As Prime Minister Narendra Modi celebrated his 75th birthday, speculation intensified about an alleged “age-limit” rule within the BJP and the broader Sangh Parivar. Media and political murmurs pointed to the retirement of veterans such as LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi. Critics asked why Modi should be treated differently.

These are all good questions. In the choreography of the birthday commemoration, responses were strong and black and white. They were coloured by political perceptions — one way or the other — rather than facts and a reading of political trends. Now that the milestone birthday is behind us, a considered analysis is called for.

The 1990s saw a marked shift in political communication and symbolism. As the Cold War ended, there was a new hope, an economic boom and an appreciation of politics as a technocratic or even peripheral exercise, amid widespread business and civil society autonomy. This was, of course, most true of the West. Yet, as can be expected, its influence was felt far wider, in other democracies as well.

Among its outcomes was an ageist cult that promoted youth in government as........

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