Mann ki Baat: Series of Conversations, Aesthetic Imperative or Vehicle for Propaganda?

Abstract

Mann ki Baat is a series of speeches made by the 14th Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi addressing the nation. Mann ki Baat holds significant sway over the Indian population as it is broadcast directly by the Prime Minister. As such, it is possible for this stream of speeches to carry hidden political intent or to act as a symbol to show that the government is in touch with the people. For this purpose, the English transcripts of 84 speeches from this series (from October 2014 to March 2022) were analysed. For an overarching general analysis, Natural Language Processing (NLP) tools were employed and later on, the speeches were juxtaposed with important events that have occurred in the country to investigate the responses as shown in Mann ki Baat. Moreover, 25 speeches were analysed individually in connection with 3 major events, each spanning a course of multiple months to validate the observations found through the employment of NLP tools and add to them. Observations have shown that Mann ki Baat does indeed carry political intent and works to better the image the people have of the Prime Minister and the ruling government, even at the cost of bending facts at times. However, it has also come to light that Mann ki Baat works as a highly efficient means of spreading general awareness such as the instances observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords:

• Mann ki Baat,
• NLP,
• Textual Analysis,
• Indian Politics