fast and Satyagraha, to fight oppression and injustice, facilitated in building his (and the company’s that endorses him) image in the public domain. Also Gandhi emerges as someone authentic and consistent, and in today’s age, when scandals (political, or otherwise) are so common, integrity is indeed a singular and sought-after quality. Even in the bitter cold of London, he emerged in his loin-cloth. He met with Kings and paupers, Viceroys and commoners in the same attire and in the same manner.
William Shakespeare, in the play Julius Caesar, writes, “The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” Accordingly, it is often observed that heroes of times past, become villains in a different age. Gandhi is perhaps one among the very few leaders who are enjoying a popular posthumous life. Yes, there are critics as well. He is also, at times, a victim of the banter that has become a norm in social media platforms. But there is still large and diverse support for Gandhi and his principles of peace and nonviolence. And until that support fades away, the brand Gandhi is set to grow bigger.
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About the Author:
Joydeep Das is a first year student and a member of the Public Relations Cell at IIM Rohtak. An electrical engineer and a reader, his interests include politics, history and cricket.
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