MODI IN USA PM Narendra Modi is on right side of a philosophical divide on how to view Indian diaspora - By Sadanand Dhume Earlier this week, I found myself among some 20,000 Indian-Americans cheering themselves hoarse in Madison Square Garden in what must surely rank among the warmest welcomes ever accorded to aforeign leader on American soil. What makes Narendra Modi so popular among the 3 million strong Indian-American community? As the uncharitable view goes — disproportionately popular in the tonier zip codes of Delhi and Mumbai — Indian-Americans are just a bunch of rubes too parochial to let go of Indian politics, too bigoted to share high-minded concerns about the PMs alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots, and too crass to be embarrassed by his inability to speak English with the right accent. Reality, however, is both more complex and more interesting. Among Indian-Americans, support for Modi extends far beyond the Gujarati diaspora. In the adoring crowd in New York you would have found Tamil investment bankers and Bengali entrepreneurs, Bihari brain surgeons and Punjabi cab drivers, Malayali restaurateurs and Maharashtrian lawyers. What unites them in their regard for Modi boils down to two things: the promise he holds for Indias economy, and the view he holds of Indian society. First, the economy. Though neither Indians nor Indian-Americans like to dwell on this, the Indian-American journey is not merely the happy tale of highly educated migrants driven to succeed in a land of opportunity. At its core, the community represents the failure of the Nehruvian project. In 1947, Indians kicked out the British. Less than two decades later, Nehru had made such a hash of the economy that many of Indias brightest began making their way to the West. The outflow from India quickened during Indira Gandhis stultifying reign, and has never really stopped since then. For many Indian-Americans, their new home represents an opportunity to make good based on smarts and hard work, without learning how to navigate the elaborate network of patronage and family connections spawned by decades of socialism and single-family rule. That this view is a bit of a caricature — plenty of Indians in India make it on their own steam in every walk of life — doesnt rob it of its emotive appeal. Step aside from a small sliver of academics, and you will find an Indian-American community naturally in harmony with Modis dim view of the Congress Party. He Means Business Modi may be no tax-cutting, unionbusting Ronald Reagan, at least not yet. But he celebrates business and commerce in a manner familiar to Indian-Americans. You cant imagine him echoing Nehrus sentiment that profit is a dirty word. And Modis own up-by-his-bootstraps life story resonates strongly in a community whose greatest successes are also self-made. If anything, Modis view of Indian society likely contributes even more to his appeal among the diaspora. As a leader with roots in the Hindu nationalist movement, Modi apparently feels a sense of kinship with Indian-Americans, who constitute the largest Hindu community in the West by a long measure. This does not necessarily make him anathema to other communities. Among those cheering Modi the loudest last Sunday was a conspicuously attired group of Bohra Muslims. But it does set Modi firmly to one side of a divide running through Indian society. Americas OK with Aartis For Modi, those who left India, but nonetheless maintained their cultural links with it, are part of a larger Indian family. The alternative view — that formal citizenship trumps kinship or culture — finds far greater favour on the Left. If youre a Modi supporter, odds are that in the Madison Square Garden crowd you saw cousins and friends and former neighbours. If you loathe Modi, you likely saw a group of strangely accented foreigners with a bewildering affinity for Bollywood dance moves. Modis overt religiosity also plays well in America. Indian-Americans are overwhelmingly Hindu in a culture where politicians of all stripes wear their faith on their sleeve. Presidents are expected to go to church. The Hindu-American Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii was sworn in on the Bhagavad Gita. For a section of Indians in India, the sight of Modi performing the Ganga Aarti at Varanasis Dashashwamedh Ghat is either an embarrassment or an affront to secularism. Ganga Aarti may not strike a chord in every Indian-American, but you will be hard-pressed to find one who sees such a public display of personal piety as threatening. Emotionally Connected For India, this Indian-American lovefest for Modi is good news. The communitys role may not be central to Indias future — as a percentage of Indias population the Indian diaspora is tiny compared to, say, Israeli-Americans or Irish-Americans — but nor is it marginal. In Indian-Americans Modi finds a large, welloff and well-educated group predisposed toward wishing India well. Unlike most of his predecessors, Modi appears to grasp this emotionally, and not merely intellectually. In America, Bill Clinton is sometimes referred to as the first Black president for his natural affinity toward African-Americans. In a similar vein, Narendra Modi may well be Indias first Indian-American Prime Minister. FOR MORE m.economictimes/opinion/comments-analysis/pm-narendra-modi-is-on-right-side-of-a-philosophical-divide-on-how-to-view-indian-diaspora/articleshow/44161084.cms
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 21:01:50 +0000
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