Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes India has a chance to rise again as a major global economy and he has a roadmap to channel country’s talent and potential.
“I have a lot of faith in the entrepreneurial nature of our 1.25 billion people. There is a lot of capability. And I have a clear roadmap to channel it,” the PM said in an interview to an international television channel, CNN.Comparing India with China, the PM said that the two countries have had similar pattern of growth and problems.
“This is a country that once upon a time was called ‘the golden bird’. We have fallen from where we were before. But now we have the chance to rise again. If you see the details of the last five or ten centuries, you will see that India and China have grown at similar paces. Their contributions to global GDP have risen in parallel, and fallen in parallel. Today’s era once again belongs to Asia. India and China are growing rapidly together,” he said, adding, “India does not need to become anything else and must become only India.”
On a question if India is concerned over China’s behaviour in the East China Sea and the South China Sea which has worried many of its neighbours, Modi said we should have trust in China’s understanding and have faith that it will accept global laws and will play its role in cooperating and moving forward.
“We can’t run our country if we get worried about every small thing. At the same time, we can’t close our eyes to the problems… look at how it (China) has focused on its economic development. It’s hardly the sign of a country that wants to be isolated. It wants to stay connected. That is why we should have trust in China’s understanding and have faith that it would accept global laws and will play its role in cooperating and moving forward,” PM said.
Ahead of his visit to the US, Modi said it was possible for the US and India to develop a genuinely strategic alliance.
“There are many similarities between the US and India. If you look at last few centuries, two things come to light — America has absorbed people from around the world, and there is an Indian in every part of the world.
This characterises both the societies. Indians and Americans have co-existence in their natural temperament. Now yes, for sure, there have been ups and downs in our relationship in the last century. But from the end of the 20th century to the first decade of the 21st century, we have witnessed a big change. Our ties have deepened. India and the USA are bound together, by history and culture. These ties will deepen further,” he added.
On a question of Al Qaeda’s appeal to Indian Muslims, PM said: “My understanding is that they are doing injustice towards the Muslims of our country. If anyone thinks Indian Muslims will dance to their tune, they are delusional. Indian Muslims will live for India. They will die for India. They will not want anything bad for India.”
Onetrackmind
This is a country that once upon a time was called ‘the golden bird’. We have fallen from where we were before. But now we have the chance to rise againIndia does not need to become anything else and must become only India
We can’t run our country if we get worried about every small thing. At the same time, we can’t close our eyes to the problems… look at how it (China) has focused on its economic development
There are many similarities between the US and India. If you look at the last few centuries, two things come to light — America has absorbed people from around the world, and there is an Indian in every part of the world