This Government Picked Salman Khan. That Makes Sense.

From the school to the state, reward and punishment continue to be the favourite tools of approval and disapproval. The removal of Aamir Khan as brand ambassador of Incredible India and the appointment of Salman Khan as India's brand ambassador for the Rio Olympics shows to us the transparency with which the Modi government acts and reacts.

Aamir Khan has been a successful film actor, producer and director. His Satyamev Jayate made several drawing-room activists look out of their heavily-curtained windows. But all that he tried to do through Lagaan and Rang De Basanti came undone by the ultimate blasphemy - for those who prefer the State above the Church - the ultimate anti-national act, of saying "something is rotten with the state of Denmark". 

Salman Khan hasn't been idle either. He has worked his way up as a popular star. Apart from proving that a suicide squad of black bucks came in the way of a bullet, he also managed to confuse the authorities on which was a bigger crime - killing of the black bucks or using a weapon whose license had expired. 
 He was also grappling with a massive dilemma. Who were the actual culprits of the 2002 accident - those sleeping on footpaths or the silly old bodyguard whose conscience decided to get vocal? 
He managed to convince the courts that even a car could be drunk, perhaps convincing Aamir Khan that India is the best country to live in with a very tolerant judiciary.

And if you thought he was just flying kites with Narendra Modi, you were obviously wrong. When Shahrukh Khan expressed his opinion on extreme intolerance in India to Barkha Dutt, Salman came to the valiant rescue of Bharat Mata and declared India is a tolerant country - "my mother is Susheela Charak and my father is Salim Khan," he said. Those affected by Vishwa Hindu Parishad's Love Jihad campaign in the cow-dung belt of India can go climb a peepal tree. 
 For an establishment out to loudly distinguish between a good Khan and a bad Khan, who else is better suited to be the brand ambassador of India at the Rio Olympics than Salman? 

Before we get depressed, more and more people are demanding accountability. And not just from their politicians. Celebrities are increasingly being questioned for the brands they endorse. Social media pressure forced MS Dhoni to sign out of his contract with Amrapali, the builder who failed to provide the timely possession of flats. Anti-Maggi noodle enthusiasts went to court against its brand ambassadors - Amitabh Bachchan and Madhuri Dixit when food regulators banned the product allegedly on account of heavy lead content. 

The appointment of Ramdev Yadav (Baba Ramdev of the Putrajeewak Beej fame) as the brand ambassador of Haryana - a state with the highest incidence of female foeticide - showed to us more innovative ways in which irony can be aborted. 

To understand the reason behind this decision, I googled Salman's Wikipedia page. Salman Khan has been accused of beating up women, occasional alcoholism, and of killing some animals apart from a poor man sleeping on the footpath of Mumbai. The Modi government has perhaps appointed him as India's brand ambassador to unleash "the killer instinct" in our sportsmen and women.

On a more serious note, why does this government end up making such dubious appointments? If Pepsi will pardon my borrowing from their recent punchline: "Jaisa brand, vaisa ambassador".  

(Pawan Khera is a political analyst with the Congress party.)

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