The Modi doctrine calls for a strong India through the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign. It works for making world a better place through reconciliation

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a tectonic shift in India’s bilateral relations with the US. His summit with US President Joe Biden had the global community glued to television screens as they witnessed history unfolding in Washington DC. Heads of the states of two equal partners discussed ways to work out the good for the global community. They firmed up their resolve to work together as partners to shape the century.

PM Modi also presented democracy as a solution for the host of global challenges. Democracy runs in the veins of India, said PM Modi during a press conference with President Biden. Dialogue is the lifeline of democracy. PM Modi by underlining that dialogue, not war, is the way out of conflicts in his speech to the US Congress once more allowed American Congressmen and senators to witness a statesman in their midst.

There emerged a consensus view among the Republicans and Democrats that PM Modi wasn’t just speaking for India or the benefits of his country, but he was giving voice to the cause of the global community. They once more understood the significance of the Indian philosophy of Vasudhev Kutumbkam, that the world is one village and in the common good lies the wellbeing of all.

Democracy delivers, said PM Modi. He asserted the thriving Indian democracy breathes in over 250 political parties in India and 20 of them ruling states. Such diversity is not to be found elsewhere. The Americans sought endorsement for their diversity by bonding with India. The Americans also found to their great satisfaction that PM Modi is a champion of human values.

“Indian democracy functions on the Constitution, and the statute book provides for access to all the programmes and schemes run by the government without discrimination on the basis of caste, creed, religion, age, and regions. This is stated in the mantra of SabkaVikas, SabkaVishwas, SabkaPrayas,” said PM Modi, as he spoke of the inclusive nature of the Indian democracy during the joint press conference with President Biden.

The leadership of the US accorded PM Modi a place of eminence with unprecedented reception to him at the White House. The Indian diaspora made a strong presence in the backyard of the White House to witness the unfolding of history. During the tech summit attended by PM Modi and President Biden, several CEOs of well-known American corporate giants were people of Indian origin. The 3.5 million strong Indian diasporas in the US have been the brand ambassadors of India. They are the vital organs of the American economy. This was evident during the visit of PM Modi to the US and richly acknowledged by the Biden administration.

“When I came here last, India was the 10th largest economy of the world. Now, India is the fifth largest economy in the world. Soon, India will be the third largest economy of the world,” PM Modi told the US Congress. The US, the largest economy in the world, laid the red carpet for the prime minister of India, who is scripting rapid economic growth of his country with eyes set on the target to become the third largest economy in the world. This is significant because India and the US bilateral trade has crossed $190 billion, which was also stressed by President Biden.

This set up the vast scope of collaborations unveiled during PM Modi’s visit to the US. From the Artemis agreement for the cooperation between NASA and the ISRO, the deal for the production of jet engines by GE in India and setting up a manufacturing plant for semiconductors in Gujarat, besides India procuring the predator drones revealed the beginning of an era of strategic cooperation between the two democracies working for the global good.

The Modi doctrine calls for a strong India, which is being fulfilled through the Atmanirbhar Bharat campaign. In the defence sector, the collaboration between the US and India promises to accelerate self-reliance in the production of defence goods. Not only gaining self-reliance but India must also be armed with weapons, assets and technology to gain an edge. This again is in the interest of global good, because India is looked upon by several nations in the immediate neighbourhood of South Asia, the Indian Ocean, Indo-Pacific, and elsewhere as a source of security and strength. This has been affirmed recently by the Indian Coast Guard crackdown against the trafficking of drugs through the sea routes.

Indian and the US, PM Modi said, are partners also for the clean energy transition as the global community looks upon the two countries to fight back against climate change. This is befitting the leadership role of India in climate mitigation efforts. India alone has acted decisively on Paris Accord to demonstrate the Modi doctrine for global good in action.

(The writer is a General Secretary of the BJP)