Modi Diplomacy Harnessing the Whirlwind – II.

New Delhi: When Indian PM Modi embarked on his 6 day tour last week, to the United States of America and Egypt, most of the political Pandits must have kept a copy of Modi’s To-Do List on their tables for marking his ‘Performance Report’ when he returns back home. It’s just natural, a commander has to display his victories and trophies brought from his campaign abroad.

Venturing the risk of being on the judges panel, the undersigned finds trophies galore in the return baggage of PM Modi (and his colleague S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister).  Apart from the Social and customary bonhomie, bonding with the Indian diaspora in America, most of whom have settled in America or are 2nd, 3rd generation migrants, PM Narendra Modi had strategic meetings with Biden administration, Senators and prominent industry big-wigs during his whirlwind 4-day tour to the Big Apple.

Although India had been identified as Socialist democracy, ideologically closer to our Communist northern neighbors Russia and China, during the last 75 years, Modi’s visit has been successful in breaking the myth by establishing a much closer bond with capitalist and

developed world, boosting the trust and cooperation for the mutual benefit as well as larger world order. As big American industry, scientific institutions and research centers are under tight US policy regime and serve as powerful tools for furthering American supremacy across the globe, many deals have been signed by Indian team which included top Indian industrialists, business, defense, IT giants, including Mukesh Ambani, Salil Parikh, Anand Mahindra and others.

World today looks  unipolar with America on top (along with its strong allies supplementing  and executing US policies), China-Russia-North Korea being far behind the strategic, military, financial and political clout in the world order. China often tries to browbeat the US, NATO and Western powers, it forgets the riches gained by it are fruits of American policy tilt towards China in late 1960s, when Henry Kissinger and his team  failed to convince Indian leaders to join US led western block. India’s first PM Nehru, though western educated and brought up, preferred to join NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) and befriend socio-Communist allies. Later PMs Indira, Rajiv, and most political parties followed the Nehru  doctrine, which resulted in huge  advantage to China in getting US technology, market and unlimited Dollars.

With BJP, NDA led by Atal Behari Vajpayee and Narendra Modi cajoling the US and West by opening markets, US products and technologies, there is paradigm shift today; different than the Narasimha Rao-Man Mohan Singh regimes, which opened up for investment due to vast Forex deficit, transferring back huge royalties to their countries, and manufacturing for huge Indian markets without technology transfer.

The deals inked during PM Modi’s visit include setting up plants for semi-conductor, defence technology and setting up fighter aircraft manufacturing unit with technology transfer and EV plant from Elon Musk’s stable.

Indian students, IT job seekers and H-1, H-2 Visa holders get the advantage of getting visa processing, renewal etc. in the US without returning to India. Though it may cause some heart-burn for Airlines-travel industry, and families behind lesser time together with their NRI siblings, its impact needs to be observed as the diplomacy and policy shifts rolls out in the coming years.

Last leg of PM Modi’s tour abroad was to Egypt, where the Indian Prime Minister was bestowed upon the top honour, ‘the Order of the Nile’ and facilitated by Dawood Bohra community in their ancient Al Hakim Mosque.