A republic of populists

This time Gandhi has died
And the heart is now relieved
Hope is rekindled
That people will now think
What after leaderism?
– Taranand Biyogi in Maithili poem
'Saal-dar-saal Gandhi-badh'

Magadha was one of 16 Mahajanpadas of ancient India where Aryan tribes learned to farm, fight and settle down under the protection of a sovereign. To keep unruly nomads tied to their own land and cattle, and to ensure that they would not appropriate the property of others, a group of warriors, priests and accountants often managed these small confederacies. It was from the bricks of the Mahajanpada confederacies that the Mauryan Empire (321-185 BC) was built and then evolved into the largest political entity of its time, anywhere in the world. Present-day Bihar bears no resemblance to that Mauryan magnificence, but none of its rulers, even in democratic India, have been able to resist the temptation of becoming the next Priyadarshi (dear to behold) after Ashoka the Great.

Elected leaders lack unlimited tenure and legitimate authority (given that they have to renew their mandate periodically) to establish durable mechanisms for controlling the masses. Coercive of the state have their limits. It is not easy to simultaneously reconcile the ambition of being powerful and remaining popular. Populism helps establish a sense of desirability, and simultaneously creates an illusion of unlimited authority. It helps a politician become a Priyadarshi – at least for the duration of elections.