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Journalism of Courage
A day after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor urged his party at the Raipur plenary session to speak out on issues of minorities, the Congress found itself explaining an embarrassing controversy involving one of the party’s tallest advocates of Hindu-Muslim unity: Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
An advertisement issued by the party in several national dailies talking of the Congress’s long history – from Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and B R Ambedkar, to Rajiv Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao — did not feature the freedom fighter and India’s first Education Minister, who was criticised as “a Congress showboy” by Mohammad Ali Jinnah for opposing Pakistan.
As several people tweeted about the missing picture of Azad and wondered why, the Congress quickly acted to contain the damage, apologising for the “inexcusable slip-up”. The backdrop of the stage at the Congress plenary, which had its third and final day Sunday, also prominently featured Azad.
Activist and former BJP leader Sudheendra Kulkarni tweeted: “Why has the party EXCLUDED every Muslim Congress leader – including Abul Kalam Azad???”
Ameeque Jamei, the national spokesperson of the Samajwadi Party, suggested it was a calculated move to keep out the man who advocated the cause of Muslims and backwards. “It is part of a design that the name of the man who originally worked for Bharat Jodo, Maulana Abul Kamal Azad, is missing. Is this the picture of future India?” Jamei tweeted, posting a photo of the Congress advertisement, and tagging the party’s communications head, Jairam Ramesh.
Significantly, Rahul Gandhi took out the Bharat Jodo Yatra recently, which was one of the main themes of the plenary.
Former Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that post his exit from the party, “BJPisation of Congress is taking place”.
The AIMIM questioned the inclusion of a photo of Narasimha Rao in the advertisement, tweeting that “it says everything we need to know about Congress party’s ‘secularism’. As Prime Minister, Narasimha Rao played an essential role in the demolition of Babri Masjid. It should not be forgiven or forgotten.”
BJP MP and its youth wing president Tejasvi Surya said it was “hypocritical” on the part of the Congress to include Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, B R Ambedkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, Lal Bahadur Shastri and P V Narasimha Rao in its advertisement. “The nation remembers how Nehru family treated these stalwarts & tried erasing their legacy. This advert is only laughable!” he tweeted.
Historian S Irfan Habib, the author of the recently released Maulana Azad: A Life, was one of the first to post about the Congress advertisement, saying the party’s history was incomplete without the mention of Azad. In the book, Habib writes about how Azad had been pushed to the margins of the history of India’s freedom struggle.
Apologising for what had happened, Jairam Ramesh tweeted: “Today an ad released by INC did not carry a photograph of Maulana Azad. It was an inexcusable slipup. Responsibility for it is being fixed & action will be taken. Meanwhile, this is a most sincere apology from us. He will always remain an iconic & inspiring figure for us & India”.
After Ramesh’s clarification, Habib said he respected the same and deleted his tweet.
Congress leader Salman Anees Soz also talked about the party ad “that features its most prominent leaders but regrettably omits Maulana Azad”. “I am told that one image was put out erroneously. Maulana Azad is one of the greatest Congress leaders and features prominently at the #AICCPlenary,” he added, while posting a picture showing Azad’s photo on the plenary dais.
Sharing the advertisement on Twitter, Congress MP Manish Tewari said, “The @INCIndia has a pantheon of Muslim leaders who struggled against fissiparous tendencies especially within their community that led to creation of Pakistan & dedicated themselves to inclusive idea of India. Someone wants to airbrush their contribution from annals of History.”
The party’s Secretary of Communications and former National Head of Social Media, Vaibhav Walia, said that Maulana Azad and other freedom fighters were “at the core of the Congress party and our ideology”. He also tweeted the Azad image from the plenary session.
