-- 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.
* * * * *
Copyright © R. Veera Raghavan 2019
Very well explained. Thanks
ReplyDeleteYes our PM has a unique charm and reach. But such a diatribe against the previous leaders is not warranted. We are all equally responsible for the situation in our nation not just politicians.
ReplyDeleteGood analysis.
ReplyDeleteAs Mr.S.S.Ramesh has rightly said, it’s not fair to blame everything on our earlier politicians alone. Remember, people always get the government they deserve. In the past, many of our politicians did prove themselves to be corrupt, inept and greedy. They have paid heavily for their sins of omission and commission, and now, Mr.Modi and the BJP have been given an overwhelming mandate to rule the country for another five years. Let’s hope they deliver the goods.
ReplyDeleteIt’s also important to be positive about things without appearing to be unduly jingoistic and chauvinistic. From your recent blog, one would think that India is inhabited only by Hindus and that you equate Hinduism with Indianness. I think this is a fundamentally wrong and dangerous notion. India is a nation made up of innumerable cultural and religious streams and all of them today define the India that we cherish and love so dearly. Unity in diversity is the charm and USP of our country and any thinking that goes against this basic ethos should be avoided. Minorities like the Christians, Jews, Muslims, Parsees, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists have enriched the colourful mosaic of this nation. I myself come from the Christian community of Kerala that has been here in India for two thousand years! Am I to assume that I am a lesser Indian just because I am not a Hindu? I feel saddened when enlightened people like you seem to have such views. Hindus are the ‘big brothers’, the ‘Bade Bhais’ of the minorities and should therefore be magnanimous (as they have always been), in their dealings with, and attitude towards, their younger brothers.
As for the ‘Howdy Modi’ show, the less said, the better. It was dramatic showmanship at its best and nothing but a mutual admiration society at work. ‘You scratch my back and I scratch yours’ seems to have been the theme idea. One must remember that Trump is one of the most controversial, and perhaps the most detested of all American Presidents. Therefore, the sight of Modi hugging Trump, endorsing his candidature, calling him a ‘great President’ and saying ‘Agle baar, Trump sarkar,’ was quite out of place and almost revulsive.
Congratulations for all your Blogs. They are witty and some of them very though provoking.
ReplyDeleteI had the view that by design most of our Politicians don’t want to give good education fearing that the educated person will see through this game enticing the hapless public with freebies etc.
In the case of providing good education to the deprived segment of the Senior Citizen, Engineer, Management Consultant, ST Community is lot more pronounced. While objecting to Two Tumblr system in Villages, shamelessly they have separate Adi Dravida Welfare School providing much worse education than Government Scools.
I may like your research and a Blog on this subject too. Do write when you find time.
With the Best wishes,
P. Chandrasekaran
Sr. Citizen
9840314550.