Skip to main content

Modi's Gujarat "laggard" in fight against malnutrition, says The Economist quoting unpublished Unicef report

By A Representative
A week after top British weekly The Economist quoted an unreleased United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) report to say that Gujarat slipped to 21st position in child immunization, it has further revealed from it that states ruled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s BJP appear to be “laggards” in the fight against malnutrition “compared with several states that are (or were) under the control of rivals.”
Pointing out that “this may be coincidental but true for the last one decade”, The Economist (July 4) quotes from the same report, Rapid Survey on Children (RSOC) again, by again offering the “most sensitive example” of Gujarat, which, it says, “Modi has touted as a model because incomes there are high”, comparing with Maharashtra, ruled by Congress till recently.
The Economist says, “The RSOC shows that the proportion of hungry children in Gujarat fell from 44.6% to 33.5%”, but that remains worse than the national average of “less than 30%.” On the other hand, it adds, “Maharashtra next door has similar incomes and has fared much better.”
Identifying Maharashtra as “a wealthy state on the western coast”, The Economist says, its case is “revealing”, as “its proportion of children there who are underweight fell from 37% to 25%.”
The influential weekly says, “Gujarat is also worse than average for stunting (42%), severe stunting (18.5%) and wasting (18.7%). Nearly two-fifths of its population defecate out of doors.”
As against the poor show of Gujarat, The Economist refers to Maharashtra as a “good example” of how to deal with malnutrition. The weekly says, it identified “four crucial changes there: better and more frequent feeding of infants, more care for pregnant women, higher household incomes and a rise in the age at which women begin having babies.”
It adds, “Officials and politicians in Maharashtra played a crucial role by helping to target worst-afflicted groups such as tribal people known as adivasis.”
Accusing the Government of India for “sitting on the report for months, though it has been ready since at least October”, The Economist says, “One rumour suggests official concern about the quality of the data, but UNICEF has voiced no such worry. Another possible reason is the pride of India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, who ruled Gujarat for a dozen years.”
After stating this, The Economist declares, “The new data indicate his relatively prosperous state performed worse than many poorer ones.”
Recalling Modi indifference towards malnutrition in Gujarat, the weekly says, “Asked about child malnutrition in Gujarat in 2012, Modi told the Wall Street Journal that it was a middle-class, vegetarian state, and that: ‘The middle class is more beauty conscious than health conscious...If a mother tells her daughter to have milk, they’ll have a fight. She’ll tell her mother, ‘I won’t drink milk. I’ll get fat’.”
It comments, “Some found that answer about as satisfying as a cardboard biryani. Amartya Sen, an economist and Nobel laureate, says Modi does not provide strong leadership on health policy. He notes that spending on health care fell in this year’s national budget. India devotes barely 1% of GDP to it, far behind China, for example.”
The RSOC survey involved 210,000 interviews across 29 states and territories in 2013 and 2014; more than 90,000 children were measured and weighed, as well as 28,000 teenage girls.

Comments

TRENDING

Wave of disappearances sparks human rights fears for activists in Delhi

By Harsh Thakor*  A philosophy student from Zakir Hussain College, Delhi University, and an activist associated with Nazariya magazine, Rudra, has been reported missing since the morning of July 19, 2025. This disappearance adds to a growing concern among human rights advocates regarding the escalating number of detentions and disappearances of activists in Delhi.

How community leaders overcome obstacles to protect forests and pastures in remote villages

By Bharat Dogra  Dheera Ram Kapaya grew up in such poverty that, unable to attend school himself, he would carry another boy’s heavy school bag for five kilometers just to get a scoop of daliya (porridge). When he was finally able to attend school, he had to leave after class five to join other adolescent workers. However, as soon as opportunities arose, he involved himself in community efforts—promoting forest protection, adult literacy, and other constructive initiatives. His hidden talent for writing emerged during this time, and he became known for the songs and street play scripts he created to promote forest conservation, discourage child marriages, and support other social reforms.

‘Act of war on agriculture’: Aruna Rodrigues slams GM crop expansion and regulatory apathy

By Rosamma Thomas*  Expressing appreciation to the Union Agriculture Minister for inviting suggestions from farmers and concerned citizens on the sharp decline in cotton crop productivity, Aruna Rodrigues—lead petitioner in the Supreme Court case ongoing since 2005 that seeks a moratorium on genetically modified (GM) crops—wrote to Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 14, 2025, stating that conflicts of interest have infiltrated India’s regulatory system like a spreading cancer, including within the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).

The GMO illusion: Three decades of hype, harm, and false hope

By Sridhar Radhakrishnan  Three decades of hype, billions of dollars spent, and still no miracle crop. It's time to abandon the GMO biotech fairy tale and return to the soil, the seed, and the farmer. “Trust us,” they said. “GMOs will feed the world.” Picture a world where there is plenty of food, no hunger, fields grow without chemical pesticides, children are saved from malnutrition, and people live healthily.

Sandra Gonzalez Sanabria: An inspiring life from Colombia’s Amazonian valley

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat*  In the village of Héctor Ramírez, known as Agua Bonita, in La Montañita, Caquetá, Colombia, a vision of peace and renewal is unfolding. In the pre-2016 period, this would have been nearly impossible for outsiders to visit, as it was the epicenter of violent resistance against state oppression. However, after the Peace Accord was signed between the Colombian government and former revolutionaries—marking the end of a 70-year insurgency that claimed over 400,000 lives until 2025, including civilians, rebel fighters, and security personnel—things began to change. Visiting Agua Bonita during the Global Land Forum in Bogotá revealed a village of hope and resilience. Former FARC revolutionaries have settled here and transformed the village into a center of peace and aspiration.

Indigenous Karen activist calls for global solidarity amid continued struggles in Burma

By A Representative   At the International Festival for People’s Rights and Struggles (IFPRS), Naw Paw Pree, an Indigenous Karen activist from the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), shared her experiences of oppression, resilience, and hope. Organized with the support of the International Indigenous Peoples Movement for Self-Determination and Liberation (IPMSDL), the event brought together Indigenous and marginalized communities from across the globe, offering a rare safe space for shared learning, solidarity, and expression.

Activists allege abduction and torture by Delhi Police Special Cell in missing person probe

By A Representative   A press statement released today by the Campaign Against State Repression (CASR) alleges that several student and social activists have been abducted, illegally detained, and subjected to torture by the Delhi Police Special Cell. The CASR claims these actions are linked to an investigation into the disappearance of Vallika Varshri, an editorial team member of 'Nazariya' magazine.

India’s zero-emission, eco-friendly energy strategies have a long way to go, despite impressive progress

By N.S. Venkataraman*   The recent report released by OPEC’s World Oil Outlook 2025 has predicted that by the year 2050, crude oil would replace coal as India’s key energy source. Clearly, OPEC expects that India’s dependence on fossil fuels for energy will continue to remain high in one form or another.

Gender violence defies stringent laws: The need for robust social capital

By Dr. Manoj Kumar Mishra*  The tragic death of Miss Soumyashree Bisi, a 20-year-old student from Fakir Mohan College, Balasore, who reportedly self-immolated due to harassment, shocked the conscience of Odisha. Even before the public could process this horrifying event, another harrowing case emerged—a 15-year-old girl from Balanga, Puri, was allegedly set ablaze by miscreants. These incidents are not isolated; they highlight a disturbing pattern of rising gender-based violence across the state and the country.