Padayatras and the Changing Nature of Political Communication in India

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 relevant 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.