PM goes to UN with a chorus of support

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s prime-time “Howdy, Modi” jamboree sent out several messages at once. One, that the leader of Indian democracy was recently re-elected with a comfortable majority, and that even though the NRIs who piled into Houston’s NRG Stadium to cringingly dance the night away had probably not voted in India’s parliamentary election, they gave evidence of the devotion Mr Modi elicits from most of his fellow citizens. It’s unlike the almost 50-50 ideological division in Western societies like the United States, Britain or even Israel. No country that wants to deal with Mr Modi — or criticise him for his domestic policies — can afford to ignore his deep reserves of political capital. Two, US President Donald Trump raised neither the withdrawal of Kashmir’s autonomy through the hollowing out of Article 370 nor the issue of human rights, be it the detention of thousands of Kashmiri sons or even the basic fact of the communication and transportation lockdown in the Valley. And understandably so: a win-win trade deal is within Mr Trump’s grasp, which will give him succor in the face of an increasingly difficult tariff war with China; and Mr Trump also will be pleased at how Mr Modi exhorted a stadium full of American voters to vote for him in a re-election that a year from now might look tough. It didn’t hurt that to satisfy Mr Trump, Mr Modi framed the Kashmir issue in terms of terrorism; for both men, “terrorism” just signals their shared Islamophobia.

Mr Trump’s refusal to mention Kashmir is important to India as the real substance of Mr Modi’s ongoing US trip surfaces later this week, when the UN General Assembly meets and Pakistan PM Imran Khan is sure to raise the Kashmir issue, both in its political dimension as well as the human rights angle. While foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale has already said that raising Kashmir in Mr Khan’s speech was Pakistan’s prerogative, and that India would take the high road and not discuss Article 370’s abrogation, it’s clear India is looking for more than just deflection. For instance, Suriname vice-president Michael Ashwin in New Delhi threw his country’s support behind India on Kashmir; we can no doubt expect more of the same when Mr Modi meets the 15-member Carribean bloc, among others, in New York this week. (It is ironic that visiting diplomats used to dutifully parrot their country’s endorsement of India’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council; now they parrot the host’s line on Kashmir.) Additionally, America’s newspaper of record featured an Oped on Monday assessing the Modi visit, and while it carefully balanced his intentions with human rights violations in J&K, it was ultimately supportive. Such a chorus of support from small countries and Oped writers gives Mr Modi momentum as he prepares to deliver a speech to the UNGA on banalities like development and generalities like terrorism, without addressing his government’s most consequential decision since the November 2016 demonetisation, whose effects still cause India to reel.