Marg, New Delhi, on February 6, 2015. | Photo Credit: Meeta Ahlawat
“Reel ka zamana hai. Social media mein influencers aapko khinch ke kahin-kahin le jate haain [This is the age of reels. Social media influencers drag you in and take you to a myriad of places],” said Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the launch of former President Ram Nath Kovind’s autobiography on August 12. He added a word of advice for the youth: “Ye shortcut ke yug me bhi, ye baat yaad rakhen… short cut will cut you short [However, in this age of shortcuts, remember one thing—shortcut will cut you short].”
These comments were also packaged as a reel published on August 14 on Modi’s Instagram account. Here, the visuals cut away to an audience, shown laughing and clapping. Modi goes on to say, “I want to tell the youth, do read an autobiography of any eminent person who you admire.”
On August 9, Modi’s Instagram feed similarly featured snippets from his speech at the convocation ceremony at IIT Delhi, held on August 8. He drew a light-hearted contrast between time spent in college and challenges that await the students in the world outside. “In the IIT exam, you have a syllabus that you can follow. But the examination of life can throw at you questions that are not from the syllabus,” he said.
On several occasions in recent weeks, in the wake of the emergence of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and the Gen Z protests at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, and in other parts of the country, Modi’s Instagram page featured content especially aimed at the youth. In his midnight video on July 24, reaching out to the young protesters, he opened with, “Hi friends….” He later posted more selfie videos directly addressing the youth and referring to them as “friends”, an attempt at a more hip alternative to “doston’” or “‘mitron’” that he normally uses in his speeches.