CHENNAI: To the world outside, India is synonymous with Mumbai, Delhi, or the Taj Mahal. They know of some eminent personalities from Tamil Nadu or Karnataka but don’t realise that they are from a whole different part of the country that has rich history, heritage, and success stories – south India. Bringing the spotlight to this part of the nation is Christopher W Hodges, the US Consul General, Chennai. On a visit to the TNIE office, he interacted with journalists, sharing his experience of visiting the southern states, strengthening US-India relations, and involving the people to promote their cities.
Excerpts follow:
Tell us about your time in Chennai.
Chennai makes every visitor feel like their home. It has been such a welcoming place. My wife, our two children, and I have felt like family here from the very beginning. It is a place that is not only warm, but it is filled with such energy, activity, and possibility, and it’s exciting to be a part of that. As you look out of Chennai, the rest of our consular districts, which covers all of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry, Kerala, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and Lakshadweep, it’s 180 million people and we look forward to seeing all of it, which includes meeting the people there and exploring the opportunities to advance India-US relationship. Chennai is as important as Delhi and Washington are. This relationship ultimately will be defined by the Americans, and Indian people and their cooperation in business, education, culture, and the many other things we do together as friends. Much of that cooperation is happening here in south India.
Where have you travelled in India?
I went to Mysore in Karnataka a couple of weeks ago. I have been to Trivandrum in Kerala. I have been struck by this unity in diversity wherever I go; these different cultures, religions, languages, and people have come together under one banner as Indians. The fact that all of these places have come together, celebrating their diversity united by a common set of values is amazing. You see that in the food – we have tried the food everywhere. We have gone from dosas in Mysore to filter coffee to idlis here to coconut milk curries in Kerala.
A related thing that struck me is the way the people in south India live with one another in harmony. You have a mosque, a church, and a temple in closer proximity. There’s an ease to it, a really admirable warmth. As an American who also focuses on compassion, diversity, and empathy, you see that play out every day in these communities and that’s inspiring. It’s a great demonstration of the vibrancy of India.
How would you describe India and US relations?
I think we are at a real moment in US-India relations. You can see that at every level — governments engaging with one another, in the way we are working together in the region to solve problems and create a safe and secure Indo-Pacific region, in educational cooperation. India now sends more graduate students to the United States than any other country. The growth of that population year on year has been amazing. We are talking about a 35% increase. You see that in the businesses that are investing in India. We were in Bangalore recently to open a new research and development office for Boeing. You see it in the way the Indian diaspora is such an engaged ambassador in both directions for telling the stories of the US and India. When you have a moment like this, you want to take advantage of it to really solidify these many connections. We have never seen this before; I think the future is extremely bright.
What are your plans for promoting the arts?
So much is already happening and the diaspora is driving that cooperation in both directions. We want to tell the story of the US and India — not just New York and Washington, and India as not just Delhi and Mumbai — making clear to both populations that these countries are so much more. That comes down to art, culture, music, and movies. What we are trying to do at the consulate and throughout the mission is connect those opportunities to support musicians to go to the US and tell their stories. We are trying to bring American groups to India, learn more about what’s happening here to work with the diaspora and work with sister city relationships.
Denver and Chennai are celebrating 40 years of sister city relations this year. So, Denver will be sending a delegation in March to look at the arts and culinary cooperation. These relationships all come down to the people. We want to reach as many people as possible. This is about illuminating India; not just to the diaspora but to the people outside the diaspora who are now realising that this relationship is at a new level, and want to learn about India.
How is the US promoting an inclusive platform for students migrating for higher studies?
Inclusion is one of our fundamental values as Americans. Creating an inclusive platform that celebrates people from around the world with different perspectives, backgrounds, skillset and gives them an environment of respect and support, is something that Americans believe in and practice. We also realise that the students don’t just come to University X and go back. Those students are bridges for research and development and growth. They help to create jobs, drive innovation, and that can only happen if there is an environment that celebrates and supports them. We have got a delegation of 18 American schools coming to south India next week. They start in Bangalore and conclude in Coimbatore with some stops along the way. They will talk about the opportunities they provide, and the inclusive environment they offer.
Are you working on attracting more Indian companies to provide more employment opportunities?
When you look at Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala, they are making great business cases in terms of being a destination for investments and for US companies. When I talk to major American companies, they tell me that they are thrilled to be here and they want to do more. They are working on traditional strengths like manufacturing. They are also looking for next-generation things such as electric vehicle technology and resources. That’s because they realise the talent pool and I see that growth continuing. The challenge is to move our cooperation from current-generation technologies to the next generation. We have this initiative between us and India called which is green hydrogen, AI, commercial space, renewables, all of these things that will be necessary to solve the problem we face now. That is where the greatest potential lies. We are coming up with new ideas and approaches that include businesses and universities. The ingredients are all there, we just need to connect them.
What support are you offering start-ups?
We have an active commercial service here that covers south India and Sri Lanka, and they have different mechanisms to support US companies. So, it’s a lot of support if you want to come in and talk about your business and find partners. We support these companies, we cheerlead, advocate, and solve problems. That doesn’t mean necessarily funding it or subsidising it because the American model is one of supporting the businesses to do that. But we are there to get them into the last couple of yards.
What are your ideas to boost the tourism sector in south India?
This is where the diaspora really plays a crucial role because the Tamil diaspora is huge. There are huge diaspora communities in Texas, East Coast and West Coast. We need to get them involved to help Americans learn about south India. The complexity and richness of south India are really important. We have a lot of programmes to help to do that, exchanges to bring people to south India so that they can see it. Businesses who come to south India see incredible opportunities — from the backwaters of Kochi to the hub of Bangalore, the cultural integrity of Mysore and Mahabalipuram, and everything in between. There are a lot of people who know these places in a personal and compelling way that I never could. They are amazing ambassadors for these areas. In the same way, on the American side, we get people working in Idaho, North Dakota, Connecticut, my home state of Georgia, and Kentucky, places that Indians may not think of when they think of America. We are not going to take advantage of all the opportunities I have just discussed unless we get everybody involved on both sides. That’s everybody geographically and every member of the community.
Tell us about your experience at the Chennai Book Fair.
I was really impressed. What you are essentially doing there is celebrating knowledge and taking a moment to respect it. As I walked around the entire book fair, there was a focus on understanding history, culture, and the people walking around reading a variety of books. It was a chance for people, including me, to celebrate where we have come from, and it made me realise the respect Indian and Tamil Nadu place on knowledge, learning and the humility that’s part of that. Being someone who comes from a long line of humanities majors and journalism majors and seeing people who have kind of celebrated language and history, it touched me.