Dreams and protests

Madison Square Garden, New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted the Indian diaspora in New York with a grand promise: “India will touch new heights.” The crowd of 20,000 Americans of Indian origin erupted in response. It was an uproarious welcome for Mr Modi. After all, over 130 heads of countries visited NY last week, but only one got a rockstar welcome from his community.

Mr Modi became the first foreign head of government to address a sold-out crowd on Sunday at New York’s Madison Square Garden, normally a venue for rockstar performances.

But beyond the hype and hyperbole, the event showcased Mr Modi’s ability to connect with the common man.

After all, meeting with the public on this scale has never been on the agenda of past PMs.

But Mr Modi’s own background resonates deeply with the Indian-American crowd.

The Horatio Alger story of a successful life woven out of humble roots is the quintessential American dream.

Mr Modi’s own story of a tea vendor who rose to lead the world’s most populous democracy fits it perfectly.

No wonder, Mr Modi brought the crowd to its feet when he said: “I reached where I am today after selling a lot of tea.”

The Indian diaspora is dotted with similar success stories of the motel millionaire, the technocrat and the finance wizards.

Gayatri Patel, who owns four Bombay Spice restaurants in New Jersey, was so galvanised by Mr Modi that she offered to dole out free pakodas if Mr Modi won elections back in May.

The woman who doled out over 230 kg of pakodas on May 16, told me: “If I had remained in India, I could not even have dreamed what I have done here. My friends in Bombay have better degrees than me but they aren’t pursuing their dreams. I think Modi can change that by creating opportunities.”

Her mini-restaurant empire started with just one restaurant six years ago. And guess what? She’s only 30 years old.

I asked her what made her give out so many pakodas.

“I want to stay connected with my country and I want to see India succeed,” she said. It’s a sentiment I’m hearing more and more of, since Mr Narendra Modi took oath.

Whether it’s true or not, Mr Modi has created a reputation for himself as an “anti-establishment guy”.

Even the NY event was an extension of that. It was put together by Bharat Barai, a doctor from Indiana, who emerged out of nowhere and upset the established Indo-US groups which have been around for years.

No one had even heard of the Indian-American Community Foundation, the non-profit entity started by Mr Barai that organised the record making event.

Why? Because it didn’t even exist until July.

Mr Barai has a personal relationship with Mr Modi going back 20 years.

He hosted the future PM in his home when he visited the US for a religious conference but couldn’t afford to stay in a hotel.

When he started the organisation, Mr Barai took a page from President Obama’s playbook and opened a web page for small donations of $5 and $20 to pay for the event, which would cost over $1 million. The response was big.

He reached the goal within two weeks and took down the donations button on the web page. (About 96 per cent of the seats at Madison Square Garden were free.)

It was Mr Barai’s idea to beam the event live on the big screens in Times Square.

After receiving hundreds of emails every day with requests to attend the event, which had already sold out, Mr Barai figured the overflow crowd could watch the PM in Times Square.

More than the money, what took Mr Barai by surprise was the enthusiasm of about 2,000 Indian-Americans who put the event together.

Mr Modi has clearly galvanised the youth of 1st and 2nd generation Americans of Indian origin, who are aching to connect with their cultural homeland. Mr Modi promised to repay the love that the Indian diaspora has shown him by “making the India of your dreams”.

Still, despite all the enthusiasm about his visit, Mr Modi wasn’t able to shake off his past.

Human rights groups don’t want the world to forget that under his watch as CM, 2,000 people were killed in Gujarat riots.

A few groups came out to protest and it’s clear that Mr Modi needs to do more to wipe away these doubts.

Protests by about 200 people, while powerful, was not able to drown out the roars emanating from Madison Square Garden.

With the event, Mr Modi rang in an era of greater connectivity.

In an increasingly global world, such a two-way flow of ideas and culture can only be good. How Mr Modi channels this energy will determine the course of the new relationship.
 
The writer is an editor with CNN Money in New York. Twitter handle: @pgogoi