Modi in US: PM Modi’s speech to the US Congress the work of a spinmeister

Diplomacy, some say, is war by other means. It seems that there is a need to supplement this definition by expanding it to include, ‘Diplomacy is PR (public relations) by another name’. The man who exemplifies this extended definition of diplomacy is Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In his speech to the US Congress on Wednesday morning (Washington time) Modi turned himself into a spinmeister. He drew as many parallels as possible to show the convergences. He said that Thoreau’s ‘Civil Disobedience’ impacted India’s political thought. He forgot to mention that it was Mahatma Gandhi who acknowledged Thoreau’s influence. Then he pointed out that Swami Vivekananda’s famous speech was delivered in Chicago, that Ambedkar’s thinking was moulded during the time he spent at Columbia University a century ago.

He recalled that the US stood by India in its time of sorrow as well, and referred to American solidarity with India during the terror attack in Mumbai on November 26, 2008. Then he turned to the Indian diaspora in America and said that some of America’s best CEOs, best doctors and scientists and economics, as well as spelling bee champions are from this group of three million Indians. He said that India was proud of these Indians who are doing so well in America. Then he pushed for closer India-US economic ties. He said America’s ‘innovative genius and India’s intellectual creativity’ will be for the good of India as well as for America. He also said that yoga is practiced by 30 million Americans, but India does not claim intellectual property right over yoga.

He told the US Congress that he had travelled in America from coast to coast, and across 25 states and what struck him was the dream of the common people and their boldness to achieve them. He said a similar dream is now inspiring 800 million young people in India. He did not forget to bring in the familiar theme of terrorism and said that terrorism was being incubated in India’s neighbourhood. He praised the US Congress for sending out a clear message against those who use terrorism for political gains. This was of course a clear reference to the US Congress opposition to sale of F16s to Pakistan.

Modi had utilised the opportunity of addressing the US Congress well enough to put across India’s view of the friendship between the two countries, and the view of successive governments in India that friendship and partnership with America is a great boost to India on the international stage. He took care to say that there would be differences and divergences in perspectives between the two countries and that these differences would only add value to the relationship between the two countries.

As political speeches go, Modi delivered a good one, especially when he quoted Walt Whitman and extended the metaphor to say that a “new symphony is in play” where the “constraints of the past are behind” and “foundations for the future are in place.