The universal farsightedness of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ability to foresee challenges places him well above others
On September 17 this year, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns 71, his fans cutting across political lines remind themselves how he has proved to be a visionary and charismaticstatesman, a role model for others to follow.
Even his detractors have to acknowledge that his public image shines, as evidenced by a recent Morning Consult survey judging him the most popular among 13 world leaders.
With an acceptance rating of as high as 70 per cent, he was crowned as the tallest leader, followed by Mexican president Andres Manuel López Obrador with a score of 64 per cent. They were followed by Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi (63 per cent), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (52 per cent), US President Joe Biden (48 per cent), Australian PM Scott Morrison (48 per cent),Canadian PM Justin Trudeau (45 per cent), UK PM Boris Johnson (41 per cent), BrazilianPresident Jaire Bolsonaro (39 per cent), South Korean President Moon Jae-In(38 per cent), Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez (35 per cent) and French President Emmanuel Macron (34).
No doubt, on September 24 when Modi visits the United States for a Quad summit, heis likely to meet President Biden for bilateral talks on subjects includingAfghanistan for the first time after Biden rose to presidency.
There are many reasons why Modi has achieved globally what many other Indian PMs failed to. One of them is universal farsightedness that he is credited with. He can foresee the challenges lyingahead and has solutions ready for them. This quality not only made himdifferent from his predecessors but put him ahead of other top worldleaders.
Take the case of the Covid-19 pandemic that brought the world to a standstill last year. Braving the criticism of the opposition partiesat home, Modi emerged as a global messiah by reaching out to othercountries with vaccines while ensuring that the vaccine supply to Indians was not adversely affected. If this was not enough, he turned health into akey global agenda at the BRICS summit that he chaired on September 9.
He "stressed the need for accelerating 'buildback' by enhancing speedand accessibility of vaccination, creating 'resilience' bydiversifying pharma and vaccine production capacities beyond thedeveloped world".
Another major success of Modi as the host of the BRICS Summit was his affirmation in the presence of Chinese President Xi Jingping about the global stand against terrorism and the unprecedented situation that has dramatically unfolded in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of troops by the US.
In the wake of the stand of Communist China, which has decided to hobnob with the Taliban in league with Pakistan to expand its presence in Afghanistan not only for commercial interests but also for secret strategic purposes, a development that can pose a serious threat to India, Modi has been able to tie smartly four other countries to the New Delhi Declaration.
The joint resolution underlined: "We follow with concern the latest developments in Afghanistan. We call for refraining from violence and settling the situation by peaceful means. We stress the need to contribute to fostering an inclusive intra-Afghan dialogue so as to ensure stability, civil peace, law and order in the country. We condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attacks near the Hamid Karzai Kabul International Airport that resulted in a large number of deaths and injuries. We underscore the priority of fighting terrorism, including preventing attempts by terrorist organizations to use Afghan territory as terrorist sanctuary and to carry out attacks against other countries, as well as drug trade within Afghanistan. We emphasise the need to address the humanitarian situation and to uphold human rights, including those of women, children and minorities."
Significantly it also came a day after Russia and India discussed coordinating among themselves on Afghanistan during NSA-level talks in New Delhi. The New Delhi declaration also carries a veiled yet strong warning from Modi to Pakistan, which is not part of BRICS but is aligned with China and has been chiefly responsible foroverthrowing a democratically elected and India-friendly government inAfghanistan by supporting a terrorist outfit like the Taliban militarily.
If China, at the behest of Pakistan, dares to play any mischief from Afghanistan targeting India in future, Modi and leaders of the three other nations would have every right to confront Jinping forviolation of the agreement. And that would certainly not be a good experience for the leaders either Beijing or Islamabad.
(The writer is Professor and Founder Chairman, Centre for Narendra ModiStudies, Aligarh. The views expressed are personal.)
