AUGUST 19, 2019 INDIA TODAY 45
T
HE GOOD NEWS IS THAT IN-
DIAN BRANDS unequivocally live
in the world of customers and the
people of India, and not in the world
of politicians. They speak to people,
mindful of commercial good sense,
by tapping into popular culture; the
good news is that they still see popular culture as being quite far
removed from the patriotic jingoism of today’s politics.
Every Independence Day and Republic Day, brands in India
do special campaigns—citizen brand talking to citizen consum-
er—and the conversation is quite revealing of the way business
thinks about the state of the nation. We haven’t yet seen what the
brand-speak for Independence Day 2019 will be, but it is a very
safe bet, based on recent trends, that most will neither echo nor
argue against the present political discourse on patriotism.
The politics of patriotism we saw during the recent elections
was distressing, to say the least, and has been carried over into
the post-election political space too. The BJP portrayed itself
as standing for a very muscular and authoritarian patriotism,
replete with images of military and disciplinarian force. It chasti-
sed those who asked questions or expressed dissent, labelling
them as ‘disrespectful to the country’, ‘anti-national’, ‘pessimist’
and more. There hasn’t been an alternative sketch of patriotism
offered by any other contestant in the political space, except
for those who quibbled noisily about the use of military images
in political campaigns and questioned the officially declared
numbers of casualties during the cross-border surgical strikes
conducted on terrorist camps. Media brands quickly dived in to
take positions on the level of patriotism of those referred to in the
election campaign as the ‘tukde tukde gang’, the ‘Khan Market
gang’ and the ‘JNU gang’, and also on the patriotism—or lack of
it—of the ‘kitne aadmi thhe (how many men were there)?’ ques-
tion, straight out of the movie Sholay, some political parties asked.
In this fraught atmosphere, non-media brands have thank-
fully decided to stay out of this arena and this tonality. No
commercial brand can be authoritarian and survive in this new
age of customer power, liberalisation and female empower-
ment. But is there no payoff for commercial brands that take a
stand on societal and political issues? Recent research in more
developed markets shows that customers want brands that
share their beliefs. Are there any brands in India that are taking
a stand and pushing back against this version of patriotism?
Among the established brands that made a clear statement
pushing back against the new politics of patriotism was one
of the big four of India’s business conglomerates. Last year, for
Independence Day, it ran a campaign showing India through the
eyes of truck drivers. After talking of the varied sights, sounds
and foods that they came across in their travels, one of the drivers
says, “yeh jo ghar mein baithe television mein dikhate hain, usse
bilkul alag hai mera desh (my country is different from what they
show on TV).” Another truck driver, from the northeast, says,
“Kabhi kabhi bataana padta hai ki main yahaan ka hoon, par
chalta hai, jaan boojh ke nahin poochhte hain (sometimes I have
to tell people that I am from India, but that’s ok,
they aren’t asking to offend).” Yet another declares
that “kuchh log ke chhote soch se desh chhota nahin
hota (the small-mindedness of a few people doesn’t
make the country small)”. The ad ends celebrating
the truck drivers’ perspective, and suggests that we
emulate their way of thinking.
Change in India comes slowly, one drop at a
time, until the tipping point of a pushback against
the prevailing political discourse is reached. Re-
cently, a food service delivery publicly denounced
a customer’s request for a Hindu delivery boy—
there has also been a similar request and a not-so-
public pushback from a cab service. Perhaps this
will give courage to younger, millennial and
Gen Z brands to stand up and say “we disagree
with and disapprove of such talk”.
How do Indian brands express patriotism, and
how has this changed over time? The safe, popular
and uncomplicated space that many have chosen
includes admiration for the country’s achieve-
ments, recaps of past and recent milestones and
salutes to the great scientists (while staying away
from politically charged figures). An evergreen
theme that many brands use to signal their iden-
tification with, and love for, the country is that of
celebrating and recognising her unity in diversity.
Varieties of food, customs, traditions, festivals,
sights, attire and musical instruments have been
used compellingly. Interestingly, this used to be the
official political discourse as well till not long ago,
best captured in the wonderful, heart-warming,
government-sponsored Doordarshan film Mile
sur mera tumhaara (1988), involving leading
musicians from around the country all singing
differently but in harmony. The film’s predecessor,
Spread the Light of Freedom, made around the
THE POLITICSOF
PATRIOTISMWE
SAW DURINGTHE
RECENT ELECTIONS
WAS MUSCULARAND
AUTHORITARIAN.
BRANDS HAVE
THANKFULLY STAYED
OUT OF THIS ARENA
AND TONALITY
