Sunday, September 22nd, 2019 is being rued by the Indian Prime Minister. On this ominous day, Indian Diaspora organized the “Howdy, Modi: shared Dreams, Bright Futures” event at the sprawling NRG Football Stadium in Houston drawing about half a million-crowd. Modi, arriving in tandem with the US President Donald Trump, drew a deafening applause from the mostly Hindu audience at the gathering.’ Modi and Trump spoke of strengthened ties between India-US and addressed each other as “loyal friends”. They used each other’s campaign slogans; Modi endorsed Trump’s reelection with Abkibaar Trump Sarkar and ‘Make America great again’, while Trump borrowed the ‘Make in India’ slogan to promote ‘Made in America’.
Simultaneously, outside the NRG Football Stadium, thousands of protesters comprising Kashmiris, Sikhs, representatives of Indian minorities and white allies gathered under the umbrella of Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA) were loudly chanting and displaying placards “Houston we have a problem-it is Modi” and “Modi Go Back”.
Neutral media sources like the VOA reported that the number of campaigners outside the stadium were perhaps in a greater number than those inside.
The reason of the ire of the protesters is that while Trump and Modi were backslapping each other as being two great champions of democracy, Modi’s repressive regime has incarcerated Indian Kashmiris, confining them to their homes now for over fifty days, denying their basic rights of survival, devoid of food, medicines, the opportunities to eke a source of income, and even the opportunity to provide a proper funeral to those being brutally killed by the Indian forces.
As soon as the Houston circus commenced, Indian TV channels broke into a tirade calling it a major diplomatic victory for India and a slap on the face of Pakistan because both Modi and Trump, without naming Pakistan, chastised “Islamic Terrorism” and the resolve to preserve the security of their borders.
Hand in hand the duo showered praise on each other. Trump, at times gave the impression of being non-serious, winking at the crowd while Modi was singing accolades for his partner. The venue was carefully selected because for President Trump, it was a chance to court Indian-Americans for the 2020 presidential election race where Texas could emerge as a battleground state. Modi appeared to swell with pride at the massive PR opportunity to ratify his popularity abroad as well as win brownie points with Trump displaying his worth.
Indian analysts expressed extreme angst and anger at Modi having placed all his eggs in one basket and casting his lot with the Republican candidate for the next US Presidential elections. The opposition is questioning why millions of US Dollars were dumped in the drain to organize a rally which did not bring the desired results: denigrating Pakistan?
However, the very next day, in his usual ephemeral style, while greeting the Pakistani Prime Minister, Trump praised Imran Khan too. Disregarding Indian aspirations of being cold towards Imran Khan after the noisy Houston rally only a day earlier, Trump remarked “People in my position have treated Pakistan very badly.” He went on to say, “I trust Pakistan… Want to see everyone treated well in Kashmir…” adding that “I trust Pakistan” and repeated his offer of mediating between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue provided both parties agree to it. Much to Indian chagrin, President Trump said that the Indian prime minister’s remarks on Pakistan at Sunday’s rally were “very aggressive”, but those were “well received” by the 50,000-strong Indian-Americans present there. After the Trump-Khan meeting, the White House also issued a brief statement, saying: “The two leaders discussed … ways to de-escalate tension between Pakistan and India, including combating terrorism, and the importance of Indo-Pakistani dialogue to resolve disputes between them.” The two leaders also “discussed opportunities to deepen mutually beneficial energy cooperation and trade ties,” it added. At the news briefing, Mr. Trump also lauded Prime Minister Khan’s political wisdom and leadership role for regional peace and development. What infuriated Indian analysts most was President Trump said the fact that he decided to have a one-on-one meeting with the Pakistani leader depicting the importance he gave to Pakistan, stating: “Many countries wanted to meet with me, and we were unable to meet with them,” he said. “I will tell you this: You have a great leader. He’s a good man, a nice man. Happens to be a great athlete.”
The value of the US President’s interest in the subject can be gauged from the fact that during his UNGA address on September 24, he did not even mention Kashmir. His total focus was Iran and China. However, reportedly Imran has accepted the role of mediating between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which hopefully will bear more fruition as compared to his efforts to conclude a peace deal between the US and Afghan Taliban.
For Modi on the other hand, as the dust settled in, all hell broke loose. Indian analysts expressed extreme angst and anger at Modi having placed all his eggs in one basket and casting his lot with the Republican candidate for the next US Presidential elections. The opposition is questioning why millions of US Dollars were dumped in the drain to organize a rally which did not bring the desired results: denigrating Pakistan?
The New York Times summed it up: “The (Houston) rally brought together two leaders with similar styles. Both rose to power by embracing right-wing populism, portraying themselves as champions of the masses fighting against an entrenched establishment. Both presented voters with a vision to make their respective countries ‘great again’, and both have fanned tensions along religious, economic and social fault lines.”
The writer is a retired Group Captain of PAF. He is a columnist, analyst and TV talk show host