12 february 2018 http://www.openthemagazine.com 23
don’t think i have once heard mention of the great populist
names from the Subcontinent in any debate on the issue.
Weimar germany is about as far as anyone cares to look.
there seems to be a tacit assumption that there is a
qualitative difference between eastern populism and Western,
but this is not tenable. forty years ago, writers all over the world
were analysing populism in South Asia, in the era of indira
gandhi, Sheikh Mujibur rahman and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,
and the main points they made still have a powerfully
illuminating relevance.
two things were particularly striking about these leaders
and their movements—the simplicity of their messages and
the improvised nature of the organisations they led. these two
features still go together in the more recent examples, and offer
us a bridge of understanding across the global phenomenon of
populism. But so far, at least, the clues seem to have been missed.
the original analysis was that big figures with simple
slogans enjoyed a distinct advantage in undereducated societ-
ies. Yes, true. But, somewhat embarrassingly, it turns out to be
just as true in more sophisticated societies too. A commanding
voice and a big character are assets anywhere and everywhere;Most populists in power are
always hampered by their lack of
organisation. As insurgents, they
vilify the existing establishment
which they claim has failed the
people, only to require its help on
the morrow of their victorySaurabh Singh