US delegation reaches out to Narendra Modi
Narendra Modi's recent meeting with a 15-member delegation of American policy makers and business leaders marks yet another step by the West towards acknowledging the success story of growth and development that the Gujarat Chief Minister has scripted in the past decade. The meeting was led by members of Congress from the States of Illinois, Wyoming and Washington, who were visibly impressed by Mr Modi and his governance record. The Gujarat Chief Minister's motto of ‘minimum Government, maximum governance' has clearly struck a chord with the American law makers; they have also been particularly appreciative of how easy it is to do business in Mr Modi's State. So much so that the three leaders, Representatives Aaron Schock, Cathy McMorris-Rodgers and Cynthia lummis, have invited Mr Modi to visit the US to share his model of development. This is a shot in the arm for the Chief Minister who has been denied a US visa since 2005 for his supposed failure to contain the 2002 violence in Gujarat. And that is not all — the visiting delegation has also promised to lobby the Obama Administration with an aim to allow Mr Modi to travel to the States. But while Mr Modi is not exactly desperate to get on the next flight to Washington, DC, the very fact that there is now an increasing consensus in the West, particularly in the US, that he has been unfairly treated, is a positive development. It is also a huge snub to Modi-baiters of the type who sabotaged his address at the annual conference of the Wharton India Economic Form, by coercing the organisers of the event into rescinding the invite. This withdrawal, of course, led to several sponsors and speakers backing out of the event. It also led to pro-Modi demonstrations — further highlighting the growing support for the Chief Minister.
In fact, Thursday's meeting came just about a week after the British Minister of State for Foreign Office Hugo Swire met Mr Modi in Gandhinagar. This was the most high-profile visit by a British delegation since the UK decided to re-engage with “the democratically elected leader” in October 2012. Up until then, Britain had imposed a diplomatic freeze on its relations with Gujarat, much like the European Union which had declared Mr Modi persona non grata. Now Mr Modi has been called upon to address the European Parliament as well. While the West's embrace of Mr Modi is welcome, it’s a desperate effort on its part to claw back out of the hole it had dug itself into. Today, a recession-hit West needs access to Indian markets, and business-friendly States like Gujarat are its best bet to get back on its feet.
Against this backdrop, Western nations cannot afford to alienate a rising political figure like Mr Modi, who is also being talked of as a national leader post-2014 election. Politics apart, one of the main reasons for this is that popular opinion across India is turning in favour of Mr Modi. Today, an increasing number of people are willing to look beyond the 2002 violence. Tired of misrule and corruption which have defined the past two tenures of the incumbent regime at the Centre, the rest of India too wants a slice of the Gujarat pie — and as it seems, so does the rest of the world.