The Hijab Controversy

https://youtu.be/7LfAMtk7Dww?t=524 slogans of growth lie white elephants,
monuments of mismanagement.
I start with Derera smart city a 3,000
cr project which is still barren. The
doera smart city project launched by
Narendra Modi in 2009 during his tenure
as Gujarat Chief Minister was envisioned
as India's first and largest green field
smart city spread across 920 square
kilometers between Ahmedabad and
Bhavnagar. It was meant to be the
flagship of Delhi Mumbai industrial
corridors. A futuristic urban hub
equipped with worldclass infrastructure,
high-speed connectivity and
manufacturing zones to rival global
smart cities. The idea was to decongest
Ahmedabad and create a new economic
magnet for investment and innovation.
However, more than 15 years later, Doera
remains largely a baron expanse with
most of the city still uninhabited
and only basic infrastructure, roads,
power and drainage partially completed.
Bureaucratic hurdles, lack of investor
confidence, shifting policy priorities,
and poor demand all have contributed to
repeated delays. Officials claim now
suggests partial operational readiness
by 2030. But even that is optimistic.
They concede that Doera's original
vision has shrunk dramatically from a
living breathing metropolis to an
underpop populated industrial estate
awaiting purpose.
[Music]
Statue of Unity, another 3,000 cr
project. The Statue of Unity,
inaugurated in 2018 and touted as the
world's tallest statue at 182 m, was
built at an estimated cost of 3,000 cr.
Marketed as a global tourist attraction
meant to boost local economies around
Kavaria, it has instead struggled to
generate sustainable revenue. Visitor
numbers peaked briefly after
inauguration but declined sharply once
the novelty wore off, leaving much of
the surrounding infrastructure
underutilized.
The expensive helicopter ride introduced
in to offer aerial views of the statue
priced far beyond what most domestic
tourists can afford has seen poor update
and is often nonoperational due to
maintenance and low demand. Despite the
grand projection, the project has failed
to deliver consistent returns or local
employment. Standing today more as a
symbol of spectacle than of self-
sustaining development.
The gift city Gujarat International
Finance Tech City was conceived in 2007
by Narendra Modi as an ambitious bid to
position Gujarat not Mumbai as India's
global financial hub. planned between
Ahmedabad and Gandhiagar. It aimed to
rival Singapore and Dubai with
futuristic skyscrapers, tax incentives
and an international financial services
center. However, nearly two decades
later, much of gift city remains under
occupied with vast stretches of office
towers either vacant or used for
government linked institution. Despite
heavy public spending and regulatory
concessions, private sector
participation has been tepid, deterred
by limited ecosystem depth and weak
financial activity. While recent pushes
like inviting global banks and exchanges
have revived some interest, Gift City
still looks more like a glossy brochure
than a bustling financial district. its
future hinging on whether it can attract
genuine international capital beyond
symbolic launches and ribbon cutings.
The sea plane project was launched with
much fanfare in 2017 when Prime Minister
Narendra Modi famously took the
inaugural flight over the Sabar Mati
River from Ahmedabad to the Statue of
Unity, a symbolic show of innovation and
connectivity. The loan aircraft leased
by Spice from Maldives based TMA Trans
Maldivian Airways was showcased as the
beginning of a new era in regional air
travel. However, after the high-profile
launch, the project quietly collapsed,
plagued by regulatory issues, lack of
suitable water aerodyome, and zero
public demand. The aircraft was soon
returned to Maldives and no commercial
sea plane service ever materialized.
What was promoted as a visionary leap in
transportation turned out to be another
photo op project shelled without
accountability or measurable public
benefit. The Gujarat state petroleum gas
exploration project launched in early
2000s under Narendra Modi's chief
ministership was built as a massive
breakthrough a potential gamecher in
India's energy independence. GSPC
claimed to have discovered 20 trillion
cubic feet of natural gas in the Krishna
Kodavi basin projecting profits and
self-reliance.
However, the exploration turned into one
of Gujarat's biggest public sector
disasters. Technical failures,
exaggerated claims, and poor management
led to massive cost overrun, forcing the
state to borrow heavily. By 2017, GSBC
had accumulated losses exceeding
19,000 crores and its assets were
eventually transferred to OMGC in what
was widely seen as a bailout. The gas
dream ended up as a fiscal black hole
burdening Gujarat's taxpayers with
billions of rupees while delivering no
tangible energy gains. The motto was
announce big, spend big, deliver little.
This motto too went with Narendra Modi
from Ahmedabad in 2014.
Gujarat's public debt rose from 45,000
cr in 2001 to more than 3.4 lakh cr
today. Schools and hospitals lag behind.
Malnutrition and literacy gaps persist.
The cost of optics is paid by the
people. The Gujarat model became the
national template. Bullet trains without
tracks. Smart cities without cities. PR
over planning. What began as an
experiment in Gujarat became India's
default political style.
From riots to ribbon cutings, from
injustice to investment summit,
Gujarat's story is not one of
transformation but of rebranding. The
Gujarat model sold India and illusion.
That image is is equal to progress. That
construction equals growth. That silence
equals stability.
But the deported Gujaratis, the
displaced villagers, the vanished
accountability, they tell another story.
So before we export this model again,
let us audit it. Audit the numbers, the
debt, the silence. Because behind the
golden brochures lies a stage still
bleeding from 2002
rebuilt in glass but cracked at it at
its foundation.