Divine Family Values

Despite a decade of Hindu nationalist government under the pious Narendra Modi, it seems that the gods remain unsatisfied. A season of maternal fasting and cleansing for the good fortune of offspring has been rewarded with the drowning of at least thirty-seven children and seven mothers: a substantial increase on the twenty-two drowned during the same festival last year. Evidently the deities of the Hindu pantheon are about as diligent as most gods in protecting their devotees from climate change and organisational inefficiency; hence those of an ecumenical bent will doubtless welcome the casualties as an encouraging sign of common ground between religions.