PM Modi’s Radio Show - What We Know About ‘Mann Ki Baat’

As the Modi government completed three years in power yesterday (26 May), Speaker Sumitra Mahajan released a book titled 'Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio’, a compilation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly radio address to the nation called ‘ Mann Ki Baat’.

First copies of the same, the foreword to which has been written by the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe, were presented to President Pranab Mukherjee.

The book discusses the genesis of the Mann Ki Baat initiative, the response it has been getting and the thought process behind it. A few excerpts below.

The origins

“ During a meeting with his aides on a rainy August evening in 2014, the Prime Minister expressed his desire to communicate with people through the medium of radio. He wanted to begin this programme in September 2014 itself. His team, a mixture of government officials and those he had brought along with him from Gujarat, began to work out the modalities of such a programme.”

How did they decide what it would be called?

“Then came the toughest part, that of deciding on a suitable name for the programme. How would it be branded? Inputs and options were sought through MyGov, the Government of India platform for public engagement and participation. Another set of questions persisted—how would people interpret the name? Would it connect with people across India? Meanwhile, a series of options for names ranging from ‘PM Ke Saath Ru-Ba-Ru’ to ‘Vaarta Modi Ji Ke Saath’ to even ‘Modi Vani’ started pouring in. It was now time to take a decision.

When his officials went back to him with the issue of the nomenclature , Narendra Modi exclaimed, “Arre isme kya hai? Kaho kuchh halki phulki mann ki baatein karoonga.” The christening was done! They had finally found the name for the radio programme—it would simply be called ‘Mann Ki Baat.’”

So, what would PM Modi say?

“ ‘Mann Ki Baat’ is not about votes or television optics. It is about behaviour, responsibility, hopes, dreams, struggle and achievement in everyday life. Narendra Modi gave a very logical explanation on the subject:

I have been a quintessential organisation man all my life. I know the difference the radio can make. American Presidents used it well. So many people heard Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech on the radio.It has a transformative power like no other medium.

On the radio, Narendra Modi explains, he coaxes: he never imposes. He looks at both sides of the argument. This is why he can confidently say in one broadcast, “I know I am choosing those topics which put the government in the dock.” This is always more about conviction that politics.”

Here is pictorial representation of the trend of key themes that featured in Mann Ki Baat.

While the PM does all the talking, is the nation listening? Well, apparently yes!

“ The survey, which was carried out across 22 states and 2 Union Territories, revealed some very interesting points:
About 92% of the people had heard of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ and about 80% of them had heard it once in their lives.
States where the awareness levels were particularly high were Manipur (95.5%), Madhya Pradesh (92.5%), Gujarat (92.5%), Assam (90%) and Goa (90%).
As far as zones were concerned, awareness in the Western Zone was highest (96.7%), followed by the Eastern Zone (88.5%).

In the list of states where the audience had heard ‘Mann Ki Baat’ at least once, Madhya Pradesh andGujarat emerged on top with almost 85%, followed by Bihar (78.5%), and then Maharashtra and Goa (around 70%).

Again, the western and eastern zones come first and second respectively when it comes to those who have listened to ‘Mann Ki Baat’ at least once with 85.6% and 82.4% respectively.”

Excerpted from Mann Ki Baat - A Social Revolution on Radio by Bluekraft Digital Foundation, 2017 with the permission of the publisher.