Urdu media left out of Delhi Govt Diwali function, journalists call it ‘prejudiced’ and ‘unprecedented’

The Delhi government organised a Diwali function, which was reportedly deemed mandatory, but it left out Urdu media, while other outlets including print and visual media were invited — an exclusion that journalists called anti-minority, discriminatory and reflective of step-motherly attitudes towards the Urdu press, something that no government in Delhi’s history had ever done, not even towards those who had long covered the BJP and the Delhi government.

On October 13, the Directorate of Information and Publicity (DIP) of the Delhi government invited journalists to a special interaction with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta at the Ashoka Hotel as part of the “Diwali Mangal Milan” programme.

The event, attended by all cabinet ministers, was described by the chief minister as an opportunity for cordial dialogue with the media. However, reports from Urdu media outlets indicated that, for the first time, not a single journalist associated with Urdu publications was invited, even though many have been covering the Delhi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for decades.

According to reports, the invitations were circulated through WhatsApp by the DIP director, and attendance was considered obligatory. The exclusion of Urdu journalists was thus seen as a deliberate act of marginalisation rather than an administrative error, with many describing it as a form of “untouchability” and a clear attempt to undermine Urdu and its speakers.

Aam Aadmi Party leaders accused the BJP of engaging in divisive politics, alleging that the current government was trying to outdo earlier instances of prejudice against Urdu by adopting exclusionary practices, The Wire reported.

Several senior journalists expressed their intention to raise the matter formally with the Public Relations and Development Authority of the Delhi government, asserting that this represented the first instance of institutional discrimination against the Urdu press.

Veteran journalist Sadiq Sherwani, who reported on the issue, observed that even during the earlier BJP governments in Delhi led by leaders such as Madan Lal Khurana and Sushma Swaraj, Urdu journalists were never sidelined, and Urdu itself had been treated with respect. Many journalists now believe that the present exclusion reflects a political message linked to broader communal strategies and the party’s longstanding stance of not courting Muslim votes.

Some journalists suggested that this might be an intentional move to symbolically detach Urdu from Delhi’s cultural identity and to portray it solely as the language of Muslims. They also noted that, while the government privately described the omission as an “error,” no official clarification was provided.

Meanwhile, others within the BJP reportedly questioned how such an oversight could occur when Urdu newspapers have regularly covered government initiatives and events.

Senior journalists from both Urdu and mainstream media criticised the government’s approach, observing that Urdu, despite being the second official language of Delhi, is being systematically marginalised. They argued that this exclusion was part of a larger pattern of neglect, as Urdu newspapers have also been denied government advertising in recent years.