{"title":"Democracy as Rumour","authors":"I. Ahmad","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780199489626.003.0002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199489626.003.0002","url":null,"abstract":"Based on qualitative data from the coverage of the 2014 Indian elections by television channels and social media, this chapter demonstrates Schmittian politics by examining electoral–democratic rumours. It discusses how media circulated Hindutva as development to resemble rumourmongering, in that the sources of development remained unknown. The emerging interface among media, elections, and neoliberal economy in polities like India signifies what is proposed as ‘designer democracy’, of which rumour is a key component. The chapter discusses the effects of rumours and other factors that helped Hindutva win in 2014. The premise of rumour as a plebeian resistance, it is argued, is unsustainable. Contra established view, this chapter contends that rumour is also a weapon of the power elites and is deployed during elections. Dwelling on the vital issues of the truth and lie, the chapter concludes with observations on the place of rumour and media in democracies in general.","PeriodicalId":180796,"journal":{"name":"The Algebra of Warfare-Welfare","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"128426307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Media, Corporates, and Democracy","authors":"S. Pattnaik","doi":"10.1093/OSO/9780199489626.003.0010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780199489626.003.0010","url":null,"abstract":"Indian democracy became increasingly corporatized since the advent of neoliberal economy, resulting in the emergence of a corporate–media–politics nexus. Narendra Modi, as the chief minister of Gujarat, extended patronage to the corporates in the pretext of development. Hence, the corporate world overwhelmingly endorsed his candidature as prime minister. The corporate-controlled media went all out projecting him as a strong charismatic leader and icon of development. Interestingly, the same corporate and media backed Odisha’s Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in his state for his corporate-friendly record. As a result, Modi’s charisma was not very effective in Odisha and Naveen Patnaik got an outstanding victory. In this light, the chapter argues that democracy is in peril when the corporate and media dictate the policy of political parties and the government.","PeriodicalId":180796,"journal":{"name":"The Algebra of Warfare-Welfare","volume":"2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127438178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}