Is Trump’s presence at ‘Howdy, Modi!’ a PR exercise?
New Delhi, Sep 18: The news about US President Donald Trump's decision to join Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the mega 'Howdy Modi' rally in Houston over the weekend is truly historic tribute to the contributions of the Indian-Americans. Not only this, Trump will also have a separate bilateral meeting with Modi in New York.
There are also reports that 'Howdy Modi' event has already garnered 50,000 registrations online with many more on a waiting list.
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The White House had earlier announced that Trump would join Modi at the mega Houston rally, which would be attended by more than 50,000 Indian Americans, on September 22. "Trump joining Modi for the Howdy Modi event in Houston is a truly historic tribute to the contributions of the Indian-American community to the prosperity of our country and the strength of US-India relations," Alice G Wells, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, tweeted on Tuesday.
So
why
is
Trump
courting
Modi?
Apart
from
being
a
great
to
be
part
of
a
charged
up
crowd,
we
all
know
that
Indian
Americans
lean
more
towards
the
Democratic
Party.
Can
he
sway
a
significant
chunk
of
the
vote?
Yes,
the
Houston
meet
will
be
an
opportunity
for
Trump
to
garner
support
from
the
indian
American
community
ahead
of
the
2020
presidential
elections.
Indian Americans have mostly been seen on the side of the Democrats though there have been people like Bobby Jindal, the former governor of Louisiana who are members of the Republican Party.
According to polling by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, during 2016 US Presidential elections, over 84% of Indian-Americans voted in 2016 for Trump's rival Hillary Clinton, making them among the most Democratic-leaning ethnic groups. Trump has a few Indian Americans working in his administration -Manisha Singh, Assistant Secretary of State in the US State Department being a case in point. She leads a team of over 200 employees in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs.
It can be recalled that even during the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump who took part in a rally in New Jersey, had famously declared: 'I love Hindu'.
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The
third
meeting
of
Trump-Modi
alone
this
year
Yes,
the
Houston
meet
will
be
the
third
successive
meeting
between
Trump
and
PM
Modi
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.
The engagements show the remarkable transformation of the India US relationship in a matter of 20 years. This suggests that Trump considers Modi to be his friend and ally. Though the strategic ties were seen as close, economic ties were seen to be something of an irritant because of Trump's focus on the trade deficit with India. However, this meet could see a transformation with the two sides possibly announcing a trade deal during Modi's visit.
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Meanwhile, India is also looking to invest in the US energy sector. Moreover, Trump attending the Houston event is expected to send a strong signal of personal support to Modi at a time when several US lawmakers have expressed concerns about the restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir ever since the abrogation of article 370.
Not only that, but the meeting would also send a signal to Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan who is to attend the UN General Assembly session in New York with the aim of highlighting what he terms are human rights abuses in Kashmir.
Reminder
of
importance
of
symbolism
in
US-India
ties:
According
to
Ronak
D
Desai,
Law
&
Security
Fellow
at
New
America
and
a
scholar
at
Harvard
University's
South
Asia
Institute,
with
the
partnership
confronting
several
significant
irritants
at
present;
Trump's
appearance
with
Modi
is
a
welcome
reminder
of
the
importance
of
symbolism
in
US-India
ties
and
the
strong
foundation
underlying
them.
"President Trump's appearance with Prime Minister Modi in Houston confers tremendous political benefits to both leaders at home and abroad," he said.
The news that President Trump will appear alongside Prime Minister Modi at Houston just weeks after the two leaders met at the G-7 is a powerful reminder that the overall foundation of the US-India strategic partnership remains strong, regardless of ongoing bilateral challenges, Desai observed.
The bipartisan consensus around the relationship remains firmly intact despite being tested in recent years. The event - like the relationship - enjoys strong, widespread support from both Democrats and Republicans alike at virtually every level, he said.
The last 15 years have illustrated over and over again that while personalities matter, the strategic partnership continues to grow and evolve regardless of who occupies the White House in Washington or the Prime Minister's residence in Delhi, he said.
Stating that Trump's appearance with Modi in Houston is a significant win for India diplomatically, Desai noted that it will signal clear support for India at a time when New Delhi is inviting increasing scrutiny over its handling of Kashmir.
Howdy
Modi
Houston
event
date,
time,
venue:
Howdy
Modi' event
will
be
held
at
NRG
Stadium
in
Houston,
Texas.
The
date
for
the
mega
event
has
been
scheduled
on
September
22,
Sunday.
The
timing
of
Howdy
Modi
event
in
Houston
is
fixed
at
10
am
(local
time),
or
8.30
pm
(IST).
The
event
will
begin
from
10
am
(local
time)
or
8.30
pm
(IST)
and
is
scheduled
to
end
at
1
pm
(local
time)
or
11.30
pm
(IST).
Before the Howdy Modi event in Houston, PM Modi had attended two major addresses to the Indian-American community in the US. He addressed a gathering at the Madison Square Garden in New York in 2014. Subsequently, in 2016, PM Modi attended a rally in Silicon Valley. Both the events were attended by over 20,000 people.