Have you seen the famous BBC TV documentary series "The Story of India", written and presented by historian Michael Wood? If not, you must watch this to know the 1000-year history of India and subcontinent. Well, we are not going to talk about the documentary but the newly launched “Glimpses of India Story” campaign by the ruling Congress government, which aims to highlight the achievements of UPA and impact of its policies on the people in general.
Here the reason to mention the BBC documentary was to distinguish between history or truth and overstatement or exaggeration of things which doesn't reflect reality. Recently, the present Congress-led UPA government has launched its Rs 180 crore ad blitz, keeping an eye on the upcoming general election in 2014. Under the cloud of several corruption scandals, it was certainly imperative for the government to launch such a large scale campaign to reach people which many feel is of no worth.
The reason why UPA's "Glimpses of India Story" campaign may fall flat is the history of such high-profile and ambitious public campaign. NDA"s "India Shining" is the grim reality when the BJP-led NDA government failed to gauge the real sentiments of common people which eventually resulted with their electoral debacle.
One of the highlights of BJP's "India Shining" advertising promotion was to show India's economic growth with all contented and happy face Indian middle class. It did not work, as in reality, away from those happy faces on those ads; a vast majority of people were still struggling to lead a life with their basic needs. Even today there are people still living under poverty and only with a dream for a better tomorrow.
In an attempt to target the most ambitious middle class, the "Indian Shining" campaign of NDA only managed to catch the aspiration of a very small class, who had benefited from the economic and stock exchange boom, but somehow marginalised a very large yet core section of the population, the poor, with empty pledges to improve matters in near future.
This time, it seems the Congress government has just aped the "India Shining" campaign in its pre-election "India Story" multimedia ad blitz. With "Glimpses of India Story" it claims to highlight its many pro-poor policies which have benefited millions of people. The Information & Broadcasting Minister Manish Tiwari doesn't want their campaign to be seen on an equal footing with"India Shining", as he claims the "Glimpses of India Story" is more based on evidence and statistics.
The first phase of this public campaign, launched under the banner "Bharat Nirman" with a focus on social change, has already drawn flak from different quarters. In fact, the government highlighted MNREGA scheme, which promises 100 days of work to rural household, is now a subject of discussion on how farm labourers have become bonded labourers.
Moreover, the public expenditure on such ad campaigns is also in question. Nevertheless, in a country like India, which is so diverse in every respect, it is no way possible to impress voters with any television commercials and newspaper advertisements. In today’s India, where most of the electorates are young, educated and most importantly ambitious with better self awareness, such ads will have minimum role to play in garnering votes.
While the tagline "Meelo hum aa gaye Meelo hamien jaana hain" is acceptable to many as it underscores the need to continue our effort in the path of economic growth, stability and social equity, any such media generated hyperbola is of no need. Even though many believe that public memory is short-sighted that can be easily influenced, the facts in history remains the same.
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