Controversial ad: Was it meant to be Rajyavardhan Rathore? : India

New Delhi, Jan 24 - Who did the creators of the controversial ad have in mind when they in an apparent goof-up pasted a former Pakistan Air Force chief's photo along with those of Indian heroes in a government advertisement? Could it be Olympian Rajyavardhan Singh">Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, a sports icon from the Indian Army?

'The ad makers must have been looking for someone from the Indian armed forces who has also made a mark in sports. You see, the other two photographs are of sports icons - Kapil Dev and Virender Sehwag,' said Deepak Sharma, a Delhi government employee.

Watching the TV channels play up the controversy in a south Delhi restaurant, Sharma and two of his friends spread out the national daily which carried the ad by the women and child development ministry to mark National Girl Child Day.

Former Pakistan Air Force chief Tanvir Mahmood Ahmed, who retired in March last year, clad in a uniform with medals, shared the ad space with Indian cricket stars Kapil Dev and Virender Sehwag and sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, causing people much surprise and consternation to the powers that be. The controversial ad almost became the talk of the town with many laughing it away.

'Whom did they mean to portray anyway? I mean, whom did they have in mind while pasting the Pakistan official's pic,' asked Ravi Gulati, the second curious friend. The three nearly tore up the newspaper in their eagerness to snatch it away, as an IANS reporter heard the conversation.

The ad also carried photographs of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and the minister herself, Krishna Tirath.

'It is a mistake, an oversight,' said Gauri Khanna, the third friend in Sharma's group.

'Oh! I got it,' Sharma shouted suddenly. 'I think they may have mistaken the handsome former Pakistan Air Force chief with Rajyavardhan Singh">Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore of the Indian Army,' Sharma said.

Gauri agreed. 'Yes, they do have a resemblance. Both are handsome. Their moustaches, angular jawline and sharp noses match. Maybe!'

Asked by IANS if the ministry had Rathore in mind, a senior official of the ministry said, 'This may be true'.

'We were looking for an icon from the Indian Army, but I am not sure if they - were told about Rathore. It may be possible that they mistook the former Pakistani official with Rathore,' the official said, requesting not to be named as the 'advertisement has sparked a major row'.

Lt. Col. Rathore is an Indian shooter who won the silver medal in the Men's Double Trap at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. He was the first Indian to win an individual silver since 1900 when Norman Pritchard bagged two silver medals at the Paris Olympics.