Two things that Indians may be looking forward to will now be delivered with the name or face of the prime minister. As we all know, matche...
Two things that Indians may be looking forward to will now be delivered with the name or face of the prime minister. As we all know, matches in the world’s largest cricket stadium will henceforth be remembered for taking place in the Narendra Modi Stadium, which after having started life as Sardar Patel Stadium was renamed on February 24. A bowler may come running in from the Adani end or the Reliance end, but omnipresent is our prime minister, his name immortalised in his lifetime in a modern monument.
Less attention has been given to the fact that Narendra Modi’s face also graces the certificates handed down to citizens who have taken the coronavirus vaccine. The name, age of recipient and date of the jab is recorded on what is called the Final Certificate for Covid-19 Vaccination issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. On the bottom left next to an image of Narendra Modi are two lines that read, first Hindi, “Dawai bhi aur Kadai bhi” (Both medicine and firmness) and then in English: “Together India will defeat Covid-19.”
The cult of leadership and the nation embodied in one individual places a leader above the institutions that are designed to create...
