That papers relating to the Women’s Reservation Bill would be shredded on the floor of the House was a foregone conclusion. But insistence on tabling it fits in with the UPA’s attempts at projecting itself as the advocate for “inclusion” at all levels. For those who doubt that this is the UPA’s intention, the advertisements pushing the government’s plans may make things clearer.Advertisements on the UPA’s minority inclusion schemes started with radio spots before the 8 a.m. All India Radio news on Monday morning. Meant to be on for four months to begin with, with something every day on radio, TV and print, these spots would focus on the PM’s scheme for the uplift of minorities, especially as outlined in the 15 Point programme unveiled nearly two years ago. Sources say about six crore rupees have been put out to push the UPA’s inclusive mantra through these ads. These ads hope to reflect a ‘modern’ image for minorities, and the slogan is to ‘Make India Stronger—Sabko saath lekar chalne ka abhiyan, Bharat ki Nayi pehchaan’. Gone would be the stereotypical images of people in turbans, Turkish or skullcaps or people with a cross round their neck in the TV and print version. The emphasis is on giving India a composite feel as part of a new pitch to the growth story. The print and TV image planned show young people running with a kite in the distance.Like in the Bharat Nirman ads, (Nayi Azaadi Ki Or), the word ‘nayi’ (new) is the word that the UPA hopes would be a clever way to buck the incumbency disadvantage by focusing on the fact that the youth are being talked of and a ‘new’ freedom (read policy package) to take India ahead. The Bharat Nirman slots—the campaign is in 40” slots and now also in 30” slots between the very urban Indian Premier League—have been around for a few weeks. No one is willing to talk about how much they cost. Estimates range from Rs 10 crore upwards. Percept H, the agency that has devised the campaign for the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the PMO, had the brainwave of slotting all the rural initiatives like NREGA, pension schemes, road schemes etc all under the Bharat Nirman flagship slogan. So how different is this from the ‘feel-good’ and India Shining campaign of the NDA days? Says Amitava Mitra, Senior VP of Percept H, “Indian Shining was very different. There is no feel-good projection in these ads. We are just focusing on the actual programmes that have been thought up and executed by the present government. These are about real issues, not a bid to cash in on a general feeling.” Of the advertisements focusing on the minority welfare programme, Mitra said, “They take a very different look at minorities, in a way that today’s generation can identify with them.”
