Who remembers Sardar Patel? Not the government's ad departments, for sure. Indira G? Now that’s another matter.
History repeats itself. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was supposedly asked by Mahatma Gandhi to step down to make way for Nehru in the 1946 election for the Congress presidency. And today, Vallabhbhai Patel has once again had to make way for another Nehru family member.
The media must be free and fair, uninfluenced by corporate or state interests. That's why you, the public, need to pay to keep news free.
ContributeSo what if it’s Patel’s birth anniversary today? If you took a look at today’s papers, you wouldn’t guess it. Because staring out at you, page after page, are various ads commemorating Indira Gandhi’s death anniversary. Oh yes, there’s the stray and almost always sole Vallabhbhai Patel birth anniversary ad. But they’re very few and far between. All politicians are equal, but some it seems are more equal than others for the advertising divisions of the various ministries.
Newspaper | Indira Gandhi advertisements | Vallabh bhai Patel advertisements |
Hindustan Times – Gurgaon |
|
|
The Times of India – Gurgaon |
| |
Hindustan Times – Delhi |
| |
The Times of India – Delhi |
| |
The Indian Express – Delhi |
| |
The Hindu Delhi |
| Zero |
TOTAL | 41 (Forty-one) | 6 (Six) |
The advertisements in the Delhi-NCR editions of seven newspapers were taken into consideration.
Image and gfx by Reetika Verma
With inputs from Aastha Manocha.
General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans together to focus on the issues that really matter to the voter. From political funding to battleground states, media coverage to 10 years of Modi, choose a project you would like to support and power our journalism.
Ground reportage is central to public interest journalism. Only readers like you can make it possible. Will you?