Translating Symbolism into Action: AAP's jhadus

Devaki Jain(devakijain@gmail.com) is Associate Fellow of the Delhi Policy Group and member of the Governing Council of the National Institute for Advanced Studies, Bangalore. A television screen where scores of supporters and well-wishers can be seen waving jhadus instead of flags or face masks or even candles , felt good - as if the celebration was not just focused on the AAP but also focused on the less privileged, on the working classes - the sweepers. If the AAP does concentrate on sweepers and waste pickers and prioritise their economic and social programmes, they would live up to the image provided by the waving of jhadus, and not be accused of usurping a symbol - a symbol of a particular class and of manual work.