Here's How PM Modi Hijacked A Haryana Sarpanch's Idea Of #SelfieWithDaughter
#SelfieWithDaughter - it all started on June 9 when a gram panchayat in Haryana’s Bibipur village asked parents to send in a selfie with their daughters to the sarpanch via whatsapp as part of a contest.
The panchayat received 794 images, not only from several districts in Haryana, but also from Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. More than 150 entries were received from Delhi. The contest was an effort by Haryana to save its daughters and contribute to the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao cause. Haryana has one of the worst sex ratios in the country, therefore to cash in on people's craze and obsession for selfies was a great thought for an awesome cause.
The winners for the contest, declared on June 19, were - Amit from Kurukshetra who had sent a selfie with his wife and daughter Vanshika, Bhup Singh, a resident of Jind who clicked a selfie with his two daughters — Tanya and Sara and Amar Dagar from Delhi whose selfie with his daughter, Palak Dagar, was selected for the award. The winners were awarded Rs 2,100, a trophy and a certificate.
Amit with his daughter Vanshika | Indian Express
Amar with his daughter Palak | Indian Express
Bhup Singh with his daughters Tanya and Sara | Indian Express
But the world only noticed when PM Modi hijacked #SelfieWithDaughter concept
When Haryana initiated this campaign, it did not make enough noise for the world to wake up and notice. Finally, when our respected PM spoke of it in his Mann Ki Baat radio address people across the nation went crazy and the social media was poured with selfies from across the country.
DNA
#SelfieWithDaughter took the internet by storm and it started trending worldwide after PM Modi spoke of it on Sunday. Not just proud fathers but even proud mothers clicked selfies and posted them on social micro-blogging site Twitter. The concept got so much attention after PM Modi's mention of it that he later himself posted on Twitter - "#SelfieWithDaughter becomes number 1 Twitter trend in India and also listed in worldwide trend."
@iamkunalmshah
@shilpitewari
@MrsGandhi
When it is something that PM Modi spoke of, BJP leaders and supporters spare no time in showing support. One of selfies that came in was of proud father and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis with his daughter. BJP leader Kiran Bedi posted an old photo of her's with her father with #SelfieWithDaughter.
@Dev_Fadnavis
A Selfie when there were no Selfies. When visionary parents nurtured their daughters. #Selfiewithdaughter @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/bsbeq9lXIT
— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) June 28, 2015
Well, the concept, initiated by a Haryana sarpanch, was in simple words hijacked by our PM who himself is a selfie lover!
Now people recognise it as PM Modi's #SelfieWithDaughter idea and are all praises for him for coming up with an awesome concept as this!
Reuters
Certainly there is nothing wrong in taking a concept with such a great underlying cause forward and promoting it, but in recent past we have seen how several campaigns, including 'Swachch Bharat Abhiyan' merely became a photo-op with leaders sweeping clean roads and lost the campaign lost its real meaning and essence.
@yagnamurthy
We are just hoping that the underlying thought with which this concept was executed is not lost.