Facing flak, ICHR says other posters will have Nehru’s image

Facing flak from the Opposition for excluding Jawaharlal Nehru from a poster celebrating the 75th year of Independence, the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) said that the controversy over the issue is “unnecessary” as other posters, slated to release in the coming days, will feature India’s first Prime Minister.

“We are not trying to undermine anyone’s role in the movement,” a top ICHR official was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Sunday hit out at the ICHR for omitting Nehru’s photograph from the first digital poster to celebrate the 75th year of India’s Independence, and said the explanation given is “ludicrous”.

The senior Congress leader in a tweet on Sunday said, “ICHR Member-Secretary’s explanation for the omission of Jawaharlal Nehru from the first digital poster to celebrate 75 years of independence is ludicrous.”

Chidambaram who drew attention to the matter in a series of tweets also accused the ICHR of “bowing down to prejudice and hate”.

“If he was celebrating the birth of the motor car, will he omit Henry Ford? If he was celebrating the birth of aviation, will he omit the Wright brothers?” questioned the Congress leader.

He further added, “If he was celebrating Indian science, will he omit C.V. Raman? After bowing down to prejudice and hate, it is best the Member-Secretary shuts his mouth.”

Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor was the first to draw attention towards the omission of Nehru’s picture from the poster as he in a tweet shared a screenshot of the home page of ICHR’s website that displayed eminent personalities including Mahatma Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, Sardar Patel, Netaji Subhash Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Madan Mohan Malaviya, Bhagat Singh and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. In a tweet dated 27 August, Tharoor said, “It is not merely petty but absolutely ahistorical to celebrate Azadi by omitting the pre-eminent voice of Indian freedom, Jawaharlal Nehru. One more occasion for ICHR to disgrace itself. This is becoming a habit!”

The omission of Nehru’s picture from the poster drew widespread criticism from Congress leaders who lambasted the ICHR for excluding the contribution of the first PM while celebrating the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to commemorate the 75th year of India’s Independence.