Mohandas K. Gandhi, the father of independent India, sits at a spinning wheel producing cotton thread — a simple but potent symbol protesting the purchase of British textiles and British rule. PhotoThis year, however, the bespectacled leader sitting at a spinning wheel on the calendar’s cover was not Gandhi, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India. The prime minister’s opponents were outraged and equated Mr. Modi’s cover photo with blasphemy. “Just by posing, nobody can become a worshiper of khadi,” said Tushar Gandhi, the leader’s great-grandson, in a televised interview. That khadi was different.”Mr. Modi’s pose on the other hand, said the younger Mr. Gandhi, was “a mere photo op.”

Source: New York Times January 13, 2017 23:33 UTC