India and the World

Unleashing yoga power at UN, the Modi way

- by Manish Chand

After launching the ‘Make in India’ mantra back home, Prime Minister Narendra Modi unleashed the country’s soft power at the UN as he exhorted the world community to observe an International Yoga Day, which he eloquently described as “India’s gift to the world.”
In his maiden speech at the UN General Assembly, which marked the 61-year-old leader’s metamorphosis into a world statesman, Mr Modi interspersed his robust pitch for reforms of the UN Security Council with a philosophical spin on organic connections between climate change and yoga, which he grounded in the spiritual concepts of harmony between man and nature. “By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us deal with climate change. Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day,” he said.

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Serious about talks with Pakistan, but sans terror shadow: Modi

- by Manish Chand

Putting the ball in Islamabad’s court, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has underlined that that he wants to hold bilateral talks with Pakistan, only “without a shadow of terrorism,” and provided the latter creates the right atmosphere for it. In his maiden address to the 69th session of the ongoing UN General Assembly on a radiant sunny day in New York, , Mr Modi outlined his foreign policy on India’s neighbourhood, and signalled in a statesman-like manner that he wants to engage with Pakistan with all seriousness
The Indian leader’s comments came a day after Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif voiced frustration over stalled talks over Kashmir and more than a month after India cancelled foreign secretary-level talks with Pakistan by registering strong objections to the Pakistani envoy’s meeting with Kashmiri separatist leaders.

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India & US: Shaping the 21st century

- by Manish Chand

NEW YORK- Fast-track diplomacy and smart development-centric diplomacy are the twin mantra of the new government in Delhi. Staring from hosting the leaders of South Asian neighbours to engaging key Asian partners, China and Japan, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now headed for the US on a defining trip that is set to infuse “the defining partnership of the 21st century” with a new burst of energy and vitality. Spectacle, colour, high diplomacy, culture, commerce and creativity –- all these varied elements are going to be fused into Prime Minister Modi’s maiden voyage to America (Sept 26-30), which is poised to be a blockbuster diplomatic event.

New Horizons

There are several firsts to this prime ministerial trip: This will be not only the first visit of Narendra Modi as the prime minister of India, but it will also be his first meeting with US President Barack Obama.

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Indian-Americans’ Modi bonding: Stage set for Madison Square Garden show

- by Manish Chand

The Modi mania seems to have swept the 3.2 million-strong Indian-American community. Emotional bonding – this is how Dr Bharat Barai, the president of Indian-American Community Foundation (ICAF), has evoked the burgeoning appeal of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi among the third largest immigrant community in the US.
“The prime minister has created an emotional bonding with Indian-Americans,” said Dr Barai, a well-known doctor who has spearheaded the initiative to organize the spectacular community reception for the Indian leader at the iconic Madison Square Garden in the heart of Manhattan.
Conjuring up soaring expectations of Indian-Americans from the new prime minister, Dr Barai stressed that Mr Modi has struck a chord as the Indian community in the US sees him as “a self-made man” who once sold tea at railway station in Vadnagar in Gujarat and has now risen to head the world’s largest democracy.

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Time running out for UN Security Council reforms: G4

- by Manish Chand

A thousands visions and revisions later, the reform of the UN Security Council still remains a chimera, embroiled in endless vacillation. Against this backdrop, India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj joined hands with her counterparts from other G4 countries to push hard for the expansion of the UNSC, which is looking more like an anachronism in view of the seismic shift of power from the west to the rest in the 21st century.
The collective sense of the mounting frustration at the excruciatingly slow pace of the UNSC reforms was palpable during their discussions.
The G4 ministers’ meeting ended with the four countries expressing support for each other’s candidatures and reaffirming their support for developing countries, including from Africa, to be represented in both the permanent and non-permanent categories of an enlarged Council.
In his maiden speech at the UNGA, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to make a forceful pitch for reform of the UNSC and present a compelling case for the inclusion of India in an expanded and rejuvenated Security Council.

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