By Mumtaz Alam Falahi, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: About two years back, Gujarat Government of Narendra Modi had lifted the TCN photo of Azamgarh girls and published it in newspaper ads of ‘shining’ Gujarat claiming they were Gujarati Muslim girls. Now the Rajasthan Government of Ashok Gehlot has used the same photo of Shibli College girls of Azamgarh in Rajasthan Diwas ad and claimed they are Rajasthani Muslim girls.
Rajasthan Govt. ad in The Hindu on 30th March 2012. The ad uses TCN photo of Azamgarh Muslim girls learning computers
The Rajasthan Government of Congress on Friday (30th March 2012) celebrated 63rd Rajasthan Diwas and published ads in newspapers including some national English dailies like The Hindu. The ad presented ‘emerging’ and ‘developing’ Rajasthan. Along with the photos of metro rail, bridges, power plant and green field, there is the TCN photo of Muslim girls of Shibli College of Azamgarh. Just above the photo, goes this line: We are proud of being Rajasthani.
On 10th June 2010, the BJP Government of Gujarat had published a full-page ad in Patna dailies, just a day before the party’s national executive meeting where Gujarat CM Modi was coming to attend. The ad was on ‘vibrant’ and ‘progressing’ Gujarat and how Muslims there are flourishing but the Modi govt. had lifted the photo of TCN and projected the Azamgarh girls as Gujarati Muslims.
Gujarat govt. ad published in Patna dailies on 10th June 2010
This scribe of TCN on his visit to Azamgarh in November 2008 had interviewed Muslim girls of Shibli College at the computer department and shot their photos and used in the TCN story (http://twocircles.net/2008nov23/muslim_girls_azamgarh_getting_higher_education_giving_tough_fight_boys.html) on how Muslim girls of this backward district giving tough fight to boys in modern education. TCN had published the story when Azamgarh was in bad light after the Batla House encounter of September 2008.
This TCN photo was published in our story on 24th Nov. 2008
Related Stories
http://twocircles.net/2010jun10/modi_govt_ad_muslims_shining_gujarat_has_picture_azamgarh.html
http://twocircles.net/2010jun10/modi_lands_landed_guj_muslims_shining_ad_patna_dailies.html
http://twocircles.net/2008nov23/muslim_girls_azamgarh_getting_higher_education_giving_tough_fight_boys.html