Chintamani Mahapatra
India’s hyperactive Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now widely known for
his magic - the Modi Magic. His charisma made him popular ever since he
began his tour of India to campaign for the parliamentary election and
his charm became more widespread going beyond the borders of India soon
after he became the Indian Prime Minister.
In one month, Prime Minister Modi has held three summit level meetings
with three world leaders - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chinese
President Xi Jinping and the US President Barack Obama. The Chinese
leader announced an investment of US$20 billion to develop
infrastructure in India; the Japanese leader declared an amount of US$35
billion and, while the American leader could make no such commitment,
the US-Indian Business Council estimated that Modi’s visit to the US
would bring about US$41 billion of investment to India.
Why the US president was not able to make an open commitment on
investing in India is not unknown. It is the private corporate sector in
the US that can make investment commitments and not the US
administration. And, investment, after all, is not aid!
There is no doubt that Modi’s summit meeting with the US President was
the most important among the three summits, not only because the US is a
superpower, but because Washington’s approach towards the new
government in Delhi would considerably impact China’s attitude and
Japanese engagement vis-à-vis India.
Critics point out that Modi’s US visit was high on symbolism and low on
substance. Some pointed out that the grand reception he received in New
York was the handiwork of the Gujarati community in the US. It has also
been argued that there was a big media hype in India about Modi’s US
visit, but there was nothing of significant importance in the coverage
by the US media. Still others complain that no new agreement was signed
during the Modi-Obama summit, no big ticket item was proclaimed, and
that there was nothing original in the joint statement issued by the two
leaders.
These are actually criticisms for criticism’s shake. First of all,
Modi’s address at the Madison Square was clearly aimed at the Indian
American community and not just the Gujarati community. In fact, the
short cultural programme before the Prime Minister’s arrival had an
India flavour and the Rajasthani dance performance by Gujarati dancers
symbolised the unity of India in diversity! The Prime Minister’s
announcement of life time visas for overseas Indians (PIO and CIO) was
not meant for the Gujarati community alone.
Secondly, American newspapers rarely give wide coverage to any one
foreign leader, and Prime Minister Modi’s meeting with the US President
in view of this fact was like such meetings in the White House, that is,
almost a daily affair. Moreover, an article by the PM in The Wall Street Journal, a major voice of corporate America, and a joint article by President Obama and Prime Minister Modi in the influential The Washington Post were quite uncommon feats.
Finally, a pair of eagle eyes is needed to discover the novel elements
in the US-India joint statement. First, the statement clearly and
strongly sends signals to Pakistan to rope in its home-grown terrorist
networks and to China to follow international law in handling maritime
disputes in the South China Sea. No diplomatic nicety was shown, unlike
earlier joint statements, in matters of tackling terrorism and managing
freedom of the seas.
Secondly, the need to robustly tackle the IS and D-Company, among other
terrorist outfits, and their safe heavens, was a significant part of the
joint statement and the mark of the Modi Government on this issue was
crystal clear.
Thirdly, the concord between the two leaders to clean up the logjam in
the implementation of the civil nuclear cooperation agreement was an
important declaration. The UPA government failed to implement years
after the declaration of the nuclear deal and six years after signing
the 123 agreement.
Significantly, Modi’s summit with President Obama preceded his
unprecedented corporate diplomacy marked by his meetings with the CEOs
of a large number of American Big Business houses and his public
diplomacy with the influential Indian American community. In both these
initiatives, the Prime Minister’s goal was to allure American
investments into India to create smart cities, modernise the country’s
infrastructure and turn India into a manufacturing hub of the world.
Modi was neither selling dreams nor making populist remarks. He had done
his home work. Based on his understanding of India’s strengths -
democracy, demography and demands - he tried to convince the American
public and the government the benefit of doing business in and with
India. Neither his corporate diplomacy nor his public diplomacy was
anathema to the White House.
Modi has planted many seeds in the US. The road to success, however, is long and not without hurdles.
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