As we lead up to the next elections, Feku Modi and Pappu Gandhi are aggressively promoting their platforms and approaches to leadership and their visions for country. Part of simplifying ones message to aam admi is to use catchy metaphors that stick. Modi is of the above mother there is no other school where abstract 'India' is Mother India. In a recent speech to to a group of women entrepreneurs, he dutifully mentioned all the markers in modern India that embody women empowerment – Amul, Lijjat papad, and Jasuben pizza

In contrast to Rahul Gandhi's vision of India as a "beehive," he made it clear that his India is mother India. To quote him:

"In our culture and heritage, mothers come above everyone else. 'Ma' evokes reverence - that is our tradition. We call 'Bharat'- our country - Ma... anything we hold in reverence we address as Ma,"

While this is all well and good, modern Indian women found it condescending and even backward. A reporter on the topic notes that:

"Modiji’s bharatiya naari is an entirely different breed, best epitomised in iconic ye olde Hindi film cliches: the gaon ki gori sweating over the hot chulha; demure housewife serving chai-paani to her hardworking patidev; long-suffering widow who looks for livelihood to feed her children; soft-hearted mother whose love extends to all of God’s creatures. Why talk to the real women in front of you, when you can wax eloquent about imaginary ones culled from fiction."

A 1957 epic movie in which actress Nargis Dutt plays the lead role- 'Mother India' - a paragon of female chastity and virtues.Sociological analysis reveals that the movie played a role in forging a new imagination for Indian nationalism, post-independence.

No annual day programme in Indian schools is complete without a (mostly) spaced-out looking, little mother india overseeing the performances. Dressed in a white saree and a crown holding the national flag, she stands still on an elevated platform, waiting for it all to end, patiently.