NEW DELHI — On Feb. 25, Narendra Modi appeared before the nation dressed in an orange tunic and a diving suit to perform a “puja” (a ritual offering) several meters underwater in the Hindu holy village of Dwarka, in his home state of Gujarat.
The scene was beamed across India by both the media and social media networks. And the photos that circulated were astounding: the 73-year-old prime minister can be seen sitting cross-legged on the seafloor, hands clasped in front of his chest waving a fan made of peacock feathers over underwater ruins.
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This sequence is just one in a long series of scenes that cast Modi as the nation’s singular hero. In January, the prime minister snorkeled in the tropical Indian archipelago, Lakshadweep, as seen in a video shared on his YouTube channel. This communications operation was designed to promote the Indian isles over the neighboring Maldives, which have gotten bad press in India since the new Maldivian president, Mohamed Muizzu, decided to favor Beijing over New Delhi.
A populist angle
These post-worthy scenes are part of a populist effort that echoes the visits organized a few years ago by Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin: Putin on his horse in the Siberian mountains, Putin in a kimono on tatami mats, Putin fishing for amphorae in the Black Sea, etc.
This makes Narendra Modi the chief influencer of the most populated nation in the world.
Modi seems set on proving that, despite his age, he remains a strong, virile and courageous man. This is a relic of his years in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an extremist Hindu organization that encourages good physical wellbeing among its members. Yet the growing frequency of these outings is probably not a coincidence: Modi will run for a third term as prime minister following the legislative elections to be held in spring.
All of these “adventures” are calibrated for social media and are broadly shared on these platforms. This makes Modi the chief influencer of the most populated nation in the world. Social media networks are the perfect medium for Modi, who almost never speaks to the media and doesn’t hold press conferences.
Notably, Modi likes to dress up as “chief priest” of the influential Asian nation, not hesitating to take a religious role in a country with a secular constitution. The underwater ceremony in Dwarka had a religious nature. In January, he dressed in a Hindu religious tunic, overseeing the inauguration of the controversial Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
Mastering social media
Modi and his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), are masters of social networks, including Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and WhatsApp. When Modi is criticized or mocked, millions on the internet mobilize to defend the Hindu leader, sometimes organizing violent digital raids to counter those who dare to take on the prime minister.
Modi has given himself ubiquity at Indian taxpayers’ expenses.
The impact of these posts is even greater, as the population’s use of smartphones has grown massively since Modi came to power. In 2012, India accounted for just 2% of global mobile data traffic. Today, India represents 21%. The country consumes more data than the U.S. and China combined. This revolution was realized by Jio, a company owned by the business magnate Mukesh Ambani and is known for slashing mobile data package prices.
In addition to this digital strategy, Modi is saturating public spaces. It’s difficult to go 100 meters in New Delhi without seeing a portrait of the prime minister. Posters of his likeness put up throughout the capital for the G20 summit last September have still not been removed. Modi has made himself ubiquitous at Indian taxpayers’ expenses.
Expensive selfie areas with life-sized replicas of the Hindu leader have even been installed in several train stations and in certain public parks in the city. Such a cult of personality is unprecedented in Indian political history.
