Padayatras and the Changing Nature of Political Communication in India
| Published date | 01 June 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2321023017698258 |
| Date | 01 June 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Padayatras and the Changing
Nature of Political
Communication in India
Radhika Kumar1
Abstract
Political communication sets the context for a conversation between the political leaders and masses.
A productive strategy of political communication would be one that successfully mobilizes its recipients
for the purpose at hand which could be for a protest or for electoral support. One such strategy of
communication and mobilization typical to democratic politics in India is the ‘padayatra’, which while
being traditional also has a spiritual lineage. The padayatra was effectively used by Mahatma Gandhi
to rally together the masses during the freedom movement, and it continues to be a politically rel-
evant strategy used not only for mobilization but also for partisan gains that capitalize on its imagery.
Electoral padayatras provide an opportunity to the politician to interact with voters in a substantive
manner, understand their weltanschauung and enable its achievement. The purpose of this article is to
map the changing nature of the padayatra and its appropriation by political parties as a tool of political
communication.
Keywords
Padayatras, elections, campaigning, mobilization, rathyatra
Effective political and electoral communication depends on not only the issues that a political party
chooses to highlight but also the means that the party employs to reach out to the electorate. The paday-
atra as a tool of communication provides an opportunity for real-time engagement between the leader
and the masses. The historical evolution of the padayatra, from being a medium to register political
protest to its increasing use for electoral campaigning suggests its continuing relevance. Given this broad
historical backdrop, this article looks at more recent instances of padayatras as a tool of political mobi-
lization. This article is divided into three parts. The first part looks at the padayatra and its use as a
medium of mobilization and protest politics, capturing public imagination and effectively politicizing
issues. The second part looks at the rathyatra as a tool of political and electoral mobilization that changes
the non-violent nature of the yatra to one that communicates political aggression and encourages
1 Motilal Nehru College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India.
Corresponding author:
Radhika Kumar, Motilal Nehru College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, India.
E-mail: radhikaku@hotmail.com
Studies in Indian Politics
5(1) 32–41
© 2017 Lokniti, Centre for the
Study of Developing Societies
SAGE Publications
sagepub.in/home.nav
DOI: 10.1177/2321023017698258
http://inp.sagepub.com
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