OPINION: PM Modi In US Congress: Focus On Inclusive Development

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to the American Congress offers a great vision. It is about the substance of governance in democracy -- that is, fostering comprehensive peace and development across the entire humanity. The enlightened political class across the world must take a leaf from his vision.

The address Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered in the American Congress during his current State visit to the United States offers a great vision for the enlightened political class across the world. It is about the substance of governance in democracy -- that is, fostering comprehensive peace and development.across the entire humanity.

In his address to the US Congress, Prime Minister Modi said, "India is the home to all faiths in the world . We celebrate all of them. In India, diversity is a natural way of life. We have over 2,500 political parties... About 20 different parties govern various states of India. We have 22 official languages and thousands of dialects."

He stressed, "Democracy is one of our sacred and shared values... Our vision is 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas'. It means, together for everyone's growth, with everyone's trust and everyone's effort." Prime Minister Modi defined democracy as "the spirit that supports equality and dignity," "the idea that welcomes debate and discourse" and "the culture that gives wings to thought and expression."

Observers say Prime Minister Modi's addresss offers a fine guide to all nations that have adopted the path of democracy to govern themselves. The enlightened political class therein must take a leaf from his vision and strive towards fostering all-inclusive development in their societies.

Prime Minister Modi's address to the US Congress is unique in the history of American politics. He had first addressed the US Congress in 2016. With his address of June 22, he became the first Indian leader to have addressed this House twice. Three of our Prime Ministers -- Manmohan Singh, Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru -- were in office longer than Modi. But none of them happened to have the opportunity to address the US House twice. Prime Minister Modi has now joined the club of the few world leaders -- such as the legendary British strongman Winston Churchill, South Africa's Nelson Mandela, Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu -- who have addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress more than once.

The Observers say the US Congress has always had a soft corner for India, the most populous democracy in the world. It attaches great importance to what its Prime Minister Modi says. Not much should be read into the criticism some of US lawmakers have levelled against him. It matters little to the US Congress. The invitation for Modi to speak on Capitol Hill was bipartisan. It was signed by the top Democrat and the top Republican in both the House and the Senate.

It is hardly surprising that a couple of Congresswomen, such as Ilhan Omar, Rashid Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, from the Democratic Party of the United States, skipped Prime Minister Modi's address to the US Congress. Explaining the reason for her boycott, Omar stated, "Prime Minister Modi's government has repressed religious minorities, emboldened violent Hindu nationalist groups, and targeted journalists/human rights advocates with impunity." Tlaib said, "It's shameful that Modi has been given a platform at our nation's capital -- his long history of human rights abuses, anti-democratic actions, targeting Muslims & religious minorities, and censoring journalists is unacceptable," Ocasio-Cortez said a joint session address should not be extended to "individuals with deeply troubling human rights records... engaged in systematic human rights abuses of religious minorities and caste-oppressed communities."

Omar has long been accusing the Modi government of discriminating against India's religious minorities. Last year, she had co-sponsored a resolution urging the US State Department to designate India as a "Country of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act. She has been sympathetic to the cause of Islamists in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Last year, she visited the region and expressed her support for them. Omar has consistently downplayed the plight of Kashmiri Pandits and human rights violations committed by Pakistan-sponsored Islamists.

The observers add the US government needs to be cautious about elements like Omar in the country today. They constitute a serious threat to the US national security. They have managed to get elected to the US House of Representatives, an institution that makes laws for the governance of the country.

Omar is a Somali-born American. There had been an allegation of immigration fraud against her. Omar is anti-Semitic. She is supportive of radical Islamist violence the world over. She has been sympathetic to the forces such as Iran which has long declared 'death to America'. She does not utter a single word on what Iran continues to do through its proxies such as Hezbollah, Houthis and Hamas against the allies of the United States in the Middle East.

Recently, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation arrested a few agents of the ISI on the suspicion that they bribed members of the US Secret Service deployed to guard President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Omar did not utter a word on this too.

The reforms-minded Muslim nations, too, need to be vigilant on the elements like Omar. In the recent years, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia has introduced many social reforms. His reforms have restricted the authority of the religious police, lifted the ban on women's driving, enhanced women's rights, loosened gender segregation and introduced Western-style entertainment in the kingdom.

President Mohammed bin Zayed in the United Arab Emirates has decriminalized sexual relations out of marriage, alcohol consumption and lifted the prohibition on living relationships in the country. In Morocco, King Mohammed VI has announced a series of reforms. This has transformed the country into a constitutional monarchy.

Today, the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan have diplomatic relations with Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East. They see in their new relationships with the Jewish state tremendous opportunities for their peoples' multi-faceted development.

The ideas of Omar might prove detrimental to such initiatives of the reforms-oriented States. Pertinently, many young Arabs still think religion is the most important element of their identity. They think their country's legal system should be based on Sharia (Islamic law). They are concerned over the loss of their traditional values and culture. They say preserving their religious and cultural identity is more important than creating a globalized society.

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

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