That Guy

I've been meaning to post about this guy for a while. There are posters plastered all over Hyderabad of Brother Anil Kumar, advertising his Jesus Christ Blessing Festivals. Though about two percent of the country is Christian, it's always a bit surprising to see anything Christian in India. But, the scale at which Anil Kumar is being promoted is bizarre.

So, who is this guy? Well, it turns out that he travels all over the world giving talks about his experience with his faith. It also turns out that he's the son in law of Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, the chief minister of Andhra Pradesh. There are two reasons why this is significant.

For one, the elections for the state are coming up in early 2009. An article I read suggested that Anil Kumar is actually being used as a tool by Reddy to appeal to the Christian vote.

Additionally, there has been wide speculation that the funding for this promotional campaign has not been legitimate, pulling from state money in some way.

There's probably some truth to both of them. Regardless, this guy has sort of become the face of Hyderabad to me... for better or worse.

From Q4 In Hyderabad