New Delhi: A teenager cycling her father and herself for seven days covering 1,200 km all the way from Gurugram to Bihar’s Darbhanga amid the nationwide Covid-19 lockdown has made her a celebrity abroad, but not with everyone in India.
On 22 May, US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump tweeted, “15 yr old Jyoti Kumari, carried her wounded father to their home village on the back of her bicycle covering +1,200 km over 7 days. This beautiful feat of endurance & love has captured the imagination of the Indian people and the cycling federation!”
15 yr old Jyoti Kumari, carried her wounded father to their home village on the back of her bicycle covering +1,200 km over 7 days.
This beautiful feat of endurance & love has captured the imagination of the Indian people and the cycling federation!?? https://t.co/uOgXkHzBPz
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) May 22, 2020
This admiring tweet was not alone in celebrating the young girl. Kumari’s stupendous cycling efforts were also noted in a May 20 report from BBC Hindi News — it claimed Kumari is 13, not 15.
The Cycling Federation of India has reportedly invited Kumari to come try out for a spot at the National Cycling Academy.
Not only Ivanka and BBC, the New York Times also noted Kumari’s long journey. It said, “‘Lionhearted’ Girl Bikes Dad Across India, Inspiring a Nation” in its headline.
‘Desperation’
At home, however, many people see Jyoti Kumari’s seven-day journey as an indictment of the Narendra Modi government’s failure to take care of migrant workers travelling back home from their places of work in cities during the pandemic-induced lockdown.
National Conference’s leader Omar Abdullah’s reaction to Ivanka’s tweet said, “Her poverty & desperation are being glorified as if Jyoti cycled 1,200 KM for the thrill of it. Government failed her, thats hardly something to trumpet as an achievement (sic).”
Congress MP Karti Chidambaram tweeted, “This is not a feat of excellence. It’s a feat fuelled by desperation caused due to the callous attitude of the @BJP4India government headed your “friend” and “host” @narendramodi.”
Economist Rupa Subramanya responded to Ivanka’s tweet with, “Are you seriously this clueless? This kid and her family had to go through this horrific experience because of India’s ill-conceived total lockdown which has resulted in a humanitarian disaster, not because she’s aspiring to be a professional cyclist.”
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