The omission of India’s first Prime Minister from the ‘AZADI KA AMRIT MAHOTSAV’, celebrating India’s 75th year of Independence by the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR), angered members of Congress.
The ICHR’s decision to remove Jawaharlal Nehru’s image of the poster for the ‘Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations sparked outrage, with Congress labelling the government’s decision “petty and atrocious.”
BACKLASH FROM CONGRESS
The move was described as “atrocious” by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and “petty” by Gaurav Gogoi, who went on to say the move amounted to injustice as no nation removes the first Prime Minister from a billboard commemorating the freedom struggle.
They posted a screenshot from the ICHR website, including photos of Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh, B R Ambedkar, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, Rajendra Prasad, Madan Mohan Malviya, and Veer Savarkar, but not Nehru.
Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi stated that one could never seem large by downplaying the role of others in the formation of Independent India.
Pawan Khera of Congress questioned if removing Nehru’s photo would boost one’s stature. Shashi Tharoor claimed the move to be not only selfish but also ahistorical.
Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday lashed out at the ICHR for discarding the photo of Jawaharlal Nehru from the advanced primary banner to praise the 75th year of India’s
Independence and said the clarification given is ridiculous. He blamed the part secretary for the Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR) of bowing to despise and bias.
He questioned if he would discard Henry Ford while commending the introduction of the engine vehicle or Wright siblings while praising the introduction of aeronautics.
ICHR’S RESPONSE
In response to criticism from opposition parties over the exclusion of Jawaharlal Nehru from a poster commemorating the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence, the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) deemed the debate is “unnecessary” because Nehru will be featured in other posters released in the coming days.
The ICHR did not respond right away. Though national BJP leaders remained silent, Gaurav Goel, the Punjab unit’s spokesperson, said Nehru was to blame for the partition.
A top ICHR official said that their intention was not to exclude anybody from the celebrations, excusing criticism on the issue, and added the banner was one of the many delivered as a feature of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav festivities.
