New Delhi. Nov. 18: Russian children stood on the stage, dressed in different, ethnic Indian attire. One girl, barely 10, held a microphone, and belted out old Indian songs. This was November 14, 2013, and the Indian embassy in Moscow was celebrating the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru.

Three years later, the embassy was quiet this November 14. The only celebrations the mission held recently were on October 31, to commemorate another icon of the Indian freedom movement, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, on his birth anniversary.

Thirty months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government came to power in New Delhi, India's foreign missions are reflecting the political shift in their decisions on who to celebrate - and who to ignore.

Modi, who has repeatedly called Patel, independent India's first home minister, a role model, has designed October 31 as National Unity Day in honour of the leader who forged much of the Indian Union as it stands today following partition. And almost every Indian mission abroad celebrated Patel's 141st anniversary on October 31, with film screenings, quizzes, photo exhibitions and speeches.

But Modi has also made clear Nehru, independent India's first Prime Minister and foreign minister, is no favourite of his, and leaders of the ruling BJP have repeatedly blamed Nehru for the country's ailments. Although Nehru's foreign policies continue to underpin - at least officially - most of India's diplomatic relations and stances, no Indian mission celebrated this November 14.

There was no official diktat asking missions to not celebrate November 14, multiple diplomats confirmed to The Telegraph, just as there was no clear order asking embassies and high commissions of the government's keenness to commemorate Patel.

But the unprecedented celebrations on Patel's birth anniversary, and the silence on Nehru, suggest the missions got the government's message anyway.

"Embassy of India, Paris celebrated 141st birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on 31 October in a befitting manner," the embassy in France posted on its social media platforms, making sure no one missed its celebrations. "A photographic exhibition highlighting the various stages of life of Sardar Patel was organised and the feature film 'SARDAR' directed by Ketan Mehta was screened."

Mission after mission posted similar messages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, on October 31 or the days after, in many cases also marking the ministry of external affairs in New Delhi to ensure the headquarters noticed their posts.

Modi and the BJP have long accused the Congress, to which both Patel and Nehru belonged, of ignoring the former home minister and highlighting only the ex-Prime Minister's contributions to nation-building. Nehru's descendants rule the Congress - the party's vice-president, Rahul Gandhi, is Nehru's great-grandson.

It is unclear if successive Congress governments actively suppressed Patel's legacy, but it is only under Modi that the foreign office has tried to highlight his contribution to India through its overseas missions.

The celebrations on his birth anniversary this year across Indian missions were unprecedented, veteran diplomats said. Many embassies and high commissions showcased feature films or documentaries on Patel. The Indian high commission in Colombo held an online quiz on Patel, and gifted winners. The high commission in Dhaka held a photo exhibition. At the high commission in London, visiting food minister Ram Vilas Paswan issued a "pledge" of national unity.

Those missions that were too occupied on October 31 to host celebrations, held events in the week that followed. At the Indian embassy in Washington, deputy chief of mission and then charge d'affaires Taranjit Singh Sandhu and other senior officials addressed the Indian community on November 3 in front of a large banner bearing Patel's image.

But two weeks after October 31, Nehru - whose non-aligned foreign policy India still officially adheres to - was forgotten at Indian missions just as the BJP once accused the Congress of ignoring Patel.

November 14 was a holiday at all Indian missions - because of Gurunanak Jayanti - but Indian embassies, high commissions and consulates routinely celebrate special occasions even when they are closed.

That wasn't the case this November 14. And four days after Nehru's birth anniversary, no mission has indicated any plans to celebrate the occasion.