Modi Abroad: Triumph and Sour Grapes

Carping and casting aspersions about Modi’s popularity abroad and impact on the global stage isn’t going to help the opposition. It would do better to learn from him.

Bad management is good politics and good management is bad politics, if we go by the opinion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s critics, more particularly those in the Congress. The former shows our earlier disposition where we condoned the flippant as simple and good. The latter is what the Congress would like us Indians to believe: How can the show be so good? It must be stage-managed. How can they do it so perfectly when our best attempts failed?

Accusing the Modi government of “crony capitalism”, Congress on Friday said that the government was gaining popularity because of “good event management” not “good governance”. “Narendra Modi is gaining popularity in the country and abroad because of his good event management. In reality, no development work is visible as yet,” Congress spokesperson Ajoy Kumar said on November 21.

Earlier, on November 16, Congress leader and former external affairs minister Salman Khurshid had cast doubt at the humongous public gatherings that Modi manages to attract during his foreign trips. Khurshid alleged that the Prime Minister took people along on his foreign trips to amass crowds and make speeches.

Buttressing his claims, Khurshid said that the streets of Myanmar’s capital generally remain empty, so how come Modi could gather a decent crowd of Indian diaspora even there. “Have been to Naypyitaw (Myanmar), streets are empty there, he must have taken along many,” Khurshid said.

If you wish to beat Modi, a difficult task at any time, you have to master his perfectionist traits. By criticising something that should be lauded, you end up hurting your own reputation. You can control things only when you know the issues involved. Or, at least you have good managers who can look after these for you. Modi is in control of the situation most of the time because he has taken governance seriously.

Would you be happy if the Prime Minister had gone to the US or Australia and got a lukewarm response? This used to be the trend earlier, as a visit like this was routine—one that would pass as just one more foreign visit. There would be official functions and that would be the end of the story. But with Modi in the saddle, things are different.

Those used to the earlier ways cannot imagine that the new Prime Minister has generated a great deal of enthusiasm and excitement about a new India. The main reason is, world leaders see a resurgent India in Modi’s vision and action. It is after 30 years that any one party has been voted to power. If Gujarat is the state where Modi learnt the art of good governance, the entire country is going to be his field for implementation. Those who have analysed Modi know that he is a man who would deliver and, hence, the zeal on the part of global players looking for new and attractive investment destinations.

It would be entirely stupid to conceive that hundreds of people can be transported from India to the US or Australia to be cheerleaders. It is a different matter that the BJP, which has taken special care to nurture its overseas friends, would send one of its best men to ensure a packed house. That is why Ram Madhav, the party’s general secretary, reached the United States before the Modi visit, and then Australia. He is likely to be there even when Modi visits the United Kingdom early next year, as the crowds are expected to be much larger there.

Should we grumble if the Overseas Friends of the BJP, in coordination with other organisations, are able to put together a grand show for the Prime Minister of the country? One can argue why the same was not done for Modi’s predecessor. But the Congress needs to ask itself whether it did enough to seek the support of Indians living abroad.

Whatever show you organise, whatever attempts you make, you cannot force the Indian diaspora to come to listen to a person who would not interest them much. They are very busy earning dollars. Now that, due to the global slowdown, their dollars are failing to get the same returns they got earlier, they are looking for opportunities back home. India promises to be their investment destination and Modi the man they can trust. He is one leader who has always spoken about good returns on investment.

Also important is the newfound respect for the Indian leader due to the impression of a rising India. More than 200 organisations joined hands to make the show successful in Sydney. In Madison Square Garden, it was about 300.The Indian diaspora is feeling empowered. They are not looking for any sops. They are acknowledging the newfound respect Modi has created for them in their local environments. When top leaders of the world are competing with each other to host Modi, you can appreciate the adrenalin pumping inside Indians settled or working there.

Compulsions of domestic politics should not blind the opposition so much that they burn their own fingers in an attempt to salvage the lost prestige due to their inability to create the same magic. If Modi is a meticulous person, learn from him. If he is a ’marketer’, even then learn from him. A new India needs to be showcased to the world and Modi is doing that very well. Don’t keep complaining that people failed to understand your messages. Admit that you failed to communicate. Leadership is all about better communication. Acknowledging this is the first step to improvement.

Modi knows exactly what he wants from the interactions abroad. While Madison Square Garden or the Olympic Park show in Sydney centrestaged him as a very popular leader and a man who cannot be ignored, his official engagements were meant to deliver results that would benefit the country. These would not be just addresses intended for effect, though effect too matters a lot in international diplomacy.

Modi brought the agenda of black money and its seriousness for global security at the meeting of BRICS before he spoke on the same issue at the G-20 in Brisbane that followed. He forced the world to respond to his agenda. He did not mince words while stressing the need to develop an automatic information exchange programme to prevent tax evasion. He highlighted the negative impact of such money by linking it to terrorism, drug trafficking and arms smuggling.

The Australia visit should be seen essentially as a step to boost trade between the two nations. Australia is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of mineral resources. Early tie-ups for energy needs can pay rich dividends in the long run. It is fruitless to exhaust the limited domestic energy resources when cheaper avenues are available globally.

The visit should also be seen in the context of the government’s efforts to make India a manufacturing hub. It would not be possible without major investments from abroad. They have the money, we have the opportunity. Modi has asserted that a successful India will provide vast opportunities to the world. In that sense, he tried to build stakes for world leaders in the India success story. Which is precisely where earlier regimes had failed.