The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s first tour of the United States begins today. On Sunday he will speak to a reported sell-out crowd of up to 20,000 Indian Americans at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. Some of these guests will have paid $50,000 for the privilege. Indeed enthusiasm is considerable for the arrival of a man who until recently was banned from entry into the US.
For wealthy sections of Indian America, Modi represents a strong man who evokes pride in India. When Modi brags about his 56-inch chest, his machismo indicates India’s arrival in world affairs. Poverty is swept away by his braggadocio. Eyes are averted from the slums and instead rest upon his promises to toss environmental and labour laws in the dustbin. Trains will run on time, workers obey their supervisors and the armed forces will spread their testosterone along India’s borders. Experiences of racism and discrimination inside the US will be forgotten in the presence of Modi. If America sees Modi’s toughness, say his US supporters, the petty humiliations of life in the west will vanish.
In 2005, the US state department denied a visa to Modi following accusations that as chief minister of Gujarat he had – at the very least – been lax as more than a thousand people were killed in a 2002 anti-Muslim pogrom that also destroyed Muslim-owned businesses and homes and pushed thousands of Muslims into virtual exile. As the US ambassador to India David Mulford put it: “He was responsible for the performance of state institutions.” Based on the International Religious Freedom Act (1998), the US felt that Modi was answerable for “severe violations of religious freedom”.
“From time to time, we would get feelers from people who knew him, or on his behalf, on whether we would grant a visa,” Richard Boucher, who worked for the South Asia bureau from 2006 to 2009, told the Wall Street Journal. But these requests were denied.
Everything changed in 2014, when Modi’s party won the parliamentary elections and he became prime minister. The US has sought India as a major ally over the course of the past decade. The US-India strategic partnership, for example, drew India into a military and diplomatic relationship that resulted in India’s vote against Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency. This new partnership also resulted in more openness of India’s market to US firms. The value of India to Washington DC meant that the high principles of religious freedom had to be set aside, and Modi finally allowed to enter the United States.
One of the cliches of contemporary politics is that every political force must be given a chance. During his first 100 days, Modi’s government has provided an indication of what it is about. Pabulum-filled speeches have become commonplace, but the reality is more prosaic. Modi claims that his industrial policy will have “zero defect, zero effect” – namely, high quality goods (zero defect) and no environmental damage (zero effect). During Modi’s tenure as chief minister of Gujarat, the state experienced grave environmental problems, with the most polluted industrial area in India at Vapi.
Modi’s mild promises to govern as the leader of all Indians fall on deaf ears among the 200 million Muslims in India. He has put Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath in charge of the BJP strategy: Adityanath came into prominence for allegedly running “purification drives” to convert Christians to his brand of Hinduism.
But the Indian Americans who gather to greet Modi won’t pay attention to these issues. They are looking forward to Modi’s “feelgood” effect. Modi will give them pride, and promise them greater business opportunities in a less regulated India. Yet the diversity that provides the ground for Indian-American success is precisely what Modi would like to deny in India.
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