-- RVR
A riveting political
spectacle of 2019 was witnessed on 22nd September, themed ‘Howdy Modi’. The
venue was NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas, thronged by over 50,000 Indian Americans
to welcome and hear India's prime minister Narendra Modi. He gave a rousing
speech and proved he was the super hero of the event.
At the stadium, US
President Donald Trump also took the stage along with Modi for some
time, and later Trump came down to occupy the front row
and watched the huge crowd react to the Indian leader repeatedly in
rapturous applause. Trump has also recalled that the stadium scene was like rock
star Elvis Presley coming back. How could Modi work his magic?
If Indian voters are delighted
to see Modi and wish to give him a huge mandate in elections, that is
understandable. They would want to see development around them and a better
life for themselves and so they keep high hopes on a leader they perceive as
strong, able and incorruptible. But Modi doesn't hold any
elective office in the US. As India's prime minister, he didn't do
anything, and has no role to play, for the welfare of Indian Americans living
in another continent. Why should those people go in ecstasy to welcome and
be with Modi?
A good number of
Indian Americans who assembled at the Houston stadium should be US
citizens, and many more among them would be wanting to join their ranks. But citizenship
is only a matter of legal allegiance, and all of them have a soul-level attachment
to India, more so when they are Hindus. If you are a Hindu born in India or
if your Hindu parents were born in India and you are proud about your
Hindu lineage you cannot turn your heart away from India, and a part of you
will be longing for India even as you work and live abroad. Hindus look
upon India as a land of holy places they revere and hence their special bond
with this country. This applied to nearly everyone who was present in the
NRG Stadium - and to many several times the stadium capacity who watched Modi
live on television across America that day.
Look at how Sikhs
deeply revere Gurudwara Darbar Sahib at Kartapur, the final resting place of Guru Nanak, that became part
of Pakistan after partition. That location is now enemy
territory, but Sikhs in India - and from around the world - have unfading
sentimental attachment to Kartapur and look for a pilgrimage to that gurudwara. This tells us, in a parallel, about the special attachment Indian American
Hindus will have for India that is full of holy sites in its rivers, mountains,
puranic locales and innumerable temples. And yes, this phenomenon has a
connection with the Howdy Modi event.
An average Indian
American has a higher level of education than an average native American citizen. Indian
Americans know very well why their education, knowledge and competence are
valued and used for the development of America, but not in India which needs
those human resources more dearly. They know who the villains in India are
in this story - all typical Indian politicians who entrenched
themselves in power throughout India for the past several years to reap
personal gains, stifling merit and talent and pampering mediocrity and
letting corruption grow all round.
Most Indians with a good academic record and high merit find themselves suffocated by the country's corrupt and degraded political atmosphere and the shackles it lays on ability, personal progress and national development. Those who can get out of the country to grow and prosper do so, and many of them reach American shores. Once there, they would be happy working their talent and reaping its benefits. They would surely be contented in a life which offers clean water, good civic services, efficient transport and assured quality education for their children, which remain a dream for the people of India. But still they won't forget their contempt and hatred for the Indian political leaders who stunted the development of a country which the emigrated Indians emotionally love.
Most Indians with a good academic record and high merit find themselves suffocated by the country's corrupt and degraded political atmosphere and the shackles it lays on ability, personal progress and national development. Those who can get out of the country to grow and prosper do so, and many of them reach American shores. Once there, they would be happy working their talent and reaping its benefits. They would surely be contented in a life which offers clean water, good civic services, efficient transport and assured quality education for their children, which remain a dream for the people of India. But still they won't forget their contempt and hatred for the Indian political leaders who stunted the development of a country which the emigrated Indians emotionally love.
If those Indian
Americans, and possibly their children too, spot an Indian political
leader whose heart beats for India and who is honest, hard-working, humble
and astute, and he looks a gift of the gods for India's redemption
and development, they are overjoyed. To them, applauding and rooting for such a
new-found Indian leader is like hitting back at the other grade of
Indian politicians they despise for what those politicians do or did to
India. And so Modi came and conquered
the hearts and minds of Indian Americans and dazzled at the NRG Stadium. As he also spoke credibly and evocatively to
Indian Americans, they naturally warmed up to Modi with euphoria – which also
meant they were gleefully kicking many rascal politicians of India who all
along betrayed the land those Indian Americans deem sacrosanct. This is why Howdy Modi glowed and galvanised
Indian Americans.
Can you still not
grasp why the Modi magic worked with Indian Americans in Houston? Then you
don't know how Indian politicians in government, with their little minds, let
down India for long. Those politicians ruled amidst the Congress party's shoddy
track record at the Centre and in many states – specifically, when the Congress
has been led by Indira Gandhi and by worse leaders later. They constantly drove
bright disgruntled and choiceless Indians, still loving India, out of the
country. These Indians - who are now largely spread over USA, Britain and Australia - will always cheer and celebrate
Modi, the different leader. But don’t
worry – in India you will still benefit from Modi.
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Copyright © R. Veera Raghavan 2019
