As a second wave devastates India, Narendra Modi vanishes
Quick to claim credit, the prime minister is nowhere to be seen when things go wrong
OVER THE past seven years Indians have watched Narendra Modi’s neat hair and trim beard grow whiter and longer. There was no way to miss the change, because there was no escaping the prime minister’s face. He was on television snipping ribbons, waving to adoring crowds and grappling foreign leaders; on posters doling out subsidised cooking gas or cheerleading for pilgrimages to Hindu holy sites; and even, in recent months, gazing benignly out of vaccination certificates next to the words “Together, India will defeat covid-19”.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Vanishing act”
Asia May 22nd 2021
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