War Room - Letter to Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra

Hi Mahua,

Your maiden speech in the Parliament made me sit up, as it did so many globally. It was profound, bold, and pinned the issue you were speaking on, the rise of fascism and the 7 signs that signal its growing presence.

Today, I am not talking about this. Much has been deliberated, tweeted, and shouted on all forums ground, air, and digital.

I want to congratulate you on your strategy – You planned it well as the link given states. It is a wonderful case study of what media, old and new, is all about and how to garner its power to our advantage. Today, it is all about Personal Branding, using digital media, where the War Room is digital and the last elections you won was actually fought on WhatsApp. 

Given the background of just after this resounding victory, BJP has had the 2^nd time around, the gossip, slandering and accusations going on from West Bengal and BJP, where media could have hourly discourses on who is right and who is wrong, your the speech brought a sudden shut-down of all such hitherto stone-hurling and shifted the world’s vision to a new platform, that being your powerful speech in the parliament. 

And you! As you yourself quoted in your interview that politics consists of the 3 'M's - Method, Myth - the hype around the person, so that everyone is talking about you, and Magic 

Internet channels went berserk and all platforms, including Social Media, Whatsapp were chockablock with that speech going viral.

So what was it that struck me most? That the old and forever relevant truth – you have only 30 seconds to make your impression, and then, either the audience is with you or they are switched out.  So, your speech managed to do just that. 

Second, a powerful voice, eloquent and clear, forceful even, you commanded attention, trust, and resounding applause on digital platforms. If it did not come at the parliament, where Lok Sabha TV captured the entire speech and the world saw it there and then, then, social media would not have gone berserk either, post the speech.

Suddenly, the whole world became engaged with who is Mahua Moitra? 

Imagine, using what the PM himself uses so efficiently, being adopted by MPs too to win elections! 

Hats off to the strategy – the first time is the do or die, 30 seconds to make your best impression! 

The rest falls into place automatically, doesn't it?







Note: Views expressed here are the author's only.  

Excuse me, please - I am a new India

Let us not begin the day, 15^th August 2019, with feelings of patriotism without understanding, what has changed in our country from the time, Pandit Nehru made his ‘tryst with destiny’ speech, which the country heard on the radio if they were unable to come to Delhi. Years of subjugation lead people to breathe easy, because, as Indians, they were returned from the British Empire, what was theirs, to call and to nurture as their own. The change was desperately needed.

No matter, how you look at it, the change was slow – very slow indeed.

It has taken us a long time to disrupt the system, to reach the last man at the furthermost corner of India. It has taken India, to take a roundabout turn and harness its strengths to do what it needed to do.

Ullekh N.P in his book, War Room, describes how the Elections of 2014 was won on digital media, using technology, to its best. The rise of India, as a technology-rich country, did not start in 2014. 

Way back, Bill Gates visited India, and went to Tamil Nadu, to experience the state, because, most of the Indians working in Microsoft, were Indians from Tamil Nadu. He wanted to know where the ‘brains of India’ came from.

The real freedom we need to be proud of is our enormous strength is the technology which we are now garnering not only to win elections but also in all fields that affect our lives. This is creating a new generation of young change-makers who want to do more for their country, in order that hunger, can be eradicated, education can be for all, housing can also be for all. Plus, healthcare is given to all. All, these are basic human rights of an individual. And this was not possible to achieve even after 65 years of Independence!

So, the real patriotism is coming from where it should – young change-makers in every field.    They are leading the disruption in every field and we need to recognize that and move with times, happy to move with the clock, moving forward.

It is not enough to shout Jai Hind one day and relapse into ‘pan-chewing, bidi-smoking, spitting-publicly, defecating-publicly, and using walls to urinate publicly, people. We need leaders who inspire the youth and this is why the youth are happy with the way they can do things today, which they never could, earlier on. Ease of doing business is primary to our country, so we have more FDI in our country. And the backbone of our country remains strong – Economics.

This Independence Day is more precious because the day coincides with Raksha Bandhan (The festival which strengthens ties between brothers and sisters). If yoga is accepted and practiced worldwide, I think that Raksha Bandhan too should become an international festival. 

In the purity of the bonding between brothers and sisters, is an unconditional tie of love, that runs through life – it is by its very nature an emotion spelling out devotion to each other, and protection of each other. In that sense, it is free, because unconditional love and loyalty set us free.

Jai Hind!