http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124807758Letter From India: 'Queen' Of Poor Flaunts Riches
by Philip Reeves
March 18, 2010
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Enlarge Ajay Kumar Singh/APBahujan Samaj Party leader and Uttar
Pradesh state Chief Minister Mayawati waves to supporters after being
presented a garland made of currency notes, allegedly amounting to the
equivalent of $36,735, Wednesday at the party office in Lucknow,
India. Mayawati has come under criticism in the past few days for
accepting a similar garland, allegedly of a higher value, at a rally
Monday.
Ajay Kumar Singh/APBahujan Samaj Party leader and Uttar Pradesh state
Chief Minister Mayawati waves to supporters after being presented a
garland made of currency notes, allegedly amounting to the equivalent
of $36,735, Wednesday at the party office in Lucknow, India. Mayawati
has come under criticism in the past few days for accepting a similar
garland, allegedly of a higher value, at a rally Monday.
March 18, 2010
Indians have long been used to seeing their politicians flaunt their
riches. Yet the extravagant behavior of one of the nation's top female
leaders has caused gasps of disbelief.
Mayawati — she is usually known by one name alone — is chief minister
of India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, whose estimated 190
million population includes many of the poorest people on the planet.
Her multitude of followers see her as an icon, not least because she
is a Dalit — the term used for society's bottom rung, formerly called
"untouchables" — who rose from humble beginnings to become extremely
rich and powerful.
Accounts of Mayawati's ostentatious and profligate conduct have been
making headlines for years.
Newspapers in India and beyond have lapped up accounts of her diamonds
and pink saris, her fleet of aircraft, her extraordinarily lavish
birthday parties, and her habit of populating the landscape of Uttar
Pradesh with memorial parks and big statues of herself.
A Garland Of Cash For 'Queen Of The Dalits'
Her latest exploit goes further still, and is — in the view of one
leading Indian newspaper — a "new low" for the woman widely known as
the "Queen of the Dalits."
It happened several days ago, at a massive rally organized to mark the
25th anniversary of her political party. As Mayawati — a round-faced
woman in her 50s — stood before the assembled throng, her minions
presented her with a gigantic garland.
In South Asia, it is customary to honor people by draping a garland of
flowers around the neck. The garland given to Mayawati was far too
large to wear: It was at least 30 feet long, and as thick as a tree
trunk. And it contained no flowers.
It was made entirely of money — pink bank notes for 1,000 Indian
rupees ($22). The overall worth of the garland is not clear, but it is
at least $1 million, according to most estimates.
Mayawati's aides say the jumbo cash garland was a gift from her
adoring party workers. The Queen of the Dalits happily accepted it,
apparently unmoved by the fact that many of the people in the
multitude at the rally would take several weeks to earn just one of
those notes.
When pictures of her garland reached India's TV screens, there was an
immediate outcry.
Mayawati's political rivals created such commotion in parliament's
lower house that the session had to be adjourned several times.
In a country where hundreds of millions still live in abject poverty,
the sight of someone brandishing so much money was seen as vulgar and
distasteful.
'Conduct Totally Unbecoming'
The Asian Age newspaper condemned Mayawati's behavior as "conduct
totally unbecoming." It stated that the entire nation was shocked "in
seeing Ms. Mayawati in all her finery and [with her]
self-congratulatory smile ... weighed down by the burden of monies
that did not go to the people." The Times of India accused her of
"mocking the poverty of thousands of dedicated cadres."
Mayawati does not seem perturbed by the criticism. She is a shrewd
politician who is widely suspected of harboring ambitions of one day
becoming prime minister.
She may even gain from the incident: Some political analysts in India
believe her impoverished supporters actually relish her displays of
wealth, as they see it as a celebration of their collective political
power — and proof that anyone, even an oppressed Dalit, can acquire
power and riches.
Mayawati's response to her critics has been typically defiant. On
Wednesday, she appeared on stage in public again — and once again
accepted a giant garland made entirely of cash (this time it was worth
less, as the notes were of a variety of values).
However, she and her supporters may yet have some explaining to do:
The tax authorities say they intend to find out where all this money
is coming from.
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