The Guardian: Dismay at Gates Foundation prize for Narendra Modi
37 development academics and practitioners

“As international development academics and practitioners we are dismayed that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) intends to give its Goalkeepers Global Goals award to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on 24 September despite widespread global condemnation. We recognize the considerable efforts made by the Indian government in tackling India’s sanitation crisis. Yet while Modi has brought the issue into mainstream political discourse, evidence suggests there remains a massive gap between the rhetoric and reality of the achievement of universal sanitation under his watch. … But what is most worrying is Modi’s human rights record and divisive politics, which prevent the realization of the global goals that BMGF promotes. … The BMGF award, along with the Seoul peace prize and UNEP’s Champions of Earth prize, serves to legitimize and embolden Modi and his supporters to intensify their divisive politics in a way that is in complete contradiction with the spirit and soul of sustainable, equitable, and fair development” (9/23).