Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be joined in by US President Donald Trump at the “Howdy, Modi!” event in Texas, Houston, on September 22. PM Modi tweeted that the “special gesture” highlights the strength of the relationship and recognition of the contribution of the Indian community to American society. In a first, an American president would be addressing thousands of Indian -Americans at one place in the US.
The White House confirmed Trump's presence at a gathering on Sept. 22, where PM Modi is expected to address a 50,000-strong Indian-Americans - an influential voter base in the US - from across the US who have registered for the mega event to be held at the NRG Stadium in Houston. Organizers have said that there will be a cultural programme followed by an address by Modi.
Indian ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla called Trump’s participation in the “Howdy, Modi!” event “historic” and “unprecedented”. He told that Trump’s gesture is reflective of the strong bonds of friendship and cooperation that has developed between India and the US. In a statement, White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said, “It (Modi-Trump joint rally) will be a great opportunity to emphasize the strong ties between the people of the United States and India, to reaffirm the strategic partnership between the world’s oldest and largest democracies, and to discuss ways to deepen their energy and trade relationship.”
White House officials said that a request was made by PM Modi to President Trump when the two met in France last month on the sidelines of the G-7 summit. Trump, who enjoys a great chemistry and friendship with Modi, “immediately accepted” the invitation to join him in Houston and directed his officials and secret service, officials said.
“Howdy, Modi!” will be the prime minister’s third major address to the Indian-American community after being elected to office in 2014. He had addressed the Indian diaspora at the Madison Square Garden in New York in 2014 and the Silicon Valley in 2016. Shringla said it was reflective of the people-to-people contact that provides the “organic” linkage between the two countries. The ambassador said the two leaders addressing the event sets a bold precedent, which he added was unconventional and unique. “It would be quite a historic meeting with Prime Minister Modi and President Trump jointly addressing over 50,000 Indian-Americans, mainly US citizens,” Shringla said.
The joint appearance at Houston could also benefit both leaders politically, according to analysts. Trump's presence could help PM Modi signal to his supporters that his floundering economic policies could benefit from backing from the world's largest economy. For Trump, the event could be an ideal platform to address affluent Indian American voters. Also, this would be the third meeting between the two leaders this year. The previous two were on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in June in Japan and in France in July on the sidelines of the G7 Summit.
In October 2016, Trump, then as Republican presidential nominee, had addressed a strong crowd of some 5,000 Indian-Americans in New Jersey, a few weeks away from his historic win in the November 2016 elections. So far, Trump is the only presidential candidate to address the Indian-Americans solely during an election year. In his address, Trump had said that if elected, he would be the best friend of India in the White House. The “Howdy, Modi!” event is being organised by non-profit Texas India Forum, a recently-formed representative body of hundreds of Indian American organisations in Texas and other parts of the US.
PM Modi has sought ideas from the people for his September 22 speech. "Share your ideas for my address. I would refer to some of them during my remarks," he tweeted. Modi urged the people to express their thoughts on the special open forum on the NaMo application.
The 'Howdy Modi!' event in Texas will be the first stop in PM Modi's week-long US trip. Apart from addressing the United Nations' Climate Action Summit in New York on September 23, PM Modi is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly on September 27. His address will come on the same day as Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
US, India must not lose sight of the bigger picture
The India-US partnership must succeed for the emergence of a new rules-based global order, writes India Inc. founder and CEO Manoj Ladwa.
The US India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), a non-profit advocacy group comprising leading corporate figures from the two countries, has projected that bilateral trade between India and the US could rise sharply to $238 billion by 2025 from the current level of $143 billion. The USISPF’s US India Bilateral Trade Report projects bilateral trade to grow at 7.5 per cent annually over the next six years. It adds that if trade grows at 10-12.5 per cent per year, as has been the case in 2017 and 2018, then the figure could reach between $283 and $327 billion.
Ladwa says there’s a lot that India and the US can achieve together besides enhanced trade. The Indo-US partnership must succeed for the emergence of a rules-based new global order. A lot can also go wrong with this relationship. US President Donald Trump’s currently uncontrolled unilateralism can undo the good work that both governments have done since the turn of this century to improve and sustain their undeclared strategic alliance.
Imposition of punitive tariffs on Indian exports, the withdrawal of Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) benefits to India, forcing it to stop oil imports from Iran and Venezuela and squeezing India’s strategic interests in the Chabahar port are all examples of short-sighted muscle flexing by the US President. The Indian ministers will have to impress upon the US, that if rising trade disputes with the US begin to dominate India’s domestic politics, the geopolitical potential of a closer strategic alignment between India and the US will suffer a setback. Since Trump faces election next year, he will unleash punitive actions against perceived rivals such as China and Iran as well as friends and allies like the European Union, Mexico and India, if only to drive home to his constituency that he is standing up for them and making “America Great Again”.
Even as US-India ties are at a crossroads, it must also be accepted that that despite all the concerns, Trump has also done much as any other US President to push the bilateral relationship forward. He has in fact gone further than Barrack Obama, who had designated India a “major defence partner”. Trump has provided India a “strategic defence authorisation” that makes it eligible to receive defence-related technologies that are barred to all but a select few countries.
But the problem is that the Indo-US strategic alignment does not demonstrably benefit the common Indian. But punitive actions on trade and the clampdown on H1B and spouse visas, among other trade-related measures, impact many lives – and influence the public and political discourse in India. At present, the US is viewed very positively in India. But if Trump’s trade-related punitive measures lead to business closures and job losses, that could change very fast. And any retaliatory steps by the Modi government will only lead to an upward spiral of trade friction.
