Airbrushed from history

Cutting across political, geographical and cultural loyalties, Indians fondly remember freedom-fighters and national leaders who displayed vision, courage and integrity. Many of these heroes, such as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, are so firmly embedded in the national psyche that there is no need for annual reminders by way of advertisements released by the Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting or the Directorate of Audio-Visual Publicity of the Union Government. Yet, since hundreds of crores of rupees are used from the public exchequer on the birth and death anniversaries of national leaders, some assessment of how it is spent would be in order if we believe that political plurality is the essence of democracy.

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