Indian priorities on display -- world's tallest statue

Here it is, dear readers, a photo of the World's Tallest Statue, unveiled just in time for Hallowe'en in India's western state of Gujarat.

Nearly 600 feet tall -- twice the height of the Statue of Liberty -- the "Statue of Unity" really is a biggie! Indeed so! It depicts Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (or "S.V. Patel" for short), a leader of India's independence movement. Mr Patel, who orchestrated the annexation of India's self-governing "princely states", is not exactly a champion of unity. His political philosophy fits better with the aggressive nationalism of India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party than more famous heroes of independence, such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, who stood for the softer ideals of peace and tolerance. However, Mr Patel, like his millions of namesakes aroound the world, is a "Guj" -- a Gujarati. So that explains it.

Another prominent Guj is India's Prime Minister, Narendra Damodardas Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014. Prime Minister Modi is a member of the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Hindu extremist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Mr Modi's administration has been blamed for the Gujarat anti-Muslim riots of 2002 Gujarat riots, but a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings. So that's all right then.

Mr Modi's administration has also been criticized for failing to significantly improve health, poverty, and education indices in Gujarat, and now in India as a hole. [Ed., don't correct my spelling. Quod scripsi scripsi!] Which brings me the question of priorities. The Patel statue is said to have cost upwards of $400 million dollars. This in a country where according to the World Bank, nearly two-thirds of the people still defecate in the open. Makes you think, doesn't it? If you're an Indian politician, maybe not.

Further reading: "Shitting in fields leads to gang rape, hanging of Indian girls", WWW 30/5/14.

Footnote: Another famous Indian who, although he's not named "Patel", is almost certainly a Gujarati, is Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, who is being written out of The Simpsons following NPC criticism that he is just a racist caricature. In an episode last April, Lisa said to her mother, "Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?" Indeed.

Fire drill? No, MUSLIM drill!

Never let it be said that there's racial or religious discrimination in India! Oh... wait a minute...

OK, let it be said. In Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, police in Surat district dressed actors in white skullcaps and long tunics to play the part of "militants" -- "Islamic" implied -- in mock security drills. The whole exercise was captured on video, as was another drill in Narmada district in which the "militants", to add a bit more realism, shouted "Islam Zindabad (Long live Islam)!"

Muslim leaders in India and the neighbouring states of Pakistan and Bangladesh have called the videos "atrocious and highly condemnable". They say the videos stereotype Muslims, who make up nearly 14% of India's 1.2 billion population, as narrow-minded, fanatical, terrorists bent on murdering all infidels, yada yada yada, whereas Islam is, as we all know, the Religion of Peace(TM).

The exercise was "a mistake", said Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. "It's wrong to link religion with terrorism," he said. "The issue has been resolved and the matter should be put to rest now. The mistake has been rectified by my good Mrs. Patel." [Ed., please check that quote for accuracy.]

Police initially tried to brush off the criticism. Inspector Sherlock Patel [Ed., please check name] said the skullcaps were used "to give [the ones portraying terrorists] a different look", but later apologized saying the situation could have been avoided, "had not someone done something evil to the plans." [Ed., please...]

In the months since becoming prime minister, Mr. Modi has talked about inclusiveness, but his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has its core base among hardline Hindus and many Hindu fundamentalist groups -- yes, the Hindus have fundamentalists too -- have recently been accused of forcibly converting Muslims and Christians. Mahatma Gandhi is no doubt spinning in his grave. [Wouldn't he have been cremated, not buried? Ed.]

Speaking of the Great Soul and religious tolerance, BBC News reports that a row broke out a few days ago after Indian government minister Niranjan Jyoti used an abusive term to refer to non-Hindus, by asking people at a public rally to choose between Ramzada (children of the Hindu god Ram) and Haramzada (bastards). Prime Minister Modi said he disapproved of her language but refused to sack her.