Indian Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi’s Man vs. Wild moment with Bear Grylls has been termed as a “monstrous propaganda stunt” by The Guardian.
Modi was seen in a never-seen-before avatar on August 12 when he ventured into his country’s wilderness along with Grylls, the host of Discovery Channel’s popular TV show.
The channel had issued a statement saying the special episode featuring survivalist and adventurer Grylls and shot in the Uttarakhand’s Jim Corbett National Park with Modi, was a “frank and freewheeling journey”.
In a clip of the show that was shared by Grylls on his Twitter account last month, PM Modi could be seen riding a small dinghy down a river along with the adventure travel show host.
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In another scene, the Indian premier was seen welcoming Grylls to India and holding up a weapon carved out of bamboo and other material collected from the forest.
However, according to a review published by The Guardian on Friday, the episode was “the most tasteless TV ever”. The critic went on to say: “Strongmen Bear Grylls and Narendra Modi sniff elephant dung in the wilderness while a terror attack plays out in Kashmir. God help us all.”
According to reports, the episode was shot on the day when 40 Indian paramilitary troops were killed in the Pulwama terror attack (February 14).
The tragedy, which was termed as one of the worst to strike Indian occupying forces in the held Kashmir region, was followed by heightened cross-border tensions, including an aerial battle, as India blamed Pakistan.