The world’s most sacred river—the Ganges—is also one of its dirtiest
Yet there is little political pressure in India to clean it up
ROUND AND round the baggage carousel at London’s Heathrow airport goes a battered cardboard box waiting to be claimed by its owner, a passenger from Delhi: “PLEASE KEEP THIS SIDE UP! GANGA JAL—HOLLY WATER.” For many Hindus the world over, nothing is more holy or pure than Ganga jal, or water from the Ganges.
This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Unclean”
Asia March 30th 2019
- After an ineptly rigged election, Thailand’s junta will cling to power
- The world’s most sacred river—the Ganges—is also one of its dirtiest
- Exposing K-pop’s dirty secrets
- Why Pakistan has so many quacks
- India’s prime minister takes his re-election campaign into outer space
- Australian voters keep rejecting nativist campaigns
- Indonesian voters get a genuine choice, but an increasingly narrow one
From the March 30th 2019 edition
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