The decision to honor Narendra Modi provoked several withering op-eds and the ire of three Nobel prize winners, citing rising attacks against minorities under his tenure (AFP Photo/STEPHANIE KEITH) |
New York (AFP) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday brushed aside an outcry from human rights activists to receive an award from the Gates Foundation in New York for his efforts to end open defecation.
The
decision to honor the Indian leader provoked several withering op-eds and the
ire of three Nobel prize winners, citing rising attacks against minorities
under Modi's tenure, while British-Asian actors Jameela Jamil and Riz Ahmed who
had been due to attend dropped out.
The Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation said it respected the critics' views but defended
its decision, saying sanitation is a neglected issue and India's program can
serve as a model for other countries.
"I
dedicate this award to all those Indians who transformed the 'Clean India
Mission' into a people's movement and started giving cleanliness the highest
priority in their daily lives," Modi said after collecting the award from
billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
India's
government says it has built more than 100 million toilets under a $20 billion
initiative begun in 2014 to address the issue of open defecation, particularly
in rural areas, a major public health issue in the country.
Under
Modi's plan, tribal households get $200 each for building latrines.
But ahead
of the ceremony, Nobel Peace Prize winners Mairead Maguire, Tawakkol Abdel-Salam
Karman and Shirin Ebadi said that under Modi's leadership, "India has
descended into dangerous and deadly chaos that has consistently undermined
human rights, democracy.
"This
is particularly troubling to us as the stated mission of your foundation is to
preserve life and fight inequity," they wrote, urging the Gates Foundation
to change its decision.
In addition
to a rise in mob lynchings of Muslims, Christians, and Dalits, they noted the
decision by Genocide Watch to issue warnings for the state of Assam and
Indian-administered Kashmir.
The
disputed territory is under a communications blackout that has lasted 50 days
after Modi rescinded its autonomy.
The award
was also protested in an online petition that garnered 100,000 signatures as
well as a comment piece co-authored by feminist leader Gloria Steinem.
Modi won a
second term in a huge election victory in May and drew tens of thousands of
diaspora fans on Sunday in an unusual joint rally in Houston with President
Donald Trump.
He did not
respond to the criticism over the award.
The Gates
Foundation told AFP in a statement: "Before the Swachh Bharat mission,
over 500 million people in India did not have access to safe sanitation, and
now, the majority do.
"The
Swachh Bharat Mission can serve as a model for other countries around the world
that urgently need to improve access to sanitation for the world's
poorest."
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