Art of selling dreams, without discount

The business of ‘selling dreams’ is at its peak in India, even though it spells losses for most indulging in this profession. No, no, don’t link this ‘business’ with beliefs associated with certain fortune-tellers, places where ‘prayers’ are naturally presumed to be answered, holistic men claiming to possess cure for practically any kind of physical and emotional ailment and, of course, charming Bollywood celebrities guaranteeing results of products they claim to use. Weaving dreams to make the potential day-dreamer actually visualise the same is an art that practically 90% of Indians are expert at. Unfortunately, only a small percentage of these have turned this into a business. The majority of dream-weavers and sellers, who are passionately engaged in this business, have failed miserably in this drive. Yet, they show no signs of giving up.

Ah, you have probably guessed who these strange business people are. The primary purpose of their ‘dream-selling drive’ is to gain political support, marked by electoral victories. Indian politicians have been actively engaged in this exercise for more than six decades. Despite success eluding 99% of these politicians, the prospects of them abandoning the dream-selling business is as good as non-existent.

The late Indira Gandhi rose to great political heights on the strength of her promise: ‘Roti, kapada aur makan’ to one and all. India still remains home to millions of slum-dwellers. Over the decades, begging has become such a profession that dressing in torn clothes, looking dirty and hungry is the code adhered to those who have taken to this, whether by choice or by forced exercised by business-patrons of this profession.

Indira Gandhi’s ‘dream plan’ struck a positive note among the then Indian electorate because it was probably the first electoral rhetoric in independent India that touched their hearts. Now, who is to be blamed for selling the ‘Roti, kapada aur makan’ dream, which is yet to come true for those still living below the poverty line? Moving beyond rhetoric, Rahul Gandhi tried his hand at this drive by eating at Dalit homes as a part of his electoral drive. He dreamt and worked but couldn’t make the target voters understand his interpretation of such dreams.

If there is one Indian leader who played an effective role in influencing Indians buy, that is believe in his dreams to actually implement the same, it was Mahatma Gandhi. The idea of his hunger strikes still sells. His non-cooperation movement to win freedom also sells but not any more in the national interest. Rowdy and chaotic scenes in Parliament and assemblies succeed in attracting media attention, but in essence lead to disruption of duties and services the elected politicians are expected to live up to.

In today’s age, political dreams cannot be delinked from a Catch-22-like situation. Certainly, the reservation issue, whether for women or minorities, still remains politically hot. This dream-plan is expected to sell successfully enough to win votes when electoral fervour is at its peak. Sadly, this sells but primarily only among the politicians and their inner circle. The reservation issue has few buyers where voters are concerned. In UP, the reservation hype failed to convince voters to support those who almost cried themselves hoarse about their ‘commitment’ to reservation for minorities.

Of late, another dream is being floated around as an attractive politically marketable idea. But even before it has reached the stage of actually being put as a branded product, many are reading the ‘Not for Sale’ label tagged to it. Yes, this refers to the Indian government’s decision to form the National Counter Terrorism Centre. Understandably, the Indian government aims to promote its stand against the menace of terrorism. But the idea doesn’t sell even as a hazy dream. The government has always had this stand. New commissions, centres and even laws cannot be expected to check the terror menace when those handling the same seem more concerned about indulging in fake encounters and thus letting the actual terrorists give them a miss.

Paradoxically, despite there being limitations in finding buyers, that is voters, prospects of Indian politicians giving up their electoral mission of selling dreams seems practically impossible. It is one and perhaps only mission that most politicians are experts at, that is indulge in selling dreams irrespective of whether the buyers are actually there or they are simply day dreaming about the same. They should perhaps consider adding political-discount tag to this drive. It may work for a while!

The writer is a freelance journalist