Last year, Narendra Modi chanted ‘Yes we can!’ at a massive rally in Hyderabad. Immediately the mainstream and social media erupted with expected faux outrage! This fascist dictator is also a plagiarist! Exile him! Amid the din, no one in the hardworking media bothered to point out that Obama himself lifted the slogan verbatim from the famous Hispanic American Cesar Chavez who coined Sí, se puede (Yes we can) in the seventies while unionizing farm workers in California. But plebeian tasks like fact-checking are beneath our news reporters and hence this trinket of trivia lay undiscovered. Thankfully no one has accused Modi yet of plagiarizing from Marc Antony for starting his speeches with “Mitron”. But of course imitation is nothing new in politics. What the frothing, anonymous Twitter handles may not realize but both Obama and Modi do, is that ideas for political rhetoric are not limited by geography. What worked for Cesar Chavez in California and for Obama in Springfield can very well work for Modi in Hyderabad.
Modi fans have used such similarities between the two to extrapolate and claim that Modi is the Indian Obama. Some of the more hardcore fans have announced that Obama is the American Modi. But do such claims have merit? Yes and no. The biggest difference between the alleged communist Muslim dictator from America and the supposed fascist Hindu tyrant from India is the political baggage each carried at the beginning of their campaigns. Modi had enough baggage to cause a traffic jam in space. But Obama was the quintessential light traveller. With no achievements or failures to constrain him, he arrived with only promises and hope wrapped in a cozy blanket of smooth oratory. Lack of any accusations of orchestrating riots obviously helped. On the other hand Modi, burdened by his considerable history, spent sizeable time convincing himself that if he never talks about 2002 then perhaps people will think it never happened.
The other main difference between the two is their support base. The Democratic Party represents what in India is the much-maligned left liberal space. Obama’s campaign was powered by galvanizing the various minority groups like African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians along with the trade unions. But before Sanjay Jha announces this as conclusive proof of Rahul Gandhi being the Indian Obama, an important caveat should be issued. Obama didn’t start writing rap lyrics, insist on wearing sombreros and eat out at the Panda Express to garner support from these groups. His pandering to minorities was much more sophisticated and subtle, something which the Congress scion can learn from. On his opposing end was the Republican core base – the big businesses, evangelical Christian groups and the majority of Anglo-Saxon America. In India that is code for Ambani/Adani, RSS and the Hindu majority. But before Internet Hindus start unfollowing Obama on Twitter, do note that there is one crucial similarity between him and Modi. That is Yuva Josh! (Currently trademarked by INC) Both Obama and Modi successfully cracked the mysterious code of how to fire up the current generation’s imagination without resorting to participating in reality shows or building mobile Apps. This singular achievement has placed them miles ahead of their nearest competitors.
The similarities don’t end there. Both Obama and Modi are unlikely leaders of their parties. During the no-holds barred Clinton-Obama primary fight, Bill Clinton famously remarked that a guy who would have brought them coffee a few years ago is dreaming of becoming the president. It wouldn’t be a stretch of imagination to assume similar feelings among the entrenched BJP leadership in Delhi about this chai-wallah from Gujarat. Both amply returned the favour by keeping the party bigwigs as far as possible from the core campaigning team. The ‘galti se mistake ho gaya’ type internal sabotage by ‘well-meaning’ party colleagues has derailed many a promising careers. Obama kept his core team restricted to the people from his Chicago days while Modi most probably asked Amit Shah to clone himself ten times. And finally both campaigned drawing extensively from their talent for rhetoric. Here none of their opponents came even close to matching their ability to simultaneously rouse an audience and also give coronary attacks to their opponents. Most campaigns rallies in 2008 and 2014 have ended with swelled up tears, rushes of adrenaline and Twitter going crazy.
When it comes to the relationship with the media, there are some parallels too. While it is true that Modi has received a rough deal especially from the English media, it is more like a day at the spa when compared to how Fox News portrays Obama. The vicious propaganda has been so effective that a part of America is convinced that Obama is a Kenya-born closet Muslim communist who is out to kill off all the old people & change the national dish from apple pie to hummus. Comparatively Modi is mildly portrayed as an amateur genocide enthusiast who abandons wives in his spare time. But unlike Modi, Obama does have news channels like MSNBC backing him to the hilt, fighting the viciousness word for word. With no such luxury, Modi has had to outsource his fight to countless and faceless IT engineers with time to kill on Twitter. In the end, both of them have strongly fought attempts by sections of the media to demonize them and have enhanced their following in the process.
If Modi takes office next month, Obama will have to abandon his highly successful “Throw-them-a-grand-dinner-and-they-will-be-happy” India policy. Modi should surely realize that a resurgent Russia, a weak EU and an ominous China are making the US increasingly insecure. An interesting by-product of these historic Lok Sabha elections would be this looming possible encounter between two self-made men with similar life stories. It is impossible to predict who would trump the other
Modi fans have used such similarities between the two to extrapolate and claim that Modi is the Indian Obama. Some of the more hardcore fans have announced that Obama is the American Modi. But do such claims have merit? Yes and no. The biggest difference between the alleged communist Muslim dictator from America and the supposed fascist Hindu tyrant from India is the political baggage each carried at the beginning of their campaigns. Modi had enough baggage to cause a traffic jam in space. But Obama was the quintessential light traveller. With no achievements or failures to constrain him, he arrived with only promises and hope wrapped in a cozy blanket of smooth oratory. Lack of any accusations of orchestrating riots obviously helped. On the other hand Modi, burdened by his considerable history, spent sizeable time convincing himself that if he never talks about 2002 then perhaps people will think it never happened.
The other main difference between the two is their support base. The Democratic Party represents what in India is the much-maligned left liberal space. Obama’s campaign was powered by galvanizing the various minority groups like African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians along with the trade unions. But before Sanjay Jha announces this as conclusive proof of Rahul Gandhi being the Indian Obama, an important caveat should be issued. Obama didn’t start writing rap lyrics, insist on wearing sombreros and eat out at the Panda Express to garner support from these groups. His pandering to minorities was much more sophisticated and subtle, something which the Congress scion can learn from. On his opposing end was the Republican core base – the big businesses, evangelical Christian groups and the majority of Anglo-Saxon America. In India that is code for Ambani/Adani, RSS and the Hindu majority. But before Internet Hindus start unfollowing Obama on Twitter, do note that there is one crucial similarity between him and Modi. That is Yuva Josh! (Currently trademarked by INC) Both Obama and Modi successfully cracked the mysterious code of how to fire up the current generation’s imagination without resorting to participating in reality shows or building mobile Apps. This singular achievement has placed them miles ahead of their nearest competitors.
The similarities don’t end there. Both Obama and Modi are unlikely leaders of their parties. During the no-holds barred Clinton-Obama primary fight, Bill Clinton famously remarked that a guy who would have brought them coffee a few years ago is dreaming of becoming the president. It wouldn’t be a stretch of imagination to assume similar feelings among the entrenched BJP leadership in Delhi about this chai-wallah from Gujarat. Both amply returned the favour by keeping the party bigwigs as far as possible from the core campaigning team. The ‘galti se mistake ho gaya’ type internal sabotage by ‘well-meaning’ party colleagues has derailed many a promising careers. Obama kept his core team restricted to the people from his Chicago days while Modi most probably asked Amit Shah to clone himself ten times. And finally both campaigned drawing extensively from their talent for rhetoric. Here none of their opponents came even close to matching their ability to simultaneously rouse an audience and also give coronary attacks to their opponents. Most campaigns rallies in 2008 and 2014 have ended with swelled up tears, rushes of adrenaline and Twitter going crazy.
When it comes to the relationship with the media, there are some parallels too. While it is true that Modi has received a rough deal especially from the English media, it is more like a day at the spa when compared to how Fox News portrays Obama. The vicious propaganda has been so effective that a part of America is convinced that Obama is a Kenya-born closet Muslim communist who is out to kill off all the old people & change the national dish from apple pie to hummus. Comparatively Modi is mildly portrayed as an amateur genocide enthusiast who abandons wives in his spare time. But unlike Modi, Obama does have news channels like MSNBC backing him to the hilt, fighting the viciousness word for word. With no such luxury, Modi has had to outsource his fight to countless and faceless IT engineers with time to kill on Twitter. In the end, both of them have strongly fought attempts by sections of the media to demonize them and have enhanced their following in the process.
If Modi takes office next month, Obama will have to abandon his highly successful “Throw-them-a-grand-dinner-and-they-will-be-happy” India policy. Modi should surely realize that a resurgent Russia, a weak EU and an ominous China are making the US increasingly insecure. An interesting by-product of these historic Lok Sabha elections would be this looming possible encounter between two self-made men with similar life stories. It is impossible to predict who would trump the other
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