There are clear parallels between the ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event in Houston last year, staged at the NRG stadium that plays host most often to National Football League (NFL) matches, and US President Donald Trump’s reception yesterday at Ahmedabad’s Motera stadium. Much like the crowds that Prime Minister Narendra Modi draws, Trump was cheered on by 1,25,000 people in India’s largest cricket stadium. From an Indian point of view, fears that Trump would veer off script proved unfounded as he gave the democratic India story a big thumbs up.
On Pakistan, Trump said his administration was working with Islamabad to crack down on terror organisations on the Pakistani border. He prefaced this by saying India and the US were firmly united to defend their citizens from radical Islamic terrorism. The statements seem to balance India’s concerns about Pakistan-origin terror with America’s desire to do a deal with the Taliban in Afghanistan. India’s concern, of course, is that it shouldn’t be cornered by the China-Pakistan axis, and powerful friends like Washington can prevent it from getting isolated. In that context, soft diplomacy of the sort witnessed at Motera or Agra yesterday can prepare the ground for negotiating thorny issues that remain between the two countries.
Trump said that a very big trade deal was in the works, and the fact that he is being accompanied by a high-powered delegation, including US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross, holds out hope of serious negotiations. After all, American protectionist tariffs have hit India hard in recent times, preventing the bilateral relationship from reaching its full potential. India too should be flexible and become a more open market. Aside from clinching an important trade deal, it will help the Indian economy itself to grow.
Meanwhile, Trump also asserted that India had always been admired around the world as a place where multiple religions worship in harmony. Perhaps there is a subtle message here – India is known throughout the world for its diversity, its respect for individual freedom and for freedom of religion, and those are assets worth preserving. Today will see if Trump gets more explicit and brings up the discriminatory CAA or the burdensome NRC.
