How Howdy Modi! can bring good news for nation
If there is one aspect of the Modi foreign policy rubric widely seen to have borne fruit, it’s the outreach to the ‘diaspora’ - a segment usually looked down upon by more traditional, dyed-in-the-wool policy wonks. The power of the Indian diaspora will again be on full display at the mega rally Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to address in Houston, Texas.
The 50,000-capacity NRG Stadium is sold out, even if private social media posts spoke of a generous embassy hand in amassing those numbers. The icing on the cake: US President Donald Trump is joining in. Which leader would pass up on the opportunity to be at such a huge congregation that only a sporting event can attract? In the run-up to a crucial presidential election, every vote matters. Win win.
For Modi too, it makes sense to harness his totemic aura among NRIs in such a way that Trump ends up by his side when India badly needs to bottle the genie of an ‘internationalised’ Kashmir.
As it is, what was hitherto unmentionable, or only spoken in whispers, is now the stuff of open rhetoric: a possible nuclear face-off with Pakistan, and resolution through annihilation! If things are carefully choreographed, India won’t face the embarrassment of Trump openly offering third-party mediation in Houston. What’s more, some from the Democratic side may join in, lending a bipartisan flavour. A big chunk of Indian Americans are hitched to the Democratic side, so Trump obviously thinks it worth his time to don a Stetson and lasso in some of those votes.
India, however, would really win if the ongoing trade tiff with the rather transactional Trump administration can be sorted out in a quid pro quo - and the preferential trade status and wrangle over knee implants and stents taken care of. Then, it will be ‘Howdy Modi!’ from Houston to Delhi.