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| Ganges River: Revered, Soiled and Symbol of an Indian Election Campaign | Ganges River: Revered, Soiled and Symbol of an Indian Election Campaign |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| VARANASI, India — For centuries, Hindus have brought their dead to banks of the Ganges River in this ancient city, with the promise that if their bodies are burned on the riverfront, their souls will escape the constant cycle of rebirth and attain moksha, or salvation. Transporting their souls is the goddess of the river, whose ebbs and flows have run through thousands of years of civilization. | VARANASI, India — For centuries, Hindus have brought their dead to banks of the Ganges River in this ancient city, with the promise that if their bodies are burned on the riverfront, their souls will escape the constant cycle of rebirth and attain moksha, or salvation. Transporting their souls is the goddess of the river, whose ebbs and flows have run through thousands of years of civilization. |
| There was a time in living memory when the water in the river was clean enough to drink, said Shyamlal Eshad, a boatman in his 50s. Today, three hundred million liters of raw sewage mixed with industrial pollutants are dumped in the Ganges here every day, according to B.D. Tripathi, an environmental scientist and an advocate for cleaning the Ganges. The stench along the uneven cobblestone steps in parts of Varanasi is overpowering, and Mr. Eshad laments his goddess in decline. | There was a time in living memory when the water in the river was clean enough to drink, said Shyamlal Eshad, a boatman in his 50s. Today, three hundred million liters of raw sewage mixed with industrial pollutants are dumped in the Ganges here every day, according to B.D. Tripathi, an environmental scientist and an advocate for cleaning the Ganges. The stench along the uneven cobblestone steps in parts of Varanasi is overpowering, and Mr. Eshad laments his goddess in decline. |
| “Ganga Ji is crying,” said Mr. Eshad, using a term of respect for the river. | “Ganga Ji is crying,” said Mr. Eshad, using a term of respect for the river. |
| Now this city’s holy waters are at the center of one of the most important elections in India’s modern history as Narendra Modi, the front-runner in the race for prime minister, has made the cleanup of the sacred river a metaphor for his campaign. He says he wants to restore the river’s purity just as he will revive a nation sullied by corruption and stalled by mismanagement and bureaucratic sloth. | Now this city’s holy waters are at the center of one of the most important elections in India’s modern history as Narendra Modi, the front-runner in the race for prime minister, has made the cleanup of the sacred river a metaphor for his campaign. He says he wants to restore the river’s purity just as he will revive a nation sullied by corruption and stalled by mismanagement and bureaucratic sloth. |
| “I feel Mother Ganga has called me to Varanasi,” Mr. Modi said to a sea of caps, masks and flags in saffron, the color of his Bharatiya Janata Party, at a rally leading up to the voting here on Monday. Results are expected Friday. “I feel like a child who has returned to his mother’s lap,” he said. | “I feel Mother Ganga has called me to Varanasi,” Mr. Modi said to a sea of caps, masks and flags in saffron, the color of his Bharatiya Janata Party, at a rally leading up to the voting here on Monday. Results are expected Friday. “I feel like a child who has returned to his mother’s lap,” he said. |
| He is not the only politician drawn to this metaphor. Arvind Kejriwal, the firebrand leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, is also running for Parliament from Varanasi, pledging to stamp out corruption. He is not from the city, either, having recently served as Delhi’s chief minister. Though he resigned after just 49 days, Mr. Kejriwal remains a symbol of the challenge to the entrenched politics dominated by the governing Indian National Congress and the B.J.P. for the past two decades. Mr. Kejriwal’s campaign against Mr. Modi is quixotic and largely symbolic. | |
| A sputtering economy and corruption scandals under the Congress party, which has governed India for much of its modern history, has made Mr. Modi the beneficiary of a collective populist anger. But Mr. Modi’s role as chief minister of Gujarat during the 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots that left more than 1,000 people dead, most of them Muslims, has shadowed his ascent to the national stage and alienated many Indian Muslims. | A sputtering economy and corruption scandals under the Congress party, which has governed India for much of its modern history, has made Mr. Modi the beneficiary of a collective populist anger. But Mr. Modi’s role as chief minister of Gujarat during the 2002 Hindu-Muslim riots that left more than 1,000 people dead, most of them Muslims, has shadowed his ascent to the national stage and alienated many Indian Muslims. |
| Cleaning up the Ganges, a river on which 450 million people depend, is a cherished goal that spans religious divisions. | Cleaning up the Ganges, a river on which 450 million people depend, is a cherished goal that spans religious divisions. |
| “There’s some sort of symbolic confession to Hindu nationalism, but cleaning the Ganga is a project that Muslims would embrace, too, except that they wouldn’t vote for him for his record,” said Ashutosh Varshney, a political scientist at Brown University. | “There’s some sort of symbolic confession to Hindu nationalism, but cleaning the Ganga is a project that Muslims would embrace, too, except that they wouldn’t vote for him for his record,” said Ashutosh Varshney, a political scientist at Brown University. |
| Varanasi in many ways symbolizes the entwining of the Hindu and Muslim faiths in India. Pilgrims, philosophers, poets and performers have flourished amid the rise and fall of the city’s Hindu and Muslim conquerors, who dotted its labyrinth of alleys with thousands of temples and mosques. Like India, Varanasi has a Hindu majority, but it has a larger than average number of Muslims. The two faiths are bonded by the silk industry, music and cultural practices, creating what is often viewed as a model for communal harmony. | Varanasi in many ways symbolizes the entwining of the Hindu and Muslim faiths in India. Pilgrims, philosophers, poets and performers have flourished amid the rise and fall of the city’s Hindu and Muslim conquerors, who dotted its labyrinth of alleys with thousands of temples and mosques. Like India, Varanasi has a Hindu majority, but it has a larger than average number of Muslims. The two faiths are bonded by the silk industry, music and cultural practices, creating what is often viewed as a model for communal harmony. |
| The 15th-century mystic Sufi poet Kabir was born into the Muslim weaver community in Varanasi. He was so revered for his tolerance and insight into the essence of all religions that when he died, Muslims and Hindus fought over his body. Legend has it that he turned into flowers: Muslims buried half of them; Hindus cremated the rest. | The 15th-century mystic Sufi poet Kabir was born into the Muslim weaver community in Varanasi. He was so revered for his tolerance and insight into the essence of all religions that when he died, Muslims and Hindus fought over his body. Legend has it that he turned into flowers: Muslims buried half of them; Hindus cremated the rest. |
| The parties of both Mr. Modi and Mr. Kejriwal have tried to woo the city’s 60,000 weavers by promising to rejuvenate the dying handloom industry and connect it to international markets, which now are flooded with imitation garments and Chinese competition. | The parties of both Mr. Modi and Mr. Kejriwal have tried to woo the city’s 60,000 weavers by promising to rejuvenate the dying handloom industry and connect it to international markets, which now are flooded with imitation garments and Chinese competition. |
| Haji Mohammed Shamin, a Muslim weaver whose family has been making the city’s famous silks for at least five generations, said the Muslim vote was firmly against Mr. Modi, though split among his rivals. He voted for Mr. Kejriwal. | Haji Mohammed Shamin, a Muslim weaver whose family has been making the city’s famous silks for at least five generations, said the Muslim vote was firmly against Mr. Modi, though split among his rivals. He voted for Mr. Kejriwal. |
| But the pull of Mr. Modi and his pledge to rejuvenate the river is strong here. Mr. Eshad, the boatman, said that if Mr. Modi could preserve the Ganges, he could “remain in power for another 20 years.” | But the pull of Mr. Modi and his pledge to rejuvenate the river is strong here. Mr. Eshad, the boatman, said that if Mr. Modi could preserve the Ganges, he could “remain in power for another 20 years.” |
| Mr. Modi, the son of a tea-stall owner, traces his political awakening to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu-nationalist organization that provides an ideological foundation for his party. He recently acknowledged that he abandoned an arranged marriage 45 years ago because of the organization’s requirement of celibacy. He spent much of his career rising through the party’s ranks. Many of its members are the foot soldiers of his campaign, worrying minorities and liberals. | Mr. Modi, the son of a tea-stall owner, traces his political awakening to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu-nationalist organization that provides an ideological foundation for his party. He recently acknowledged that he abandoned an arranged marriage 45 years ago because of the organization’s requirement of celibacy. He spent much of his career rising through the party’s ranks. Many of its members are the foot soldiers of his campaign, worrying minorities and liberals. |
| Vishwambhar Nath Mishra, who is head of one of the city’s most visited temples and an engineering professor, said he talked with Mr. Modi and Mr. Kejriwal about the river’s problems. | Vishwambhar Nath Mishra, who is head of one of the city’s most visited temples and an engineering professor, said he talked with Mr. Modi and Mr. Kejriwal about the river’s problems. |
| “We have tried our very best, but it wasn’t until this election that we’ve seen the issue resurface as a focus issue,” said Mr. Mishra, caretaker of the home of the 16th-century poet Tulsidas, who retold the Ramayana, an ancient epic poem. He said Mr. Modi “wants to convey a message that he leads this society.” | “We have tried our very best, but it wasn’t until this election that we’ve seen the issue resurface as a focus issue,” said Mr. Mishra, caretaker of the home of the 16th-century poet Tulsidas, who retold the Ramayana, an ancient epic poem. He said Mr. Modi “wants to convey a message that he leads this society.” |
| Mr. Kejriwal has criticized Mr. Modi’s environmental record. He sent workers to take samples of the Sabarmati River in Gujarat, which Mr. Modi said he had cleaned up in the same way he promises to clean up the Ganges. According to the party’s test, the Sabarmati river is polluted. | Mr. Kejriwal has criticized Mr. Modi’s environmental record. He sent workers to take samples of the Sabarmati River in Gujarat, which Mr. Modi said he had cleaned up in the same way he promises to clean up the Ganges. According to the party’s test, the Sabarmati river is polluted. |
| Dr. Tripathi, an environmental science professor at Banaras Hindu University and a member of a government panel studying the Ganges, said the flow of the Ganges is being blocked by dams for irrigation and electricity, limiting its ability to clean itself. Ninety-five percent of the pollution comes from the raw sewage and industrial pollutants pouring into it; the rest is half-burned flesh and religious items, he said. Officials claim they lack the money to build proper water-treatment facilities. | Dr. Tripathi, an environmental science professor at Banaras Hindu University and a member of a government panel studying the Ganges, said the flow of the Ganges is being blocked by dams for irrigation and electricity, limiting its ability to clean itself. Ninety-five percent of the pollution comes from the raw sewage and industrial pollutants pouring into it; the rest is half-burned flesh and religious items, he said. Officials claim they lack the money to build proper water-treatment facilities. |
| “We are converting a river into a pond due to our actions,” said Dr. Tripathi, blaming mismanagement for the many hundreds of millions of dollars invested in the river with little to show for it. Like many here, he believes Mr. Modi is the only candidate decisive enough to save the river. | “We are converting a river into a pond due to our actions,” said Dr. Tripathi, blaming mismanagement for the many hundreds of millions of dollars invested in the river with little to show for it. Like many here, he believes Mr. Modi is the only candidate decisive enough to save the river. |
| “Modi’s approach with Varanasi, is definitely for a lot of Hindus, a call to the ancient past,” said Nilanjana S. Roy, a writer. “It’s an attempt to create a Hindu symbol and it’s a call to clean up the pollution of the culture.” | “Modi’s approach with Varanasi, is definitely for a lot of Hindus, a call to the ancient past,” said Nilanjana S. Roy, a writer. “It’s an attempt to create a Hindu symbol and it’s a call to clean up the pollution of the culture.” |