But activists have questioned the timing, claiming instead that the demolitions are part of a ¡°beautification¡± project – a campaign to rid the city ¾ÖÀδëÇàof its beggars and slums – to impress foreign dignitaries.
The image of India that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to project at the G20 is one of a modern superpower, a leader of the Global South, and a ¾ÖÀδëÇàvoice for impoverished nations. But the government has been accused of hiding one of the country¡¯s own most entrenched and enduring problems.
¡°What strikes me most is that India, the Indian state,¾ÖÀδëÇà is ashamed of ostensible poverty,¡± said Harsh Mander, a social activist who works with homeless families and street children. ¡°It doesn¡¯t want poverty to be visible to the people who come here.¡±