Asia | India’s development

Narendra Modi’s tough medicine

The Hindu-nationalist prime minister is governing India as he governed Gujarat

A child in Ranchi's squalid Jorar basti, an illegal, informal, squatter settlement where the community lives in mud-stained, makeshift tents, surrounded by a large landfill stalked by rabid dogs.The occupants of the informal settlement make a living sewer cleaning, known as manual scavenging, which was made illegal in India in 1993, yet the highly dangerous practice remains widespread today. It is undertaken by the Dalits, the lowest caste in India sometimes known as 'untouchables'.
|AHMEDABAD

Agashiye, a popular restaurant in Ahmedabad, serves only one thing: Gujarati thali. But the dish contains multitudes: curries, pulses, veggies and sweets, along with flatbreads, rice, salad, pickles, poppadums and more. Its fans say the thali strikes the perfect balance. But that depends how it is consumed. Presented with a plate featuring greens next to fried delights and thick, sweet cream, few diners choose to gorge on cabbage.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Gujaratification”

Searching for returns

From the December 10th 2022 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Asia

Illustration of national flags, including those of the US, the UK, South Korea, Japan and Australia, tucked into a crisscrossing lattice

Can Donald Trump maintain Joe Biden’s network of Asian alliances?

Discipline and creativity will help, but so will China’s actions

An alleged North Korean soldier after being captured by the Ukrainian army

What North Korea gains by sending troops to fight for Russia

Resources, technology, experience and a blood-soaked IOU


FK Arkadag's Didar Durdyev runs during a Turkmen football championship game

Is Arkadag the world’s greatest football team?

What could possibly explain the success of a club founded by Turkmenistan’s dictator


After the president’s arrest, what next for South Korea?

Some 3,000 police breached his compound. The country is dangerously divided

India’s Faustian pact with Russia is strengthening

The gamble behind $17bn of fresh deals with the Kremlin on oil and arms

AUKUS enters its fifth year. How is the pact faring?

It has weathered two big political changes. What about Donald Trump’s return?