In India, the University Grants Commission has asked all Indian universities and colleges to set up selfie booths with images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the background, the directive coming in the run-up to next summer’s general election. The higher education authority has pushed the campuses to inspire students and visitors to click selfies at these points and share them on social media, essentially turning them into unofficial supporters of the BJP.
The idea is to start a trend around what the UGC has described as “India’s victories in various fields”, thus “growing a sense of national pride”. Several academics accused the UGC of bringing in academic institutions into a “cult-building” exercise they should “have nothing to do with”. A professor at a renowned institution said that the government was making every small accomplishment look like a big deal and giving the Prime Minister all the credit. “What is going on is full-on propaganda to make a cult figure.” He said, “The State is doing it with public institutions that have nothing to do with these things.” “There is nothing in the law that lets the government or the UGC tell schools to spread this kind of propaganda.”
Source: https://www.prothomalo.com/world/india/l141p17pxp
