The Influencers, Journalism and the Politics of India

Someone sent me a post by a founder and a popular YouTube podcaster saying — “See, he’s calling people with opinions on politics and power stupid.” Given their massive reach, I had to watch it.

We work in civic tech, engaging people on politics, policy, and broader civic matters. For years, we’ve been building platforms to move citizens from social media to civic media. After watching this clip, it became clear: these are the kinds of influencers draining the tailwinds from any real democratic reform in this country.

These are highly regarded voices, backed by huge budgets and massive infrastructure, yet when they speak on politics, their take is so frivolous that it becomes self-defeating.

The podcast began with small talk: “In which language do you think?”

One fumbled and said he didn’t know.

Bhai, just think and figure it out — it’s contextual. On a street in Gujarat, you think in Gujarati.

In America, mostly in American English — unless you’re in Jackson Heights, where your mind might mix Gujarati-infused English or Hindi. In Mexico, maybe English with Latin fillers. That’s how the brain adapts.

Most of the discussion on general human behavior was solid. But then they hit the core — and dismissed people with opinions on power and politics as “stupid,” backing it with an analogy: Would you hire a CEO based on a voting process?

First, Kunal Shah — yes, CEOs are chosen through a voting process by the board or decision-making body. And yes, those decision-makers have strong opinions and play bare-knuckle politics to ensure they get a CEO who aligns with their vision.

Our democratic system is similar — a federated leadership model representing grassroots interests. People should absolutely have opinions on politics and power — and the means, through voting and activism, to change direction if the country is in the wrong hands.

Raj Shamani and Kunal Shah - You have rightly identified India’s high-aspiration but low-trust society as a barrier to growth and entrepreneurship.

But do you understand why? This defeated empathy toward civic engagement is fueled by influencers with shallow understanding — or zero real-world grassroots political experience — but with the power to amplify their views to millions.

In high-trust, high-growth societies, citizens are deeply politically engaged — not in a shallow, Instagram-reel way, but with an understanding of history, philosophy, theology, and the ability to connect these to current political paradigms. That’s how informed opinions are formed and voiced.

Let’s not belittle socio-political engagement or civic-tech as somehow “lesser work” than building payment gateways. In fact, payment gateways themselves should have been democratized if UPI guidelines were truly followed — allowing banks to open these systems to merchants directly.

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