Organizational Colonization and Silencing in the Indian Media With the Launch of the World's Cheapest Car

Communication, Culture & Critique ISSN 1753-9129

ORIGINAL ART ICLE

Organizational Colonization and Silencingin the Indian Media With the Launchof the World’s Cheapest Car

Rahul Mitra

Department of Communication, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2098, USA

I examine organization–media linkages in an emerging economy context, specificallyIndia, tracing how the media upholds organizational ideologies/interests, while silencingdissidence. I provide a conceptual framework to understand the reification and disbarmentstrategies at play, which are seen to operate through 4 core themes: national progressthrough globalization, the new national citizen, media surveillance of the State, andreframing the dissident as antinational. This study extends current theory on organizationalcolonization/silencing by suggesting new mechanisms of legitimization, neutralization oforganizational power, personalization, and objectification/subjectification of dissidents. Italso problematizes being Indian in the global age for the organization, media, and (bothurban and rural) citizens.

doi:10.1111/j.1753-9137.2010.01087.x

Although free flow of communication via global media is often regarded a basic pillarof democracy, critiques of mainstream media point toward an oligarchy-type cartelamong media firms, corporations, and States, which severely undermines the publicsphere and downplays democratic processes (Bendel & Bendel, 2007; Conrad, 2003;Gunaratne, 2005; Herman & McChesney, 1998). Although the media plays a vital roleas watchdogs for State apparatuses, their record has been less than perfect as far as BigBusiness is concerned (Deetz, 1992; Roush, 2004). Ideological/institutional linkagesamong organization–State–media ensure a tepid critique of corporate policies, whilemarginalizing/silencing arguments opposing neoliberal ideologies (Menon & Nigam,2008). For Clair (1998), voice/silence occurs dialectically:

Silencing groups of people may take on a multitude of forms that we have onlybegun to explore. Silence may be achieved through coercion or throughhegemony. It may be created through discursive practices that privilege some

Corresponding author: Rahul Mitra; e-mail: [email protected]

572 Communication, Culture & Critique 3 (2010) 572–606 © 2010 International Communication Association

R. Mitra Mediated Colonization and Silencing

and abandon others. Silence may be systematically structured throughinstitutions or informally imposed through informal conversation. (pp. 67–68)

Thus, although organizations and media may achieve ‘‘incessant and noisydiscourses’’ (p. 68) by canvassing a preferred point of view, there are other more subtlemechanisms to stifle alternative voices. Accordingly, to examine the full spread ofcorporate power, it is not enough to consider merely corporate actions/discourses, butalso the representations of such, and the linkages among various organizational forms.

In this article, I examine the media construction of an organizational projectthat recently gained some notoriety/fame in the emerging economy context of India.On January 10, 2008, India’s largest automobile company Tata Motors (hereafterreferred to as T.M.) unveiled the world’s cheapest car, the Nano. Billed the ‘‘people’scar,’’ it had been in the works for at least the better part of a decade, as Tata GroupChairman Ratan Tata’s ‘‘vision’’ for a modern India (Tata, 2008). Here, I analyzethe media discourse surrounding this project, tracing how the media upholds orga-nizational ideologies and interests, while silencing dissenting voices. I provide aconceptual framework to help understand the reification and disbarment strategiesat play through media coverage in the emerging economy context.

Despite a large body of research on emerging economy organizations (particularlythose in East Asia), there has been relatively less work on media–organization link-ages, especially in India. Most scholarly work has focused on managerial strategies,since the Indian economy’s liberalization in 1991 (Chittoor & Ray, 2007; Khandwalla,2002; Som, 2002). Although it has been recognized that the Indian organizationalcontext involves constant negotiation between ‘‘modernizing clusters’’ and ‘‘recip-rocal opposition’’ (Nelson & Gopalan, 2003), there have been few attempts to seehow this plays out with the mainstream media, the corporate sector, the State, andsociety at large. The bulk of critical media research in India focuses on politicalcommunication, rather than the media–corporate relationship (e.g., Rao, 2008).Thus, this article attempts to fill an important gap in the literature straddling com-munication, globalization, organizations, media, and culture, recognizing the various‘‘flows of disjuncture’’ (Appadurai, 2000) that transform and appropriate modernity(Fairclough & Thomas, 2004).

In the following section, I elaborate on the media–organization linkages andcolonizing/silencing strategies that may operate in the emerging economy context.Next, I introduce the case and discuss the method of data collection and analysis usedin this study. I then explicate the core themes and specific strategies of reification anddisbarment evident in the media discourse. Finally, I discuss the study’s implications:extensions to colonization/silencing literature and conceptualizing globalization inthe emerging economy context.

Organization–Media Colonization

Borrowing from Habermas’ (1987) thesis of the increasing permeation of life by cap-italist logics, Deetz (1992) argues that the rise of the transnational corporation is akin

Communication, Culture & Critique 3 (2010) 572–606 © 2010 International Communication Association 573

Mediated Colonization and Silencing R. Mitra

to ‘‘colonization’’ of the lifeworld, in terms of imposing/promoting dominant valuesystems and practices. ‘‘The modern corporation has emerged as the central form ofworking relations and as the dominant institution in society. In achieving dominance,the commercial corporation has eclipsed the state, family, residential community,and moral community’’ (p. 2). Munshi and Kurian (2007) point more explicitly toa ‘‘nexus’’ between corporations, government agencies, and corporate proxies thatreifies organizationally preferred views, while silencing dissident opinions. However,corporate power needs to be seen as ‘‘not monolithic but more like a web that has sitesor nodes of decision and control,’’ at once ‘‘centralized and dispersed,’’ as it createsorganizational reality (Deetz, 1992, p. 23). It acts through lobbying governments,financing campaigns, capital ownership/mobility, litigation, media agenda-setting,propagation of neoliberal ideologies (like ‘‘development’’ or ‘‘fair trade’’), andreification of existing marginalities (Bendel & Bendel, 2007; Menon & Nigam, 2008).

Media–organizational ideologiesSuch a view of corporate dominance invites further qualifications. First, as Clair (1998)asks, while examining organized silencing of dissidents, ‘‘How does the existence ofone organization provide the legitimacy for another?’’ (p. 189). She urges closer studyof how organizations are interconnected, so as to ‘‘highlight the shadows of the prac-tices that provide support for injustices from institution to institution and from oneinstitutional practice to another’’ (p. 189). In particular, institutional relationshipsbetween corporations and mass media become important. Deetz (1992) observesthat ‘‘media messages elaborate ideology into common sense and everyday practicesby reproducing social conflict in terms derived from the dominant ideology’’ (p. 33).The emphasis on organizationally preferred ‘‘frozen’’ or fragmented images/storiesblurs the moral dimension to ‘‘make sense’’ of reality, so that a potentially untrue‘‘social memory’’ is created, reiterating corporate domination. Although press con-ferences, media releases, pseudoevents, and ‘‘exclusive’’ interviews have traditionallyfacilitated these institutional links, recent instruments such as media ownership,advertising deals, and media tie-ups/conglomeration have become important (Roush,2004).

Second, colonization operates not just through institutional sources of power,but also through the spread/reinforcement of ideology. Conrad (2003) refers to theprevalent belief in the power of the market—what he terms ‘‘free market funda-mentalism’’—as the most remarkable achievement of the conservative Right. Here,I understand ideologies to be ‘‘significations/constructions of reality (the physicalworld, social relations, and social identities), which are built into various dimensionsof the forms/meanings of discursive practices and which contribute to the pro-duction, reproduction, or transformation of relations of dominance’’ (Fairclough,1992, p. 87). Ideology thus coordinates socially shared representations, affecting bothin-group and out-group communication and reality. Deetz (1992) notes a tendencyfor the mainstream media to relax their conventionally recognized ‘‘watchdog’’ rolewhile reporting on corporations, whereas Bendel and Bendel (2007) see a ‘‘blind



acceptance of neoliberal economic ideology, such that many journalists are bemusedby, and disinterested in, fundamental critiques of the economic system’’ (p. 62). InIndia, Menon and Nigam (2008) argue that the media has increasingly sided withneoliberal ideologies/agents to define ‘‘common sense’’ in terms that reduce/redefinedemocracy as ‘‘a set of abstract rules sans politics and people’’ (p. 13). For Hermanand McChesney (1998),

The global media are the missionaries of our age, promoting the virtues ofcommercialism and the market loudly and incessantly through theirprofit-driven and advertising-supported enterprises and programming.[However,] This missionary work is not the result of any sort of conspiracy; forthe global media TNCs developed organically from their institutional basis andcommercial imperatives. (p. 37)

Importantly, although extant research often draws a clean divide between State-owned and commercial, local and global, authoritarian and liberal media, such astance ignores the dynamic developments on the ground, wherein macrolevel hege-monic discourses are locally modified/appropriated (Appadurai, 2000; Fairclough &Thomas, 2004). Thus Gunaratne (2005) argues for a humanocentric theory of thepress, steeped in local–global interactions and social responsibility.

Colonizing and silencing strategiesIn this article, I examine some of the strategies whereby organizational ideologiesmay be reflected in media discourse, colonizing the lifeworld. Deetz (1992) arguesthat these processes of ‘‘systematically distorted communication’’ (p. 174) are notsolely organization-sponsored, but continuously (re)negotiated via social interaction.Hegemony is taken to be ‘‘a constant struggle in the creation of positions’’ (Clair,1998, p. 51), so that colonizing/silencing strategies may be revealed from the ‘‘frozenimages’’ (Deetz, 1992) in media discourse. These strategies both reify the organi-zationally preferred view of reality and negate/disbar opposing and/or alternativestreams of thought. In the first instance (reification), Deetz (1992, 2005) and Clair(1998) identify how the preferred view is naturalized by obscuring its sociohistoricalantecedents and reframing it as a rational decision or ‘‘common sense.’’ The domi-nant/preferred view denies its own power/value position to neutralize its larger socialimplications. It is legitimized by invoking higher-order explanations, experiences,ideologies, and/or authorities. Hegemonic actors also conceal vested interests byusing ambiguous wording and inscribing ‘‘plausible deniability.’’

In the second instance (disbarment), social actors/practices opposing the domi-nant view find themselves disqualified on various grounds from the accepted/main-stream norm. Topics at odds with the status quo are actively (and passively) avoidedor discouraged. Alternative views may be subjectified, or attention refocused from thesystemic to the individual, to avoid amending the status quo. Seeming engagementwith alternative interests may only be hollow pacification, as hegemonic actors make ashow of dialogue, but offer very little by way of compromise. Clair (1998) adds another



strategy to this common list: Hegemonic actors often personalize/privatize alternativediscourses, hiding them from the public gaze and rendering them uncontestable ina public sphere (p. 39). This is especially true in the case of sexual harassment at theworkplace, where everyday acts/practices hide harassment by rendering the sexual asstrictly ‘‘personal,’’ not to be brought up in the professional/public sphere.

Extant research has focused on strategies within the corporate environment,making it unclear as to whether (and how) these operate in the media. Giventhe close links between corporations and mainstream media, it is likely that thesilencing mechanisms and media construction of social/organizational reality areclosely aligned. This is not to suggest an essentialist approach to silencing strategies;rather I hold to an interdiscursive/intertextual relationship (Fairclough, 1992, 1998)between organizations and mainstream media.

The two main research questions guiding this study are

RQ1: How does the media coverage create or reify a social/organizational realityreiterating the organization-preferred view?

RQ2: How does the media coverage silence/disbar voices opposed to the organi-zational project?

Method

On the basis of Gramsci’s notion of hegemony as domination by consensus, thisarticle takes colonization as based on ‘‘constructing alliances and integrating ratherthan simply dominating subordinate classes’’ (Fairclough, 1992, p. 92). For Mumby(1988), ‘‘an explicitly political reading of narrative [is required,] which attempts toovercome a naive acceptance of stories as politically neutral and independent fromthe socioeconomic structure in which they are articulated’’ (p. 109). Thus, I providean in-depth reading of media discourse here, using the case study approach, which iswell suited to explore the real-world functioning of organizations, stimulate reflectionon alternative perspectives, and serve as an impetus for future action (May, 2006).

BackgroundT.M. is India’s largest automobile company, with revenues upward of US$8.8 billion,the world’s fourth largest truck manufacturer and second largest bus manufacturer(OICA, 2007; T.M., n.d.). Its Chairman Ratan Tata conceived of the Nano ‘‘to providesafe, all-weather personal and family transport at an affordable price of Rs 1 lakh’’(T.M., 2008a, p. 5), around US$2,500, making it the cheapest car in the world. Thiswas a shrewd business move: In a country with very low car penetration (only 7 carsper 1,000 people) and a large gap between two-wheeler and small car prices, therewas ‘‘a huge opportunity’’ for a cheap entry-level car to ‘‘address this huge potentialin demand’’ (p. 30). The economic rationale was supplemented with humanistnarratives appealing to the emerging economy aspirations of a country perceivedto be moving from the ‘‘developing’’ category to the ranks of the ‘‘developed’’; for



instance, the tagline of the Nano, ‘‘More dreams per car.’’ The project ‘‘attractedunprecedented global attention and catapulted Tata Motors onto the world stage’’because of the seemingly ‘‘unachievable’’ (p. 5) price.

During 2004–2006, while the company’s engineering team was working on thecar, its upper echelons were scouting around for possible locations of the new factory.T.M. already had ‘‘integrated auto clusters’’ at four different sites; these were runlike minitowns, organized around the factory, project area where employees lived,and several smaller units for ancillaries/vendors (T.M., n.d.). These clusters are/werehighly prized by individual state governments, several of whom offered T.M. landfor the Nano project. Finally, on May 11, 2006 the West Bengal state governmentannounced it would acquire 997 acres in Singur, 40 km away from the state capitalKolkata, to house T.M.’s new factory. West Bengal was the leading state in thecountry’s eastern region but had witnessed a severe outflow of business since the 1970s,and bagging the prestigious T.M. project was seen by many as a reversal of fortunes.A quotation attributed to Ratan Tata in a press release states: ‘‘We look forward tothe opportunity of revitalising the automotive industry in the state’’ (T.M., 2006).

In Singur, the reaction was mixed. Owners of the land to be acquired weremonetarily compensated by the State, and because many of them were absenteelandlords with no real investiture in the plots, few objected. Several unemployedpeople in the area, who did not own/farm any land, were also keen on the projectbecause T.M. had promised to train and employ them in the new factory. The mainopposition stemmed from landless agricultural laborers or sharecroppers. While closeto 400 sharecroppers would be compensated (Thakurta, 2006), it was not so much amonetary issue at stake as it was the loss of a way of life, argued Pal and Dutta (2009).They note an underlying subaltern narrative involving deep ancestral ties to the land,which is treated as permanent/stable while money is transient, and their own money-management skills are recognized as insufficient in a modern/global economy. Thesesubaltern narratives were largely ignored by the media, which wondered instead whythe State was ‘‘on the backfoot’’ (Thakurta, 2006) and forced to retreat.

Another voice of dissent came from environmentalists who charged that large-scale production of the Nano would result in unparalleled pollution and congestion inIndia’s cities/towns. Prominent climate scientist Dr Rajendra Pachauri, who chairedthe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said he had ‘‘nightmares’’ aboutthe expected pollution (Associated Press, 2008). The link between environmentalistprotests and community dissidence became stronger when several prominent per-sonalities involved in an environmental dispute in the state of Gujarat entered thefray at Singur. The media reported allegations that activist Medha Patkar’s involve-ment in Singur was funded by a rival company (Konar, 2006), and when the Statebarred outsiders from entering the area, following outbreaks of violence, BookerPrize-winning author Arundhati Roy exclaimed, ‘‘Do you need a visa to enter WestBengal?’’ (TOI, 2006a).

Owing to the Nano’s prominence, political parties inevitably got involved. Oppo-sition parties in the national Parliament disrupted legislative proceedings, calling for a



halt to land acquisition (PTI, 2006), and the leader of the main state-level oppositionparty, Mamata Banerjee, organized protests/rallies at Singur. The situation came toa head on March 14, 2007, resulting in the death of 50 protestors at Nandigram,another site earmarked for land acquisition (ET, 2007), but the State blamed Baner-jee’s party for the violence (Sen, 2007). Through most of the conflict, the companymaintained silence, delegating voice to the State. Although the media speculated thatT.M. would relocate if the situation did not calm down, senior executives quelledthese rumors (TOI, 2006b). It was only in September 2008–8 months after the Nanounveiling—that a press release acknowledged the ongoing protests at Singur andsuspended construction work (T.M., 2008b).

Data collectionThis article examines the news stories/editorials published in The Times of India(Mumbai edition; hereafter referred to as TOI) over 3 months—December 2007,January 2008, and February 2008—in the immediate prelaunch, launch, and post-launch periods of the Nano, respectively. TOI is India’s largest read English dailywith an audience of 13.3 million (Media Research Users Council & Hansa Research,2008a). Given that the reach of Indian dailies grew by 12.8% during 2005–2008 to313 million (Media Research Users Council & Hansa Research, 2008b), the scopefor organizational colonization through newspaper media is significant. In additionto TOI, its parent media group owns the second largest local/city daily in India’sfinancial capital of Mumbai, the country’s largest business daily, most popular newsWeb site, and two prominent news channels on television, establishing itself as aninfluential newsmaker. During the period studied, 29 articles referring to the Nanoappeared in TOI: These amounted to 105 pages, double-spaced, Arial font size 11.In keeping with Fairclough’s (1992, 1998) call for interdiscursive analysis, so thatappropriation of discourse across texts/contexts is noted, the TOI coverage wassupplemented with readings of T.M.’s corporate Web site, most recent annual report,Ratan Tata’s speech at the Nano unveiling, and several news reports dating back asfar as 2006, to trace the unraveling of the Singur protests.

AnalysisThere were two stages of analysis: The first involved an inductive search for rel-evant themes, followed by their deductive testing/verification; the second saw adeductive ordering according to general/specific strategies of organized silencing(Lee, 1999). The process has been depicted in Figure 1. Although the unit of anal-ysis was a single sentence, emergent themes were not discrete categories—on thecontrary, there were several instances where a combination of two or more wasapparent—and, in most cases, a nuanced meaning was possible only in relation topreceding/following instances and themes. As Gunaratne (2005) points out, themesin everyday life are rarely discrete, being intricately interconnected and interactive.Also, because a purposive sample was used, no attempt was made to list the themefrequencies.



Markers Core Themes General Strategies Specific Strategies

1. Historical nature 2. Direct rivalry 3. Global collaborations 4. Technological advances 5. Harbinger for future advances

National Progress through Global Footprint

Reification

1. Personal valorization 2. Team cohesion 3. Delivering on aspirations

Constructing a New Indian Citizen Reification

1. Organization-State linkages2. Watchdog eye on the State

Watching the State

Reification

1. Legitimization via national identity, history, fame, economic growth, community welfare, expert pronouncement, technology 2. Neutralizing organizational power by identifying with common/ national good 3. Plausible deniability via technological advances

1. Legitimization via personal integrity (personalization), rationality, participative experience, State partnership, economic growth, aspirations 2. Neutralizing organizational power by identifying with community aspirations 3. Rationality via entrepreneurship

1. Legitimization via State partnership, and visibility of prominent players 2. Neutralizing organizational power by identifying with common good

Disbarment 3. Disqualify unknown protesters and focus on prominent State ministers, or corporate leaders 4. Objectifying human loss without adequate details

1. Avoid coverage of land acquisition protests, more coverage of environmentalists 2. Disqualify unknown protesters and focus on prominent personalities (State, corporate or activists), leading to objectification3. Subjectification as elitist, political, ignorant or alarmist 4. Disqualification via technological advances, rationality and common/ national good 5. Hollow pacification via technological advances and personal integrity of corporate leaders

6. Legitimization via apolitical nature of the organization, personal integrity and community aspirations7. Plausible deniability via technological advances

Environmental Protests: (Meso-)1. Advanced technology negates fears 2. Divert to State and environment 3. Elitism at play

Land Acquisition Protests: (Meso-)1. Minority 2. Politically motivated 3. Object of amusement 4. Irrational or hardliners or alarmists

Reframing the Dissident as Antinational

Disbarment

Reification

Figure 1 Conceptual Framework of Themes and Strategies.



Stage oneI used Owen’s (1984) criteria of thematic analysis to examine colonizing/silencingstrategies in the TOI coverage: recurrence, repetition, and forcefulness. Although‘‘repetition’’ looks at superficial/explicit repeated use of the same wording, ‘‘recur-rence’’ addresses repetition of the text’s latent meaning, through perhaps differentwording. ‘‘Forcefulness’’ refers to ‘‘vocal inflection, volume, or dramatic pauses, whichserve to stress and subordinate some utterances from other locations’’ (p. 275). This isalso seen through capitalization, italicization, underlining, increased print size, usingexclamation marks, strong/descriptive parts of speech, superlatives, and emphaticstatements of other kinds. The following excerpt may be used to illustrate this process:

They come to see hope emerge on wheels. For this ‘lakhtakia’ car, as street peoplehave already named it, has enabled millions to dream of a life beyond the motor-bike. And, to the discerning observer, has the potential of changing the demogra-phy of car ownership in India. . . . As Ratan Tata himself said later in the day, it wasthe image of a lower middle-class man on a scooter—the elder kid standing in frontof the driver-father and the wife riding pillion with a baby on her lap—that keptplaying on his mind. ‘‘Why can’t this family own a car?’’ Tata’s Rs 1 lakh car projectwas the outcome of that nagging image that kept tugging at his soul. (TOI, 2008e)

The repeated use of the ‘‘1 lakh’’ key term (INR1 lakh = US$2,500) and the‘‘image’’ that Ratan Tata ‘‘dreamt’’ showcase ‘‘repetition.’’ The marker of the com-mon man’s car ‘‘recurs’’ throughout the excerpt, and is ‘‘forcefully’’ articulatedthrough Tata’s ‘‘dream’’ and the hyperbolic description of how the new car means anew ‘‘hope’’ for ‘‘millions.’’

In all, 17 ‘‘minor’’ themes were identified, akin to what Maitlis and Lawrence(2007) called first-order concepts. To avoid confusion, I will refer to these here-after as markers. Each marker was compared with the remaining data to ensureits representativeness (Lee, 1999; Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Some of the markerswere accordingly revised: What was originally taken to signify the ‘‘multitude’’ or‘‘community’’ was later changed to the ‘‘delivering on aspirations’’ marker. Also,the constant comparison necessitated differentiation of two related but dissimilarmarkers, ‘‘harbingers of future advances’’ and ‘‘delivering on aspirations,’’ where theformer signified macrolevel (state, organizational, or industry) anticipations, whereasthe latter applied to the citizen/local community. While ordering the markers alongmacrolevel core themes, two other revisions occurred: First, a new core theme of‘‘watching the State’’ was added; second, coverage of environmentalist and landacquisition protesters, earlier regarded as first-order markers, were moved to themesolevel with their own markers. Once the revisions were complete, seven newmarkers emerged and thematic saturation occurred. The left side of Figure 1 showsthe categorization of markers according to core themes.

Stage twoThe right-hand side of Figure 1 represents the second stage of analysis, where corethemes and markers were deductively ordered according to strategies of organizational



colonization/silencing. Although the general strategies of reification occurred through-out, disbarment was especially strong in the ‘‘watching the State’’ and ‘‘reframing thedissident’’ themes. These were then compared to the specific strategies outlined byprior research (Clair, 1998; Deetz, 1992, 2005). For instance, markers of the ‘‘nationalprogress through global footprint’’ core theme employed specific reification strate-gies of (a) legitimization via national identity, history, fame, economic growth,community welfare, expert pronouncement, and technology; (b) neutralization oforganizational power by identifying with common/national good; and (c) plausibledeniability via technology. Similarly, specific reification and disbarment strategieswere evident for each core theme, as in Figure 1.

Two additional notes are important here. First, the categories shown do notrepresent a causal relationship; rather, they serve as a framework to conceptualizethe colonizing/silencing strategies in the media context. Second, although extantresearch shows silence or the lack of a voice as an important strategy in itself (Clair,1998), it is not included explicitly among Owen’s (1984) criteria. Thus, I have addedthe criterion of silence or lack of media coverage/voice to this analysis, especially inregard to the last two core themes.

Findings

In this section, I show how the media discourse may construct a ‘‘social memory’’(Deetz, 1992) of the organization, the State, media, protesters, and citizens, throughfour core themes.

National progress through global footprintTable 1 depicts the markers and specific strategies under the ‘‘national progressthrough global footprint’’ core theme. The first marker, emphasizing the historicalnature of the Nano launch, was apparent in instances where ‘‘the world’s cheapestcar’’ was compared to the Ford Model-T or the Moon landing (mentioned also inTata’s 2008 unveiling speech). This was often used in the context of fame on theglobal stage, technological advances, national identity, and expert pronouncements.Regardless of whether one was ‘‘a chronicler of history or an industry specialist orjust a plain automotive enthusiast’’ (Darukhanawala, 2008a), the Nano would ‘‘makeautomobile history’’ (Mamgain & Athale, 2008).

The construction of a direct rivalry, economic and technological, between Indiaand the West was seen in instances where Tata’s ‘‘all-new out-of-the-box concept’’ wasshowcased against Japanese, Chinese, or European manufacturers (Darukhanawala,2008b). The Nano and the Delhi Auto show where it was unveiled was repeatedlycompared to Ford Motors’ ‘‘terminal decline’’ and the Detroit Motor Show, heldaround the same time (Rajghatta, 2008). It was pointed out that ‘‘the bulk of Ford’slosses came from its home market where it has faced a steady loss of market share toAsian rivals’’ (AFP, 2008a). Conversely, several stories emphasized national progressby highlighting collaborative links with foreign companies/markets, like the British



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Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

part

icip

atio

n,

tech

nol

ogy,

and

nat

ion

alid

enti

ty

2.2.

Cle

arly

the

proj

ect

was

mu

chto

oda

un

tin

gto

hav

eev

enpr

eclu

ded

the

nor

mal

lyfo

cuse

dJa

pan

ese

smal

lcar

gian

tsto

cry

off.

Ital

soel

imin

ated

the

Ch

ines

efo

rth

isw

asan

all-

new

out-

of-t

he-

box

con

cept

wh

ich

had

n’t

been

mad

ebe

fore

and

ther

efor

eco

uld

n’t

beco

pied

.Th

eE

uro

pean

sw

ere

scar

edaf

ter

the

pain

fule

xerc

ise

wit

hth

eSm

art.

...(

Dar

ukh

anaw

ala,

2008

b)

2.2.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

tech

nol

ogy

and

nat

ion

alid

enti

ty;n

eutr

aliz

ing

pow

erby

iden

tify

ing

wit

hn

atio

nal

good

2.3.

For

deca

des,

Det

roit

has

been

the

cen

ter

ofth

eau

tom

obile

wor

ldan

dh

ome

toth

eB

igT

hre

eau

togi

ants

.Th

efa

ctth

atth

eci

tyap

pear

sto

bein

term

inal

decl

ine

seem

edto

brin

ga

grea

ter

focu

son

the

lan

dmar

kde

velo

pmen

tin

desi

gnan

dth

efl

edgl

ing

mar

ket

inIn

dia.

...(

Raj

ghat

ta,2

008)

2.3.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

nat

ion

alid

enti

tyan

dec

onom

icgr

owth

;neu

tral

izin

gpo

wer

byid

enti

fyin

gw

ith

nat

ion

algo

od

(con

tinu

ed)



Tab

le1

Con

tinu

ed

Mar

kers

Exa

mpl

esSp

ecifi

cst

rate

gies

2.4.

Th

ebu

lkof

Ford

’slo

sses

cam

efr

omit

sh

ome

mar

ket

wh

ere

ith

asfa

ced

ast

eady

loss

ofm

arke

tsh

are

toA

sian

riva

ls..

..(A

FP,2

008a

)2.

4.L

egit

imiz

atio

nvi

an

atio

nal

iden

tity

and

econ

omic

grow

th

Glo

bal

colla

bora

tion

s3.

1.T

he

wh

ole

buzz

that

the

Tat

aon

e-la

khca

rN

ano

may

face

prob

lem

sin

attr

acti

ng

buye

rsin

the

Wes

tern

wor

ldm

ayn

otbe

corr

ect.

Th

epe

ople

’sca

r,N

ano,

has

far

exce

eded

the

expe

ctat

ion

sof

the

fore

ign

med

iaan

dm

edia

pers

ons

ET

spok

eto

.(M

amga

in&

Ath

ale,

2008

)

3.1.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

econ

omic

grow

th,

tech

nol

ogy,

and

nat

ion

alid

enti

ty

3.2.

Bri

tain

lau

nch

esa

mig

hty

push

for

a‘n

ewde

al’w

ith

Indi

aon

Mon

day

wit

han

ambi

tiou

sst

ars-

in-o

ur-

eyes

drea

mbl

uep

rin

tfo

rT

ata

tobe

com

eth

e21

st-c

entu

ry’s

Nis

san

byu

sin

gth

eU

Kas

abe

ach

hea

dfo

rth

ela

rge

and

lucr

ativ

eE

uro

pean

mar

ket.

(Lal

l,20

08)

3.2.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

econ

omic

grow

th,n

atio

nal

iden

tity

,an

dex

pert

pron

oun

cem

ent;

neu

tral

izin

gpo

wer

byid

enti

fyin

gw

ith

nat

ion

algo

od

3.3.

Th

ebo

dyst

ruct

ure

ofth

en

ewR

son

ela

khT

ata

Nan

oca

rw

illbe

built

byN

RI

indu

stri

alis

tL

ord

Swra

jPau

l-ow

ned

Cap

aro

Gro

up.

(PT

I,20

08c)

3.3.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

tech

nol

ogy,

nat

ion

alid

enti

tyan

dgl

obal

part

icip

atio

n

3.4.

Sam

coM

ach

iner

yL

td,a

Can

ada-

base

dro

llfo

rmin

gsy

stem

man

ufa

ctu

rer,

will

supp

lyau

topa

rts

for

wor

ld’s

chea

pest

car

Tat

aN

ano.

...(

PT

I,20

08b)

3.4.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

tech

nol

ogy,

nat

ion

alid

enti

tyan

dgl

obal

part

icip

atio

n

Tec

hn

olog

ical

adva

nce

men

t4.

1.In

nov

ativ

ebo

ndi

ng

tech

nol

ogy

...

hav

eal

lpla

yed

smal

lbu

tcr

itic

alro

les

insl

ash

ing

mat

eria

lsco

sts

and

wei

ght

resu

ltin

gin

the

car’

sfu

elef

fici

ency

.(D

aru

khan

awal

a,20

08c)

4.1.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

tech

nol

ogy,

nat

ion

alid

enti

ty,

econ

omic

grow

th,a

nd

expe

rtpr

onou

nce

men

t;pl

ausi

ble

den

iabi

lity

via

tech

nol

ogy

4.2.

Ifth

atis

n’t

good

valu

een

gin

eeri

ng,

pray

tell

us

wh

atis

,for

aca

rth

atyo

uca

nbu

yfo

rth

epr

ice

ofto

pn

otch

TA

GH

euer

spor

tsw

atch

?(D

aru

khan

awal

a,20

08b)

4.2.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

tech

nol

ogy,

fam

e,an

dex

pert

pron

oun

cem

ent;

plau

sibl

ede

nia

bilit

yvi

ate

chn

olog

y

(con

tinu

ed)



Tab

le1

Con

tinu

ed

Mar

kers

Exa

mpl

esSp

ecifi

cst

rate

gies

4.3.

‘‘It’

sfa

rbe

tter

than

wh

atI

expe

cted

,’’sa

ysU

S-ba

sed

New

sWee

kM

agaz

ine

repo

rter

Jaso

nO

verd

orf.

‘‘It’

sa

wor

ld-c

lass

inn

ovat

ion

that

has

com

efr

omIn

dia.

(Mam

gain

&A

thal

e,20

08)

4.3.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

tech

nol

ogy,

nat

ion

alid

enti

ty,f

ame,

expe

rtpr

onou

nce

men

t;n

eutr

aliz

ing

orga

niz

atio

nal

pow

erby

iden

tify

ing

wit

hn

atio

nal

good

4.4.

Yes

,In

dian

engi

nee

rs—

give

nth

eri

ght

chal

len

ges

and

lead

ersh

ip—

can

out-

inn

ovat

ean

dou

t-en

gin

eer

oth

ers.

(Pra

hal

ad,

2008

)

4.4.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

tech

nol

ogy,

nat

ion

alid

enti

ty,e

xper

tpr

onou

nce

men

t;n

eutr

aliz

ing

pow

erby

iden

tify

ing

wit

hn

atio

nal

good

4.5.

...

his

grou

pla

stye

arsi

gned

anag

reem

ent

wit

hM

DI,

apr

ivat

eFr

ench

com

pan

yde

velo

pin

gca

rsdr

iven

byco

mpr

esse

dai

r.(I

AN

S,20

08)

4.5.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

tech

nol

ogy

and

nat

ion

alid

enti

ty;i

nte

rsec

tsw

ith

glob

alco

llabo

rati

ons

and

har

bin

ger

for

futu

read

van

ces

Har

bin

ger

for

futu

read

van

ces

5.1.

Th

epr

opos

al,w

hic

his

both

asi

gnifi

can

t—an

dsy

mbo

lic—

indi

cato

rof

the

grea

tte

cton

icsh

ift

east

war

dsin

the

new

geo-

polit

ics

ofec

onom

ics,

com

esju

stda

ysaf

ter

Tat

age

ner

ated

hea

dlin

esw

orld

wid

ew

ith

Nan

o...

.(L

all,

2008

)

5.1.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

nat

ion

alid

enti

ty,h

isto

ry,

and

econ

omic

grow

th;n

eutr

aliz

ing

pow

erby

iden

tify

ing

wit

hn

atio

nal

good

5.2.

Th

eN

ano

also

shed

slig

ht

onh

owto

leve

rage

emer

gin

gm

arke

tsas

inn

ovat

ion

hu

bs..

..W

eca

nal

sou

seco

nst

rain

tsas

leve

rsfo

rbr

eakt

hro

ugh

thin

kin

g.(P

rah

alad

,200

8)

5.2.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

nat

ion

alid

enti

ty,h

isto

ry,

econ

omic

grow

than

dte

chn

olog

y;n

eutr

aliz

ing

pow

erby

iden

tify

ing

wit

hn

atio

nal

good

5.3.

Seco

nd,

itw

illbr

ing

out

nic

he

outs

ourc

ing

oppo

rtu

nit

ies

aris

ing

out

ofIn

dia.

Tat

a’s

Nan

oca

rh

assh

own

Indi

anfi

rms

hav

ea

lot

toof

fer

inte

rms

ofen

gin

eeri

ng

and

desi

gn.(

Sach

deva

,200

8)

5.3.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

nat

ion

alid

enti

ty,e

con

omic

grow

th,a

nd

tech

nol

ogy;

neu

tral

izin

gpo

wer

byid

enti

fyin

gw

ith

nat

ion

algo

od

5.4.

Tel

fer

Sch

oolo

fMan

agem

ent

Dea

nM

ich

aelJ

Kel

lysa

idC

anad

ian

com

pan

ies

shou

ldn

otm

iss

grea

tbu

sin

ess

aven

ues

inIn

dia.

‘‘...

As

am

arke

t,ba

ckof

fice

,res

earc

han

dde

velo

pmen

th

ub

and

sou

rce

offu

ture

com

peti

tors

,In

dia

shou

ldbe

onto

pof

the

min

dfo

rC

anad

ian

top

exec

uti

ves.

...’’

(PT

I,20

08b)

5.4.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

nat

ion

alid

enti

ty,f

ame,

econ

omic

grow

th,e

xper

tpr

onou

nce

men

t,an

dte

chn

olog

y;n

eutr

aliz

ing

pow

erby

iden

tify

ing

wit

hn

atio

nal

good



and Canadian manufacturing partnerships behind the Nano (PTI, 2008b, 2008c). Inthe case of the British collaboration, the involvement of noted industrialist-turned-member of the House of Lords, Lord Swraj Paul, who is himself of Indian origin,further built on the idea of Indian business leadership in the global arena. Discussingthe possible entry of the Nano in Western markets, another article highlights issuesof both economic growth and national identity, and identifies the corporate projectwith national progress (Mamgain & Athale, 2008).

Technological (industrial) advancement is posited as the choice path to India’seconomic development. Several articles highlight the advances by (and recogni-tion due to) Indian designers/engineers, and contrast them to the failures of othercountries/companies. Prahalad (2008) writes: ‘‘Yes, Indian engineers—given theright challenges and leadership—can out-innovate and out-engineer others. Seldomdoes a single product introduction challenge the received wisdom in the industryso radically.’’ There is also the direct acknowledgement that Indians are superbat judicial cost-cutting, ‘‘resulting in the car’s fuel efficiency’’ (Darukhanawala,2008c), traditionally considered a desirable trait in Indian culture (Dissanayake,1987).

The final marker treated the Nano as a harbinger for future advances for Indianfirms and the State, adopting an explicit macro/organizational frame, as opposedto the more community-centered ‘‘delivering on aspirations’’ marker seen later.While reporting on a British delegation in Delhi, Lall (2008) contended that theNano launch was a ‘‘significant—and symbolic—indicator of the great tectonic shifteastwards in the new geo-politics of economics.’’ Another story, about an industry-level meeting of Indian information technology companies, asserted that the Nano‘‘has shown Indian firms have a lot to offer in terms of engineering and design’’(Sachdeva, 2008)—even for industries, like IT, which are relatively unrelated toautomotives.

Table 1 aligns the markers with the specific reification strategies used. Legitimiza-tion occurs via emphasizing history-in-the-making, fame on the global stage, nationalidentity, assurances of economic growth, community welfare, rational pronounce-ments by experts, and technological advances as safeguards. Garbing corporatedevelopment as national progress legitimizes the organizational project; althoughthe company’s financial, economic, and political clout are alluded to, neutralizationis achieved by arguing that this power is harnessed for the ‘‘national good.’’ Tech-nological advancement also legitimizes the organizational view, especially becauseinternally developed technology and heavy industry was emphasized in India rightfrom the country’s inception (Guha, 2008). Pronouncements by management gurus,engineers, and journalists on the ‘‘greatness’’ of the Nano are treated as gospeltruth. Although technological specifications related to emission norms and so on arementioned, these are usually relegated to the inside pages (being of longer length)and not as prominently featured as the more general stories celebrating the Nano’slaunch—thus avoiding widespread engagement with the issue and allowing a certainmeasure of ambiguity (also, technocrat jargon) to creep in.



Constructing a new Indian citizenAn important marker of the second theme—scripting of the ‘‘new’’ Indian business-man and citizen in a global age—was the personal valorization of Chairman RatanTata as Business Icon. Admittedly, much of this valorization comes from the orga-nization itself, in its framing of press releases and media interviews. For instance, theline ‘‘a promise is a promise’’ (Reuters, 2008b), used liberally in the media coverage,was both in the officially issued release (T.M., 2008c) and uttered by Tata himself atthe Nano launch (Tata, 2008). Its unfiltered transmission from official mouthpieceto national daily legitimizes organizational reality via the corporate leader’s personalintegrity and speaks of the strong organization–media linkages. Tata is portrayed as acommitted Indian, one who stood up for his ‘‘vision’’ (TOI, 2008f), delivering salva-tion to thousands of his fellow citizens. Prahalad (2008) declares, ‘‘Ratan Tata, TataMotors, and all the suppliers and dealers deserve our thanks for rekindling the inno-vative spirit of India.’’ Legitimization takes on a national/collective hue, operatingvia both expert pronouncement and personal integrity. Although the CEO is clearlypowerful, his dominant position is neutralized by his motive: betterment of fellowcitizens.

Although the CEO’s rationality acts as a legitimizer in its own right, it is alsolinked to entrepreneurship, and both are constructed as desirable traits in the newIndian. When Tata is asked in an interview to compare the Nano launch to the2007 acquisition of Anglo-Dutch steel major Corus by group company Tata Steel,he plays up the entrepreneurial act of creation (Surendar & Bose, 2008). Althoughthe US$12 billion Corus buy was the largest overseas buy by an Indian company, hesays, ‘‘Corus was a transaction. It got a lot of visibility but we didn’t build anything.’’On the other hand, with the Nano, ‘‘there is a different level of excitement when youare building something.’’ This needs to be understood in perspective, as an ongoingdominant discourse of emerging economy aspirations (Menon & Nigam, 2008):For instance, another stalwart of Indian industry notes that ‘‘India’s entrepreneurialgrowth is the kind that the world’s markets have been waiting for’’ (Nilekani, 2008,p. 135), driving domestic and global growth. At the same time, such a discourse isat odds with the State-dependent, slow-moving growth targets of the 20th centuryIndian business (Khandwalla, 2002).

The valorization marker is related to the idea of team cohesion, evident in articlespraising the Tata team for ‘‘sticking doggedly to their task and beavering away’’ todeliver the small car (Darukhanawala, 2008a), a quality in line with traditionallyperceived Indian culture praising selfless/dedicated hard work (Dissanayake, 1987).Technological advancement and innovation are held to result directly from a‘‘collective thought process . . . engulfing everyone from the man at the helm of affairsto the shop floor operator’’ (Darukhanawala, 2008b), propagating the collectivistnotion of Indian culture (Nelson & Gopalan, 2003). Tata replied to an interviewquestion about his (eventual) successor, saying that, while there were a number oftalented people in his ‘‘team,’’ he would not announce his successor beforehand, toprevent team dissent (Surendar & Bose, 2008).



The final marker emphasized delivering on the aspirations of ordinary (urban)Indian citizens, and was the most common (also, forceful/emotive) throughout theTOI coverage, as seen in the construction of the Nano as the ‘‘people’s car’’ (Tata,2008). The unproblematic scripting of Tata’s ‘‘image of a lower middle-class manon a scooter’’ (TOI, 2008f) focuses on Nano-empowered mobility. Another streamfocused on the facts/figures of business analysts to report in hard numbers whatthe moralist/aspiration-based narrative did: ‘‘a 65 per cent increase in the numberof families that can afford a car’’ because of the Nano (Agencies, 2008). Car dealertestimonies also attested to mass queries on the Nano, showcasing how the car maypotentially bridge the urban–rural divide (Doval, 2008b).

Table 2 lists the markers and specific reification strategies of the ‘‘constructinga new Indian citizen’’ core theme. Legitimization occurs through personal integrityof the corporate leader, inverting the situation documented by Clair (1998) wherepersonalization is used to disqualify social actors; in this situation, the strengthof personal integrity and expert pronouncement bolsters organizational legitimacy.The organization’s rationality and team participative experience also legitimize theproject. In addition, legitimization occurs through State partnership and authority,assurances of economic growth, and promised fulfillment of community/nationalaspirations. Identifying with these aspirations masks the organization’s dominantpower/value positions, which are explicitly tied to national growth/development. Atthe same time, tensions abound between personal valorization and team cohesion,and between path-breaking entrepreneurship and selfless, dedicated hard work,sufficiently problematizing what it means to be an ‘‘old’’ or ‘‘new’’ Indian citizen inthe 21st century.

Watching the StateTable 3 aligns the markers of the ‘‘watching the State’’ core theme with the strategies ofreification and disbarment. Several articles published during the period under reviewhighlighted the statements made by State officials on the Nano project, most likelybecause of the mainstream media’s traditional emphasis on matters of prominenceand impact (Bender, Davenport, Drager, & Fedler, 2009). This orientation givesmore weight to high-ranking State administrators in the capital and other prominentactors (political, corporate, or activist), compared to unknown protesters in therural hinterland. In prominently featuring the State’s basic argument (of eventualeconomic gains to people of Singur and the entire state) in favor of the Nano project,the TOI coverage showcases the deep linkages between industry/organizations and theState. For instance, in a representation of explicit support and approval, State officialsare said to have ‘‘expressed happiness’’ (PTI, 2008d) over the unveiling of the Nano.Other references suggest the State’s active assistance to the company border on thelevel of coauthorship; for example, in the announcement of a new irrigation projectat Singur expected to help the new factory, and the state industry minister evenannouncing when the car would eventually roll out for mass production (Reuters,2008a; TOI, 2008e). Another story toward the end of January 2008, after the car had



Tab

le2

Dat

aSu

ppor

tin

gth

eT

hem

e‘‘C

onst

ruct

ing

aN

ewIn

dian

Cit

izen

’’

Mar

kers

Exa

mpl

esSp

ecifi

cSt

rate

gies

Per

son

alva

lori

zati

on1.

1.A

sR

atan

Tat

ah

imse

lfsa

idla

ter

inth

eda

y,it

was

the

imag

eof

alo

wer

mid

dle-

clas

sm

anon

asc

oote

r—th

eel

der

kid

stan

din

gin

fron

tof

the

driv

er-f

ath

eran

dth

ew

ife

ridi

ng

pilli

onw

ith

aba

byon

her

lap

—th

atke

ptpl

ayin

gon

his

min

d.(T

OI,

2008

f)

1.1.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

pers

onal

inte

grit

yan

dec

onom

icgr

owth

;neu

tral

izin

gpo

wer

byid

enti

fyin

gw

ith

com

mu

nit

yas

pira

tion

s

1.2.

Iqba

lfro

mM

um

baic

oncu

rs:‘

‘Ofc

ours

eI

will

buy

one!

Kee

pit

up,

Tat

as.Y

our

wor

ds‘a

prom

ise

isa

prom

ise’

hav

ew

onm

eov

er!’’

(TO

I,20

08d)

1.2.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

pers

onal

inte

grit

yan

dec

onom

icgr

owth

1.3.

Cor

us

was

atr

ansa

ctio

n.I

tgo

ta

lot

ofvi

sibi

lity

but

we

didn

’tbu

ildan

yth

ing.

Th

ere

isa

diff

eren

tle

velo

fexc

item

ent

wh

enyo

uar

ebu

ildin

gso

met

hin

g.(S

ure

nda

r&

Bos

e,20

08)

1.3.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

pers

onal

inte

grit

yan

dec

onom

icgr

owth

;neu

tral

izin

gpo

wer

byid

enti

fyin

gw

ith

nat

ion

alas

pira

tion

s;ra

tion

alit

yvi

aen

trep

ren

eurs

hip

1.4.

Bu

tto

Tat

a’s

cred

it,n

om

ove

was

mad

eto

evic

tth

epr

otes

ters

from

the

hal

l.(B

hat

tach

arya

,200

8)1.

4.L

egit

imiz

atio

nvi

ape

rson

alin

tegr

ity

and

rati

onal

ity

1.5.

Wh

atan

extr

aord

inar

yN

ewY

ear

gift

toIn

dia

and

the

wor

ld!T

oor

din

ary

peop

le!R

atan

Tat

a,T

ata

Mot

ors,

and

allt

he

supp

liers

and

deal

ers

dese

rve

our

than

ksfo

rre

kin

dlin

gth

ein

nov

ativ

esp

irit

ofIn

dia.

(Pra

hal

ad,2

008)

1.5.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

pers

onal

inte

grit

yan

dec

onom

icgr

owth

;neu

tral

izin

gpo

wer

byid

enti

fyin

gw

ith

nat

ion

alas

pira

tion

s;ra

tion

alit

yvi

aen

trep

ren

eurs

hip

Tea

mco

hes

ion

2.1.

Cre

dit

the

team

led

byR

atan

Tat

afo

rst

icki

ng

dogg

edly

toth

eir

task

and

beav

erin

gaw

ayfo

ral

mos

ta

deca

de..

..(

Dar

ukh

anaw

ala,

2008

a)

2.1.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

pers

onal

inte

grit

y,h

isto

ry,a

nd

part

icip

ativ

eex

peri

ence

;neu

tral

izin

gpo

wer

byid

enti

fyin

gw

ith

nat

ion

alas

pira

tion

s

2.2.

Th

ech

alle

nge

was

also

the

attr

acti

on,e

ngu

lfin

gev

eryo

ne

from

the

man

atth

eh

elm

ofaf

fair

sto

the

shop

floo

rop

erat

or..

..T

his

colle

ctiv

eth

ough

tpro

cess

was

perh

aps

the

bigg

estm

oney

save

ran

dth

ela

rges

tre

posi

tory

ofco

mm

onse

nse

brou

ght

tobe

aron

aca

rev

eryo

ne

wan

ted

topl

aya

role

incr

eati

ng.

(Dar

ukh

anaw

ala,

2008

b)

2.2.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

part

icip

atio

nan

dte

chn

olog

y;n

eutr

aliz

ing

pow

erby

iden

tify

ing

wit

hco

mm

un

ity

aspi

rati

ons;

rati

onal

ity

via

entr

epre

neu

rsh

ip (con

tinu

ed)



Tab

le2

Con

tinu

ed

Mar

kers

Exa

mpl

esSp

ecifi

cSt

rate

gies

2.3.

Th

ere

ason

Mr

Aor

Mr

B,o

rM

sor

Mrs

C,i

sn

otn

amed

isbe

cau

seto

doth

atto

oea

rly

isal

soba

d.B

ecau

seth

atpe

rson

isth

enas

kin

gth

equ

esti

on‘W

hen

are

you

goin

gto

leav

e?’S

econ

dly,

thos

ew

ho

may

wan

tto

un

seat

that

pers

onw

illbe

har

dat

wor

ktr

yin

gto

mak

eth

ath

appe

n.I

thin

ka

year

or18

mon

ths

befo

re,t

he

thin

gsh

ould

bean

nou

nce

dor

the

pers

onsh

ould

bean

oin

ted

and

one

star

tsto

give

that

pers

ona

chan

ceto

oper

ate.

(Su

ren

dar

&B

ose,

2008

)

2.3.

Leg

itim

acy

via

pers

onal

inte

grit

yan

dpa

rtic

ipat

ion

Del

iver

ance

onas

pira

tion

s3.

1.T

he

mu

ch-a

wai

ted

‘‘peo

ple’

sca

r’’w

illro

llou

tof

the

Sin

gur

fact

ory

onti

me,

the

stat

ego

vern

men

tsa

idon

Tu

esda

y...

.(T

OI,

2008

e)3.

1.L

egit

imac

yvi

aco

mm

un

ity

aspi

rati

ons

and

Stat

epa

rtn

ersh

ip;n

eutr

aliz

ing

pow

erby

iden

tify

ing

wit

hco

mm

un

ity

aspi

rati

ons

3.2.

For

thos

ew

anti

ng

tofe

elIn

dia’

sec

onom

icse

lf-c

onfi

den

ceas

itta

kes

onth

ew

orld

,all

they

had

todo

was

toex

peri

ence

the

blar

ing

mu

sic

from

‘‘200

1:A

Spac

eO

dyss

ey’’

and

the

flas

hes

ofsc

ores

ofca

mer

asas

the

Tat

aN

ano

was

driv

enou

t.(R

eute

rs,2

008b

)

3.2.

Leg

itim

acy

via

nat

ion

alid

enti

ty,h

isto

ry,

econ

omic

grow

th,a

nd

tech

nol

ogy;

neu

tral

izin

gpo

wer

byid

enti

fyin

gw

ith

com

mu

nit

yas

pira

tion

s

3.3.

Indi

a’s

car

mar

ket

isa

hu

gedr

awbe

cau

seca

rpe

net

rati

onis

just

seve

npe

r1,

000

peop

le,c

ompa

red

to55

0pe

r1,

000

insu

chco

un

trie

sas

Ger

man

yor

476

inFr

ance

....(

AFP

,200

8b)

3.3.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

econ

omic

grow

than

dra

tion

alit

y;n

eutr

aliz

ing

pow

erby

iden

tify

ing

wit

hco

mm

un

ity

aspi

rati

ons

3.4.

Th

eyco

me

tose

eh

ope

emer

geon

wh

eels

.For

this

‘lakh

taki

a’ca

r,as

stre

etpe

ople

hav

eal

read

yn

amed

it,h

asen

able

dm

illio

ns

todr

eam

ofa

life

beyo

nd

the

mot

orbi

ke.A

nd,

toth

edi

scer

nin

gob

serv

er,h

asth

epo

ten

tial

ofch

angi

ng

the

dem

ogra

phy

ofca

row

ner

ship

inIn

dia.

(TO

I,20

08f)

3.4.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

com

mu

nit

yas

pira

tion

s,ec

onom

icgr

owth

,an

dte

chn

olog

y;n

eutr

aliz

ing

pow

erby

iden

tify

ing

wit

hco

mm

un

ity

aspi

rati

ons

(con

tinu

ed)



Tab

le2

Con

tinu

ed

Mar

kers

Exa

mpl

esSp

ecifi

cSt

rate

gies

3.5.

Mu

mba

i’sN

ith

inag

rees

:‘‘G

ood

job,

Tat

as!.

...T

he

com

mon

man

will

alw

ays

than

kyo

ugu

ysfo

rth

isaw

esom

egi

ft.Y

ouh

ave

mad

eIn

dia

prou

d!’’

(TO

I,20

08d)

3.5.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

nat

ion

alid

enti

ty,e

con

omic

grow

th,a

nd

aspi

rati

ons;

neu

tral

izin

gpo

wer

byid

enti

fyin

gw

ith

com

mu

nit

yas

pira

tion

s

3.6.

‘‘Gre

atde

al!M

r.R

atan

TA

TA

...

hat

sof

fto

you..

..I

feel

prou

dto

beyo

ur

cou

ntr

yman

....

’’(T

OI,

2008

d)3.

6.L

egit

imiz

atio

nvi

an

atio

nal

iden

tity

,eco

nom

icgr

owth

,an

das

pira

tion

s;n

eutr

aliz

ing

pow

erby

iden

tify

ing

wit

hco

mm

un

ity

aspi

rati

ons

3.7.

Bin

odA

ggar

wal

,wh

oh

asth

ree

Tat

aca

rou

tlet

sin

Kol

kata

,sa

idth

eyw

ere

rece

ivin

gqu

erie

sev

enfr

omvi

llage

s.‘‘W

ear

ege

ttin

gca

llsfr

omvi

llage

san

dev

enou

ras

soci

ates

wh

oh

ave

deal

ersh

ips

ther

ear

ese

ein

ga

good

leve

lofi

nte

rest

abou

tN

ano,

’’A

ggar

wal

said

.(D

oval

,200

8b)

3.7.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

econ

omic

grow

than

dco

mm

un

ity

aspi

rati

ons

3.8.

Th

ech

eape

stca

rin

the

wor

ld,N

ano,

un

veile

dby

the

Tat

as,

cou

ldtr

ansl

ate

into

a65

per

cen

tin

crea

sein

the

nu

mbe

rof

fam

ilies

that

can

affo

rda

car,

aspe

rth

ees

tim

ates

byC

risi

lR

esea

rch

.(A

gen

cies

,200

8)

3.8.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

fam

e,ec

onom

icgr

owth

,an

dra

tion

alit

y



Tab

le3

Dat

aSu

ppor

tin

gth

eT

hem

e‘‘W

atch

ing

the

Stat

e’’

Mar

kers

Exa

mpl

esSp

ecifi

cst

rate

gies

Org

aniz

atio

n–

Stat

elin

kage

s1.

1.A

sked

wh

enth

eSi

ngu

rfa

ctor

yw

ould

begi

np

rodu

ctio

n,t

he

min

iste

rsa

id,‘

‘Wor

kis

goin

gon

ata

fast

pac

e.W

hy

don

’tyo

ugo

and

see

for

you

rsel

ves?

’’(T

OI,

2008

e)

1.1.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

Stat

epa

rtn

ersh

ipan

dvi

sibi

lity

ofp

rom

inen

tp

laye

rs;n

eutr

aliz

ing

pow

erby

iden

tify

ing

wit

hco

mm

ongo

od

1.2.

MP

Ru

pch

and

Pal

,wh

oal

soat

ten

ded

the

mee

tin

gon

Tu

esda

y,sa

id,

‘‘Th

eca

rsw

illro

llou

tin

the

mid

dle

of20

08as

sch

edu

led.

Th

ere

isn

op

robl

emn

ow,r

esid

ents

are

coop

erat

ing

beca

use

they

,too

,are

gett

ing

jobs

.’’(T

OI,

2008

e)

1.2.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

Stat

epa

rtn

ersh

ip,e

con

omic

grow

th,a

nd

visi

bilit

yof

prom

inen

tp

laye

rs;n

eutr

aliz

ing

pow

erby

iden

tify

ing

wit

hco

mm

ongo

od;o

bjec

tify

ing

hu

man

loss

wit

hou

tade

quat

ede

tails

and

sugg

esti

ng

that

prot

ests

are

imm

ater

ial

1.3.

‘‘We

are

hap

py.

Wes

tB

enga

lwill

ben

efit

from

the

Tat

a’s

Sin

gur

proj

ect,

’’h

eto

ldre

port

ers.

(PT

I,20

08d)

1.3.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

Stat

epa

rtn

ersh

ipan

dec

onom

icgr

owth

;neu

tral

izin

gp

ower

byid

enti

fyin

gw

ith

com

mon

good

1.4.

Ina

maj

orbo

ost

toth

eB

udd

had

ebB

hat

tach

arje

ego

vern

men

t,C

alcu

tta

Hig

hC

ourt

onFr

iday

pu

tit

sse

alon

the

stat

e’s

lan

dac

quis

itio

nin

Sin

gur,

pavi

ng

way

for

Tat

aM

otor

s’N

ano

toro

llou

tfr

omth

ere.

(TO

I,20

08c)

1.4.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

Stat

epa

rtn

ersh

ip;c

ompl

ete

abse

nce

ofpr

otes

ts,o

bjec

tify

ing

hu

man

loss

Wat

chd

ogey

eon

the

Stat

e2.

1.St

ates

wou

ld,h

owev

er,h

ave

toen

sure

that

dev

elop

ers

acqu

ire

only

sin

gle-

crop

and

barr

enla

nd.

‘‘We

will

take

avi

ewon

this

and

hav

ea

fres

hlo

ok(a

fter

the

Bill

isp

asse

d)on

aca

se-b

y-ca

seba

sis,

’’P

illai

said

.(T

OI,

2007

)

2.1.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

Stat

eau

thor

ity;

focu

son

Stat

edy

nam

ics

and

pro

min

ent

indi

vidu

als;

obje

ctif

yin

gh

um

anlo

ssby

not

desc

ribi

ng

prot

ests

/p

rote

ster

sat

all

2.2.

Ter

min

gth

ede

cisi

onto

allo

wth

eca

rp

lan

tat

Sin

gur

asa

‘‘mis

take

,’’h

eas

ked

the

stat

ego

vern

men

tto

take

corr

ecti

vest

eps.

Ata

rally

inB

ajem

elia

,G

hos

hsa

idth

eT

ata

fact

ory

cou

ldn

’tco

me

up

onth

efe

rtile

Sin

gur

lan

d.(T

OI,

2008

b)

2.2.

Seem

ingl

ya

crit

iqu

eof

the

com

pan

y,bu

tfo

cus

clea

rly

onSt

ate

and

polit

ical

acto

rs;p

rote

ster

s’lo

ssob

ject

ified

2.3.

Com

mer

cean

din

dust

ries

secr

etar

ySa

byas

ach

iSen

told

TO

Ith

atth

ede

cisi

onto

dire

ctly

buy

out

lan

dw

asa

fallo

ut

ofth

ebi

tter

expe

rien

cein

Sin

gur.

‘‘We

exp

erim

ente

dw

ith

acqu

isit

ion

.Let

’sse

eh

owa

neg

otia

ted

purc

has

ew

orks

out,

’’h

esa

id.(

TO

I,20

08a)

2.3.

Ack

now

ledg

esh

um

anlo

ssbu

tin

anad

min

istr

ativ

eob

ject

ive

sen

se;f

ocu

scl

earl

yon

Stat

ean

dp

olit

ical

dyn

amic

s



been launched, strikes a pat-on-the-back tone for the State, almost congratulating iton the legal validity of its land acquisition at Singur (TOI, 2008c). Other prominentpoliticians are seen to celebrate with Tata, for instance, the right-wing BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) stated that ‘‘reservations’’ should be made for the car, so thatthe Nano was readily available to India’s underprivileged classes (PTI, 2008a). Thiswas ironic, given the BJP’s initial acrimony toward the car on account of theland acquisitions (PTI, 2006), and suggests that the fever-pitch media campaignshowcasing the Nano made it politically untenable to oppose it. Interestingly, theorganization–State linkages marker either ignores the Singur protests completely(as in PTI, 2008a and TOI, 2008c) or downplays them: ‘‘There is no problem now,residents are cooperating because they, too, are getting jobs’’ (TOI, 2008e). Silencethus becomes an active, if implicit, strategy for disbarment.

The second (explicit) marker of this theme was the media’s watchdog eye onthe State, in terms of tracking dynamics, tensions, and events within the politicalestablishment, as a fallout of the Singur protests. With the land acquisition protestsbecoming increasingly agitated, TOI (2008b) reported, ‘‘The differences amongLeft Front partners on industrialization came to the fore yet again on Sunday,with Forward Bloc leader Ashok Ghosh asking the Tatas to wind up their Singursmall-car factory within a year.’’ Although this first strikes one as a critique of theorganizational project, a deeper reading of the article shows that the protesters arenever themselves in the center stage, rather, the article focuses on a prominentpolitician. The story’s core is thus the political frictions within the State, and ituses the Singur protests as a mere backdrop, treating them in cursory terms andthus objectifying the humanist narrative of loss. Later, while reporting on anotherindustrial project the State is involved with, the media coverage notes ‘‘the bitterexperience in Singur’’ (TOI, 2008a). However, although human loss is acknowledgedhere, an administrative/objective lens is adopted, so that the focus remains on theState and political dynamics.

This theme presented an interesting amalgam of the reification and disbarmentstrategies, while centering silence or a lack of voice as an important (implicit)strategy. The visibility of prominent players (political and corporate) and theorganization–State partnership provide legitimacy to the Nano project, as well asneutralize organizational power, because it is said to be harnessed for the commongood. The few instances here where the media coverage seems critical of the landacquisition in Singur must be seen together with the overwhelmingly positiveportrayal of the company in the two earlier core themes; moreover, the critique hereis always uttered by a third party, never the journalist himself (TOI, 2008a, 2008b).The rare mention of the land acquisition protests is never detailed, and the storiesdo not grapple with humanist narratives of subaltern suffering. Thus, rather thanthe subjectification of alternative views (Clair, 1998; Deetz, 1992), this theme showsa tendency to objectify it and adopt a calm administrative tone that treats humanloss as obstacles to be sorted out in future initiatives by the State and industry.Personal tragedies are disqualified by simple absentia, on the ground that they fade



in comparison with statements by the State and prominent capitalists. This theme isthus rife with ambiguity, in its portrayal of the State and the citizenry.

Reframing the dissident as the antinationalThe final core theme operated at two distinct mesolevels: the environmentalist protests(largely urban) and the land acquisition in Singur (mainly rural). In both cases, theconstituent markers and strategies of reification/disbarment aligned to frame thedissident to the organizational project as opposed to national progress, as shown inTable 4.

The news coverage pays more attention to the environmentalists than to the Singurprotesters, perhaps because the urban news media deduced that their (largely) urbanaudience would want to know more about the (mainly) city-based environmentalists’allegations, rather than some far-flung villagers. The criticisms against the ‘‘sancti-monious greens’’ (Aiyar, 2008) are ordered along three markers. First, that their fearsare unfounded because the car is technologically faultless (Surendar & Bose, 2008)and so ‘‘this is a car the greens should embrace rather than oppose’’ (Darukhanawala,2008c), which falls in line with the technological advancement marker of the ‘‘global-national progress’’ core theme and also lends the organization a measure of plausibledeniability. Instead, so goes the argument, the environmentalists should treat thisas an invitation for future debate (Prahalad, 2008)—an approach that does nottake the environmentalists’ concerns seriously. Second, that campaigning against theNano will not solve any of the environmentalists’ core concerns, which can onlybe solved by petitioning the State for better infrastructure, energy efficiency, andso forth (Aiyar, 2008; Prahalad, 2008). Third, that the environmentalists are guiltyof ‘‘elitism parading as virtue’’ (Aiyar, 2008) and opposed to the interests of lowermiddle-class families who will benefit from the Nano (Surender & Bose, 2008). Thevery few dissenting views present in the media coverage were qualified by pro-Nanovoices; for instance, in a story reporting man-on-the-street testimonials on the car,there were only two voices of dissent. One of them is framed quite decidedly opposedto the nationalist project (‘‘I would like to leave India the very day this car comes onthe road’’), and placed right below (and in direct opposition to) a comment blatantlynationalist in fervor: ‘‘Great deal! Mr. Ratan TATA . . . hats off to you . . . . I feelproud to be your countryman’’ (TOI, 2008d).

On the mesolevel of the land acquisition protests, four explicit markers were seento operate: protesters as minority, as politically motivated, as objects of amusement,and as irrational alarmists or hardliners. The implicit marker of silence, or lack ofcoverage altogether, ensured there were very few mentions of the protesters duringthe period under review. In one of the few reports, the ‘‘group of six women’’ arecontrasted with the ‘‘huge mass of mediapersons and other people’’ (Bhattacharya,2008), othering them instantly from the larger community. Use of adjectives like‘‘provocative’’ shows the protesters as hardliners, alarmists, and needlessly antago-nistic. Apostrophes over the word ‘‘forcible’’ to describe the Singur land acquisitionbetray a lack of concern regarding the protesters’ stance, and the entire article sports



Tab

le4

Dat

aSu

ppor

tin

gth

eT

hem

e‘‘R

efra

min

gD

issi

den

tsas

An

tin

atio

nal

’’

Mar

ker/

indi

cato

rE

xam

ples

Spec

ific

stra

tegi

es

Env

iron

men

talis

tpr

otes

ters

Adv

ance

dte

chn

olog

yn

egat

esfe

ars

1.1.

Exc

eeds

Indi

anre

gula

tory

requ

irem

ents

and

can

mee

tst

rict

Eu

roIV

emis

sion

stan

dard

s.(A

FP,2

008b

)1.

1D

isqu

alifi

cati

onvi

ate

chn

olog

ical

adva

nce

s,ra

tion

alit

y;h

ollo

wpa

cifi

cati

onan

dpl

ausi

ble

den

iabi

lity

via

tech

nol

ogic

alad

van

ces

and

pers

onal

inte

grit

y1.

2.T

he

Nan

ois

apr

oper

lyth

ough

t-ou

tdes

ign

,effi

cien

tly

pack

aged

...

fuel

effi

cien

tan

dsp

ews

tail

pipe

emis

sion

slo

wer

than

som

etw

o-w

hee

lers

onth

em

arke

t.In

fact

,th

isis

aca

rth

egr

een

ssh

ould

embr

ace

rath

erth

anop

pose

.(D

aru

khan

awal

a,20

08c)

1.2.

Dis

qual

ifica

tion

,pla

usi

ble

den

iabi

lity

via

tech

nol

ogic

alad

van

ces;

labe

ling

‘‘gre

ens’

’doe

sn

otta

keen

viro

nm

enta

list

prot

ests

seri

ousl

y(s

ubj

ecti

fica

tion

asal

arm

ist)

1.3.

‘‘Ias

sure

that

peop

leca

nh

ave

aso

un

dsl

eep

now

barr

ing

the

mis

con

cept

ion

that

Nan

ow

ould

lead

toex

tra

emis

sion

s,’’

said

Mr

Tat

a.(M

amga

in&

Ath

ale,

2008

)

1.3.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

pers

onal

inte

grit

yan

dte

chn

olog

y(a

lso

disq

ual

ifies

and

prov

ides

plau

sibl

elia

bilit

y);

hol

low

paci

fica

tion

via

pers

onal

assu

ran

ces

Div

ertt

oSt

ate

and

envi

ron

men

t2.

1.T

he

villa

ins

inm

yn

igh

tmar

esar

en

eith

erth

eN

ano

nor

cars

over

all,

but

stu

pid

gove

rnm

ent

polic

ies

that

subs

idiz

ean

den

cou

rage

pollu

tion

,adu

lter

atio

nan

dco

nge

stio

n.(

Aiy

ar,2

008)

2.1.

Dis

qual

ifica

tion

via

tech

nol

ogy;

dive

rsio

nto

Stat

ere

spon

sibi

lity

aspl

ausi

ble

den

iabi

lity

2.2.

Wh

atab

out

pollu

tion

?C

onge

sted

road

s?P

oor

infr

astr

uct

ure

?I

thin

kth

isis

the

wro

ng

star

tin

gpo

int

for

deba

te.W

esh

ould

ask

ours

elf:

Wh

atif

we

devo

ted

the

sam

een

ergy

and

inge

nu

ity

toso

lvin

gth

epr

oble

ms

ofdi

scip

line

intr

affi

cm

anag

emen

t?(P

rah

alad

,200

8)

2.2.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

and

disq

ual

ifica

tion

via

tech

nol

ogy

adva

nce

s;di

vers

ion

toot

her

fact

ors

ofpo

lluti

on/c

onge

stio

nas

plau

sibl

ede

nia

bilit

y

(con

tinu

ed)



Tab

le4

Con

tinu

ed

Mar

ker/

indi

cato

rE

xam

ples

Spec

ific

stra

tegi

es

Elit

ism

atpl

ay3.

1.H

yder

abad

’sIm

ran

thin

kssi

mila

rly.

‘‘Iw

ould

like

tole

ave

Indi

ath

eve

ryda

yth

isca

rco

mes

onro

ad.I

can

not

imag

ine

com

mu

tin

gfo

r4

–5

hou

rsbe

twee

nm

yh

ome

and

offi

ce(b

ecau

seof

the

con

gest

ion

),’’

says

he.

(TO

I,20

08d)

3.1.

Subj

ecti

fica

tion

asel

itis

tan

dpo

litic

al(a

nd

hen

ce,

disq

ual

ified

)

3.2.

Hav

ew

ego

taf

ford

able

fam

ilytr

ansp

ort

inth

etw

oti

eran

dth

ree

tier

citi

es?

Isit

thei

rlo

tn

otto

hav

ea

veh

icle

?T

he

hu

gepo

ten

tial

lies

wh

enIn

dia

gets

con

nec

ted

inth

eru

rala

reas

.(S

ure

nda

r&

Bos

e,20

08)

3.2.

Leg

itim

izat

ion

via

pers

onal

inte

grit

y,n

atio

nal

grow

th,

and

com

mu

nit

yas

pira

tion

s;su

bjec

tifi

cati

onas

elit

ist

3.3.

San

ctim

onio

us

gree

ns

call

the

Nan

odi

sast

rou

sbe

cau

seof

its

affo

rdab

ility

....

Th

isis

elit

ism

para

din

gas

virt

ue.

Elit

egr

een

sow

nca

rs,b

ut

can

not

stan

dth

epo

orer

mas

ses

beco

min

gm

obile

....(

Aiy

ar,2

008)

3.3.

Dis

qual

ifica

tion

/su

bjec

tifi

cati

onas

elit

ist;

legi

tim

izat

ion

via

com

mu

nit

y/n

atio

nal

aspi

rati

ons

Land

acqu

isit

ion

prot

este

rs

Min

orit

y4.

1.A

mid

the

hu

gem

ass

ofm

edia

pers

ons

and

oth

erpe

ople

gath

ered

insi

deH

allN

o.11

for

afi

rst

look

atT

ata’

sN

ano

car,

agr

oup

ofsi

xw

omen

dres

sed

inw

hit

eT

-sh

irts

stoo

dou

t.(B

hat

tach

arya

,200

8)

4.1.

Dis

qual

ifica

tion

aspa

rtof

(an

onym

ous)

min

orit

y

Pol

itic

ally

mot

ivat

ed5.

1.‘‘S

ome

peop

lesa

idth

atw

esh

ould

call

ita

‘Bu

ddh

aca

r,’

wh

ileot

her

ssa

idth

atw

esh

ould

call

it‘M

amta

’or

‘Des

pite

Mam

ta.’

We

deci

ded

we

will

call

it‘N

ano,

’’’s

aid

Tat

a,dr

awin

gla

ugh

ter

from

the

crow

d.(T

OI,

2008

f)

5.1.

Subj

ecti

fica

tion

ofpr

otes

ters

aspo

litic

al;f

ocu

son

prom

inen

tpo

litic

ian

san

dn

otu

nkn

own

prot

este

rs;

disq

ual

ifica

tion

asob

ject

ofam

use

men

t,al

arm

ist

(con

tinu

ed)



Tab

le4

Con

tinu

ed

Mar

ker/

indi

cato

rE

xam

ples

Spec

ific

stra

tegi

es

5.2.

Th

ese

wer

eac

tivi

sts

from

afo

rum

ofle

ft-l

ean

ing

indi

vidu

als

and

orga

niz

atio

ns

that

calls

itse

lfth

eD

elh

iSol

idar

ity

Gro

up,

hol

din

ga

prot

est

agai

nst

the

‘‘for

cibl

e’’l

and

acqu

isit

ion

atSi

ngu

r,W

est

Ben

gal,

for

the

Tat

apl

ant

topr

odu

ceth

eR

s1

lakh

car.

(Bh

atta

char

ya,2

008)

5.2.

Subj

ecti

fica

tion

aspo

litic

al;u

seof

apos

trop

hes

un

ders

core

sst

atu

sas

obje

ctof

amu

sem

ent

not

take

nse

riou

sly

Obj

ect

ofam

use

men

t6.

1.St

andi

ng

ina

sin

gle

line,

the

wom

enw

ere

talk

ing

anim

ated

lyto

curi

ous

jou

rnal

ists

and

dist

ribu

tin

gle

aflet

s.(B

hat

tach

arya

,20

08)

6.1.

Dis

qual

ified

asob

ject

ofam

use

men

tan

dat

ten

tion

grab

bers

;adj

ecti

veim

plie

sla

ckof

seri

ousn

ess

6.2.

As

the

wom

enat

trac

ted

the

atte

nti

onof

med

iape

rson

s...

.(B

hat

tach

arya

,200

8)6.

2.D

isqu

alifi

ed/s

ubj

ecti

fied

asat

ten

tion

grab

bers

,med

iasp

ecta

cle

Irra

tion

alor

har

dlin

ers

7.1.

Wri

tten

inbo

ldre

don

thei

rT

-sh

irts

wer

epr

ovoc

ativ

ebl

urb

slik

e‘‘T

he

Rs

1la

khca

rh

asSi

ngu

rpe

ople

’sbl

ood

onit

’’an

dot

her

such

slog

ans.

(Bh

atta

char

ya,2

008)

7.1.

Subj

ecti

fied

asir

rati

onal

,har

dlin

ers,

and

polit

ical

7.2.

At

apr

ess

con

fere

nce

late

rin

the

day,

six

farm

ers

from

Sin

gur

clai

med

they

had

not

take

nth

eco

mpe

nsa

tion

bein

gof

fere

dfo

rth

eir

farm

lan

d.T

he

pres

sco

nfe

ren

cew

asad

dres

sed

byM

edh

aP

atka

r,am

ong

oth

ers.

(Bh

atta

char

ya,2

008)

7.2.

Rep

eate

du

seof

‘‘cla

imed

’’im

plie

sla

ckof

tru

th;f

ocu

son

prom

inen

tac

tivi

stra

ther

than

un

know

nfa

rmer

sob

ject

ifies

hu

man

loss



an air of bemused condescension (e.g., ‘‘organization that calls itself. . .’’). Also,the description of the protestors as ‘‘left-leaning’’ subjectifies them as partisan andpolitically motivated (in the vein of the Radical Left, no less!), in contrast to therational and apolitical organization. Interestingly, the excerpt marks explicitly that itwas ‘‘to Tatas’ credit’’ that the protesters were not forcibly removed, thus valorizingRatan Tata as the ideal citizen showing restraint and patience.

Another vein of subjectification occurs when Tata jokes that the Nano could wellhave been named after the politician leading the protests (TOI, 2008f), or when theprotesters are described as ‘‘talking animatedly to curious journalists’’ (Bhattacharya,2008), showcasing them as objects of amusement. Importantly, none of the mediareports offer any lifeworld narratives on the protesters, preferring instead to featureviolent anticorporate slogans that make tantalizing news copy.

As Figure 1 demonstrates, up to seven specific strategies of disbarment and reifi-cation were at play through the markers of this core theme. Silence was an implicitstrategy used, minimizing actual references to protests, in favor of prominent per-sonalities, and also skewing the coverage in favor of the environmentalists rather thanthe land acquisition protesters. However, in terms of the explicit strategies, subjecti-fication and disqualification were the most important and forceful. Dissidents weresubjectified (and disqualified) as politically motivated, alarmist, irrational, hardlin-ers, or objects of amusement. At the same time, they were objectified, with hardlyany mention of their lifeworld narratives or real humanist losses. Disqualificationalso occurred on the basis of technological advances of the organizational project,personal integrity of corporate leaders, and rhetorical alignment with nationalistgoals, all of which legitimized the organizational project and provided only hollowpacification of the protesters.

Discussion

In this article, I examined a situation of mediated colonization and silencing in thedeveloping world that demonstrates how dominant organizational interests might beserved via organization–media–State linkages. Specifically, I provided a conceptualframework to understand how media themes may be connected to specific strategiesof silencing, in ways that reify organizational hegemony and disbar dissidents. I willnow consider some of the theoretical and real-world implications of the findings.

The study reveals some interesting appropriations of colonizing/silencing strate-gies in the media context. First, Figure 1 shows that strategies of legitimizationand naturalization of the organizational/preferred view were the most widespread.Legitimization occurs through the unproblematic building of consensus—oftenstrongly worded in terms of national consensus—and the building of a commoncause through the Nano. This moves along multiple fronts, for example, in hypingthe ‘‘people’s car’’ tagline, as well as focusing on team cohesion at T.M. as thedriving force of innovation. Although the media discourse projects participation asthe main spirit behind the Nano—participation of the (urban) populace as well as



company employees—it also achieves a powerful discursive closure that shuts outalternative/opposing views.

Second, the neutralization of organizational subject positions here is interesting,in that rather than a complete denial of corporate power, the megaorganization isconstructed as a powerful but benign giant serving the nation. Such an interpretationhinges on the doctrine of free market fundamentalism, unproblematically equatingcorporate gains with national growth and development (Conrad, 2003; Herman &McChesney, 1998).

Third, personalization of discourse, rather than resulting in disqualification (Clair,1998), is used to reify the organizational view. Although no personal narratives ofdissidents are ever presented in the media, the personal story and integrity ofprominent corporate leaders such as Ratan Tata legitimize the organizational project.

Fourth, the study suggests that dissident views may be both objectified andsubjectified. Media priorities of prominence and (urban) impact de-privilege thepersonal narratives of unknown protesters and water down their human losses,while subjectifying them in terms of vested interests, as elitist, alarmist, irrational, orhardliners.

Finally, the study reaffirms that silence becomes an ‘‘active performance that isintertwined with discourse’’ (Clair, 1998; p. 25). Thus, silence or the lack of coverageon various topics (for instance, the protesters’ personal narratives, or in-depthengagement with their position, or a critique of the organization) was invaluable intracing out the specific strategies.

An important real-world implication of the study is its reframing of the global-ization debate in the developing world, specifically India. Although the mapping oftraditional/local and modern/global themes was not my explicit goal, an intriguingdialectic was uncovered between traditionally perceived notions of Indian-ness and‘‘global’’ imperatives of business. It thus adds to the body of literature problematiz-ing globalization in terms of complex disjunctural processes, rather than unilateralflows (Appadurai, 2000; Fairclough & Thomas, 2004; Gunaratne, 2009; Nelson &Gopalan, 2003; Shome & Hegde, 2002). In Table 5, I select examples from the earlierTables 1–4 to offer some tentative comments on how consistent (or otherwise) theyare in terms of these seemingly opposite poles. In particular, five concepts standout, suggesting a sometimes harmonious, sometimes tension-ridden, relationshipbetween the traditional/‘‘Indian’’ and global. For instance, the focus on developmentof indigenous technology and cost-cutting is in line with India’s preliberalizationstrategy of import substitution (Guha, 2008). Liberalization and globalization, how-ever, have changed the thrust of this technological and managerial progress, allowingfor a deviation from the traditional inward-oriented culture (Dissanayake, 1987) toa more exploratory point of view, emphasizing high-tech specialization, innovation,and efficiency (Chittoor & Ray, 2007; Khandwalla, 2002; Nilekani, 2008).

Similarly, although collectivist notions of team cohesion and business asnation-builder represent the more traditional view, they are increasingly gettingintegrated with global best practices of teamwork and corporate social responsibility



Tab

le5

Com

men

tson

the

Mer

gin

gof

Tra

diti

onal

and

Glo

balI

nfl

uen

ces

inO

rgan

izat

ion

alC

onst

ruct

ion

Con

cep

tsE

xam

ple

sT

radi

tion

al/‘

Indi

an’

Glo

bal

Inw

ard/

outw

ard

look

ing

tech

nol

ogic

alad

van

cesa

1.1.

Sam

coM

ach

iner

yL

td,a

Can

ada-

base

dro

llfo

rmin

gsy

stem

man

ufa

ctu

rer,

will

supp

lyau

topa

rts

for

wor

ld’s

chea

pest

car

Tat

aN

ano.

...

(PT

I,20

08b)

Inco

nsi

sten

tw

ith

trad

itio

nal

inw

ard-

look

ing,

impo

rtsu

bsti

tuti

onpo

licie

sC

onsi

sten

tw

ith

econ

omic

glob

aliz

atio

n

1.2.

Rei

nve

nti

ng

the

man

ufa

ctu

rin

gp

roce

ss(a

nd

min

imiz

ing

that

asw

ell)

was

one

man

tra

tom

eeti

ng

the

rigi

dsi

xfi

gure

pri

cepo

int

wh

ilein

nov

ativ

epr

odu

ctd

esig

nan

dpa

ckag

ing

brou

ght

its

own

wor

thto

the

tabl

e.(D

aru

khan

awal

a,20

08a)

Con

sist

ent

wit

htr

adit

ion

alin

war

d-lo

okin

gin

nov

atio

nan

dim

por

tsu

bsti

tuti

onan

dco

st-c

utt

ing

focu

s

Con

sist

ent

wit

hgl

obal

man

tra

for

inn

ovat

ion

and

hig

h-t

ech

spec

ializ

atio

n

Cos

t-cu

ttin

gb2.

1...

.h

ave

allp

laye

dsm

allb

ut

crit

ical

role

sin

slas

hin

gm

ater

ials

cost

san

dw

eigh

tre

sult

ing

inth

eca

r’s

fuel

effi

cien

cy.(

Dar

ukh

anaw

ala,

2008

c)

Con

sist

ent

wit

htr

adit

ion

alfo

cus

onco

st-c

utt

ing

Con

sist

ent

wit

hgl

obal

man

tra

for

inn

ovat

ion

and

effi

cien

cy

2.2.

Ifth

atis

n’t

good

valu

een

gin

eeri

ng,

pray

tell

us

wh

atis

,for

aca

rth

atyo

uca

nbu

yfo

rth

epr

ice

ofto

pn

otch

TA

GH

euer

spor

tsw

atch

?(D

aru

khan

awal

a,20

08b)

Con

sist

ent

wit

htr

adit

ion

alfo

cus

onco

st-c

utt

ing;

inco

nsi

sten

tw

ith

trad

itio

nal

shu

nn

ing

oflu

xury

prod

uct

s

Con

sist

ent

wit

hgl

obal

man

tra

for

inn

ovat

ion

and

effi

cien

cy

Col

lect

ivis

t/in

divi

dual

istc

3.1.

He

prai

ses

his

colle

agu

es,t

akes

acr

ack

atde

trac

tors

such

asth

eSu

zuki

boss

wh

oh

adpr

edic

ted

in20

06th

atth

eca

rw

asn

’tpo

ssib

le.

(TO

I,20

08f)

Con

sist

ent

wit

htr

adit

ion

alco

llect

ivis

tic

team

coh

esio

n;i

nco

nsi

sten

tw

ith

trad

itio

nal

coop

erat

ion

-not

-com

pet

itio

ngo

al

Con

sist

ent

wit

hgl

obal

com

pet

itiv

enes

san

dte

amsy

stem

s

3.2.

Th

isis

anin

dica

tion

ofan

Indi

anC

EO

taki

ng

his

lead

ersh

ipse

riou

sly

and

acti

ng

onit

.(M

amga

in&

Ath

ale,

2008

)

Inco

nsi

sten

tw

ith

trad

itio

nal

colle

ctiv

isti

cte

amco

hes

ion

Con

sist

ent

wit

hpe

rson

alva

lori

zati

onin

glob

alco

mp

etit

ion

(con

tinu

ed)



Tab

le5

Con

tinu

ed

Con

cep

tsE

xam

ple

sT

radi

tion

al/‘

Indi

an’

Glo

bal

3.3.

As

Rat

anT

ata

him

self

said

late

rin

the

day,

itw

asth

eim

age

ofa

low

erm

iddl

e-cl

ass

man

ona

scoo

ter—

the

elde

rki

dst

andi

ng

infr

ont

ofth

ed

rive

r-fa

ther

and

the

wif

eri

din

gpi

llion

wit

ha

baby

onh

erla

p—

that

kept

play

ing

onh

ism

ind.

(TO

I,20

08f)

Con

sist

ent

wit

htr

adit

ion

alre

spon

sibi

litie

sto

the

larg

erco

llect

ive/

soci

ety

and

busi

nes

sas

nat

ion

-bu

ilder

s

Nat

ion

-bu

ildin

gn

ota

key

role

ofpr

ofit-

orie

nte

dbu

sin

ess;

con

sist

ent

wit

hn

ewm

arke

top

port

un

itie

sex

ploi

tati

onm

antr

a

En

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(Mehta et al., 2006; Som, 2002), although some tensions still remain (e.g., justhow responsible should businesses really be for national development is a ques-tion companies worldwide grapple with). Again, the valorization of Ratan Tata,the celebration of entrepreneurship, and the recognition of global aspirations arerelated to the capitalist ideal of laissez faire and more in line with postliberalizationideals (Guha, 2008; Nilekani, 2008). Table 5 thus suggests that traditional/moderndichotomies are increasingly being reworked in the developing world, so that itmakes sense for researchers, practitioners, and citizens to understand them more aslocal/global appropriations, operating in terms of hegemonic flows and resistancesat micro-/macrolevels.

Conclusion

In the absence of adequate State safeguards and a conscientious media, theorganization–media nexus constitutes ‘‘a clear and present danger to citizens’participation in public affairs, understanding of public issues, and thus to the effec-tive working of democracy’’ (Herman & McChesney, 1998, p. 1). I have used a casestudy in India to show the specific strategies whereby this nexus may reify dominantinterests and marginalize dissidents. Four core themes were presented: legitimiz-ing national progress through globalization, constructing the new Indian citizen,watching the State, and reframing the dissident as antinational, all of which oftenwork together. Finally, I suggest that a dialectical approach to globalization wouldbe more fruitful in deconstructing the interconnectedness of State/business/media inthe developing world.

Acknowledgments

The author would like to thank Editor Karen Ross and the anonymous reviewersfor their guidance in shaping this manuscript. Thanks are also due to Drs. RadhikaGajjala and Canchu Lin of Bowling Green State University, Dr. Patrice Buzzanellof Purdue University, and John Fred Cassidy, Jr., for their invaluable comments onprior versions of this article.

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La Colonización Organizacional y el Silenciamiento En los Medios de la India con el Lanzamiento del Auto Más Barato del Mundo

Rahul Mitra Department of Communication, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2098, USA

Resumen

Examino las conexiones entre la organización y los medios en un contexto económico emergente, específicamente en la India, identificando cómo los medios sostienen las ideologías y los intereses organizacionales, mientras que silencian el disenso. Proveo de un marco conceptual para entender la materialización y las estrategias en juego de la exclusión, las cuales parecen operar a través de 4 temas centrales: el progreso nacional a través de la globalización, el nuevo ciudadano nacional, la vigilancia de los medios por parte del estado y el re-encuadre del disidente como anti-nacional. Este estudio extiende la teoría corriente de la colonización y el silenciamiento organizacional mediante la sugerencia de nuevos mecanismos de legitimización, neutralización del poder organizacional, personalización, y la objetivación/subjetivación de los disidentes. Se problematiza también el ser Indio en la era global para la organización, los medios y los ciudadanos urbanos y rurales.

印度媒体在世界最便宜的汽车投放市场一幕中的组织殖民与抑制异议 Rahul Mitra

美国普渡大学传播系

【摘要：】本文在新兴经济背景下探讨组织与媒体的关系，特别是印度媒体如何支持组织的意识形态和利益而抑制异议。本文提出一个概念框架以了解具体化和抑制不同声音的策略，这通过四个核心主题得以体现：通过全球化得以实现的国家发展，新国民，媒体对政府的监督，以及将持不同政见者定义为反国家者。该研究通过提出合法化、对组织力量的中和化、个性化和对持不同政见者的客观化/主观化的新机制扩展了当前组织殖民/抑制异议的理论。本文也指出在全球化时代印度的组织、媒体和（包括城市和农村）公民的问题。

La colonisation et le silence imposé par l’organisation dans les médias indiens autour du lancement de la voiture la moins chère au monde Rahul Mitra J’examine les liens entre organisations et médias dans un contexte d’économie émergente (le contexte indien) en exposant les manières par lesquelles les médias perpétuent les idéologies et les intérêts organisationnels tout en taisant la dissidence. J’offre un cadre conceptuel permettant de comprendre les stratégies de réification et de disqualification en jeu. Ces stratégies opèrent selon quatre thèmes principaux : le progrès national par la mondialisation, le nouveau citoyen national, la surveillance médiatique de l’État et le recadrage du dissident comme étant antinational. Cette étude développe la théorie actuelle sur la colonisation organisationnelle et sur le silence imposé par l’organisation en suggérant de nouveaux mécanismes de légitimation, de neutralisation du pouvoir organisationnel, de personnalisation et d’objectification/subjectification des dissidents. Elle problématise également le fait pour l’organisation, les médias et les citoyens (urbains et ruraux) d’être Indien dans cette ère mondialisée.

Organisationale Kolonisierung und Ruhigstellung in den indischen Medien bei der Einführung des billigsten Autos der Welt Rahul Mitra Ich untersuche den Zusammenhang von Organisation und Medien im Kontext einer aufstrebenden Ökonomie am Beispiel Indiens, und zeichne nach, wie Medien organisationale Ideologien/Interessen aufrechterhalten während Widerspruch zum Schweigen gebracht wird. Ich biete einen konzeptuellen Rahmen, um die Vergegenständlichungs- und Zulassungsentzugsstrategien zu verdeutlichen, die durch vier Kernthemen funktionieren: nationaler Fortschritt durch Globalisierung, der neue Nationalbürger, Medienüberwachung durch den Staat und die Umdeutung des Dissidenten als antinational. Die Studie erweitert bestehende Theorie zu organisationaler Kolonisierung/Ruhigstellung, indem sie neue Mechanismen einführt: Legitimierung, Neutralisierung von organisationaler Macht, Personalisierung und Vergegenständlichung/Subjektivierung von Dissidenten. Außerdem wird kritisch beleuchtet, was es im globalen Zeitalter für Organisation, Medien und (sowohl städtische als auch ländliche) Bürger bedeutet, indisch zu sein.

8

세계에서 가장 싼 차의 출범을 둘러싼 인도 미디어내에서의 조직적 식민화와 침묵에

관한 연구

Organizational Colonization and Silencing in the Indian Media With the Launch

of the World’s Cheapest Car

Rahul Mitra

Department of Communication, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2098,

USA

요약

본 논문은 신흥경제문맥, 특히 인도에서 조직과 미디어 연계를 연구한 것으로, 어떻게

미디어가 불만들을 침묵화하면서 조직적 이념적 이해들을 지지하는지를 추적했다. 본

논문은 이러한 전략들을 글로벌라이제이션을 통한 국가적 과정, 새로운 국가적 시민,

국가의 미디어 감시, 그리고 의견 불일치를 반 국가적으로 새롭게 프레임하는 4가지 주요

주제들을 통해 작용하는 것으로 그 개념적 프레임을 제공했다. 본 연구는 조직적

식민화/침묵화에 대한 현재 연구를 조직적 파워, 개인화, 그리고 의견 불일치자들의

객관화/주관화의 합법화, 중립화의 새로운 구조를 제안하는 것에 의해 확대했다. 이는 또

글로벌 시대에 조직, 미디어, 그리고 시민들을 위한 인도인이 되는것에 대한 문제점을

제안했다

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Organizational Colonization and Silencing in the Indian Media With the Launch of the World's Cheapest Car