Rahul Gandhi as “Prince” and Pappu: The Hindu Right's Politics of Ridicule

Abstract

The rise of Narendra Modi and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in India has resulted in the political marginalization of the Gandhi family-led Congress Party. A narrative often used by Modi and the Hindu Right is that of the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as an inept and immature politician who owes his status to dynastic privilege. This perception of political ineptitude and nepotism has been created through a sustained public campaign painting Gandhi as a pappu and shehzada. While the latter term is the Urdu/Persian word for “prince,” pappu is a more colloquial term used for adolescent boys and young men perceived as immature and unintelligent. However, the potency of both terms goes far beyond their literal meanings, and draws upon notions of caste/class, gender, religion, and historical privilege in Indian society. In this chapter, I analyze how the use of these terms helps the rightwing sustain the narrative of Rahul Gandhi (and by extension the Congress Party and the larger opposition) as “stupid,” immature, and undeserving of serious consideration by the masses. In doing so, this rhetorical strategy of ridicule enables the ruling party to obfuscate public criticism and questions of national importance by delegitimizing the political opposition.