‘अन्नदाता’ की आय होगी दोगुनी। #Modi4NewIndia pic.twitter.com/LBHcdLdil9
— BJP (@BJP4India) February 13, 2019
Usage of different types of visual content has been the knight and shining armour of influencers and politicians to spread propaganda. Mass media in the early 20th century and social media in recent years has helped dissemination of bluffed content through attractive images and larger than life heroic images of the so-called saviours of the land painted in bright colours. These images dominate our social media feed and pose a strong potential of leaving an impact.
Such imagery was widely used during the totalitarian regimes of dictators such as Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini to blatantly promote divisive politics and racial slurs the results of which are well-known. Whether the visuals manifest direct hate or showcase subtlety of misinformation, the trend is still worth analyzing and making a note of.
BJP’s election campaigns and its sustenance have seen wide use of such imagery when there is no real evidence to prove the sugarcoated lies or extravagant claims. What better way to mislead the public than to use one’s digital artistic skills to do desperate talking and proving. We look at some of the recent cartoons shared by the BJP’s official Twitter handle and website.
In the one above, for instance, Modi is reaching out to the farmers and brightening up their lives with a scintillating stack of cash, freshly uprooted from the soil. The hypocrisy is quite evident when the stature of the farmer is underbuilt as compared to the size of Narendra Modi’s image. Also, the little promise note in the basket claiming to double the farmer’s income is a reminder of the promises made 5 years ago. The cartoon shows the blatant glorification of one personality over the other, raising serious questions on the priorities of the current regime.
1.
Modi govt’s New India is a healthy India where everyone has access to affordable and quality healthcare services.
Ayushman Bharat, price capping of essential medicines & implants and Jan Aushadhi are helping in realising this dream of New India. #Modi4NewIndia pic.twitter.com/PLMr6Cr18e
— BJP (@BJP4India) February 13, 2019
Narendra Modi as the prime caretaker of the modern Indian family.
2.
Narendra Modi as the invincible submarine
3.
Narendra Modi climbing the extravagant 3D arrow
4.
Narendra Modi the only divine protector of Muslim women
5.
Narendra Modi all set for the “record-breaking” bullfight
6.
Oversized Narendra Modi the one and only protector of the parliament and democracy
Last we checked, democracy was never a one-man show. Ironical much?
Read More:
Nituparna Rajbongshi: “Cartoons are voices of the masses”
Cartoonist P Mahamud Wins the First PEN-Gauri Lankesh Award for Democratic Idealism
