heyStanding on either side of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the three-day 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention that concluded on Tuesday in Indore. Guyana President Irfan Ali And Suriname President Chandrikapersoud SantokhiA Muslim of Indian origin and a Hindu, both at the pinnacle of their careers on the other side of the world in South America.
When he was elected unopposed in 2020, Chan Santokhi’s Watan Hitkari Party (VHP) was largely an Indo-Surinamese party. But under him, it has become a multi-ethnic Progressive Reform Party. But don’t forget to recite Santokhi Sanskrit Shlokas and Mantras Back home during his swearing-in ceremony – UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak took a leaf out of his book while taking oath of secrecy on Gita in London last year.
On Irfan Ali’s Facebook pagePhotos of her and Modi at the Pravasi Bharatiya convention, where he was the chief guest, drew comments from fans with names such as Barbara Persaud-Tiwari (“Persaud” no doubt a variation of “Prasad” or “Parsad”), Poonam Ramnarayan (an adaptation of “Ram Narayan”) and Rudolf Balkaren.
Irfan Ali talks a lot about Modi’s reputation, referring to the era India sends 80,000 Covid vaccines To help Guyana deal with the pandemic.
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Modi’s praise, changing attitude
More praise about Modi and India has come into the limelight recently. back in november economist said that 2023 would lead India to become the fastest growing economy in the world, with a growth rate of up to 7 per cent. The magazine said as Europe grappled with the tensions of the Russia-Ukraine war, India took advantage of buying cheap Russian oil to maintain both economic and political stability.
IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier GourinchasMeanwhile, India has been described as a “bright light” in a gray world, while the prestigious British think tank, Center for Economics and Business ResearchHe said that in 2036 India will become the third largest economy in the world.
Modi, clearly, seems buoyed by the accolade. For only the second time in his eight years in power, he broke with tradition and tweeted on Monday about the internal political situation in a foreign country – riots in Brazil. India has always carefully avoided commenting on the internal situation of nations abroad.
Something is clearly changing. Referring to the riots allegedly sponsored by losing President Jair Bolsonaro, the PM tweeted that he was “deeply concerned” about reports of rioting and sabotage and that “democratic traditions must be respected by all.”
Modi tweeted about the internal affairs of a foreign country for only the second time, in the wake of the riots on Capitol Hill in the US after then-President Donald Trump lost the election to Joe Biden.
Clearly, Modi wants to shed the strong and intimidating image drawn by the world’s press and enter 2023 on a new note.
The emphasis on “Pravasi Bharatiya” or “Indian Diaspora” seems to be part of this strategy. That Modi is not just the PM of Indians, but will maintain a strong relationship with all Indian-origin people living abroad, no matter how long ago they left their motherland and no matter how dire the circumstances.
From Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who started the celebration of the Indian diaspora with Pravasi Divas in 2003, to Modi’s cultivation of the Indian diaspora, the BJP has certainly tapped into a goldmine of talent, hard work and model behaviour. Which makes the Indian community globally. A tough act to follow.
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new migrant
Certainly the Indian diaspora has changed color in the last 150 years as earlier Indians traveled to all corners of the world as indentured labour, or “indentured servants(a corruption of the word “agreement”) to labor in the sugar plantations of the British Empire – Suriname, Guyana, the West Indies, South Africa and Mauritius are just a few examples.
Chan Santokhi and Irfan Ali’s ancestors were “indentured” – interestingly, Suriname was a Dutch colony, only gaining independence in 1975, so small wonder Santokhi speaks Dutch like a native. Irfan Ali’s Guiana was also a Dutch colony before it was colonized by the British in 18th Century – It became independent in 1966.
And then there are the more recent and large-scale Indian economic migrants to Western countries like the US, who have become a model community in their adopted lands over the last 50 years (“We worked twice as hard to get half the distance,” a Kamala Harris, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Richard Verma are just the tip of this hugely successful Indian-American iceberg, eminent Indian-American executives who sought anonymity told ThePrint.
Of course, the blue- and white-collar workers who continue to build the glistening cities of the Gulf and send back huge amounts of remittances deserve praise – though they remain Indian citizens. Yet, because of these unsung heroes, India is tipped to make a profit, according to a World Bank Migration and Development brief $100 billion in remittances In the coming year.
The fact that Modi wants to use the Indian diaspora as a bridge to exert influence overseas is a no brainer. The argument that Indians of second citizenship are owed nothing and feel even less about the country they left behind – in a globalized world, where Twitter and Facebook are variations of the house, is one across time and distance. The need to connect with others is a basic instinct.
The Modi government is cashing in on this instinct. Modi knows that as long as India remains generally multi-cultural and democratic, Indians living abroad do not care much about what happens in their own country; A stray lynching here and there is not going to change their mind.
That is why the Pravasi Bharatiya Sammelan is so important. It brings people home. Cross-pollination occurs. Everyone wins.
The author is Consulting Editor. She tweets @jomalhotra. Thoughts are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)