Prime Minister Narendra Modi is no doubt a wordsmith, and his day out at Madison Square Garden (“Modi charms Indian diaspora,” Sept. 29) has caught the attention of the entire world. It might not be an exaggeration to say that one was reminded of Swami Vivekananda’s historic speech at Chicago. What Mr. Modi focussed on was the achievements of our great country in its long journey from spinning on a home-made charkha to sending an orbiter to Mars.
Prasanta Kumar Bishoyi,
Koraput, Odisha
The thunderous welcome that Mr. Modi enjoyed at Madison Square Garden is a sign of his remarkable and growing popularity. His ambition to mainstream Indians living abroad is a sign of his vision for a global India.
Rajat Agarwal,
Bangalore
After his iron-fist-in-velvet-gloves speech at the UNGA, Mr. Modi appears to have recreated more magic in New York. His speech was a treat not only for the live audience but for millions who watched it on TV and other media. His praise of youth for their “can do” attitude is a real tribute to the younger generation. After a long time, it was refreshing to hear a strong Prime Minister spelling out his vision.
Janaki Mahadevan,
Chennai
Mr. Modi’s development model appears to be a new version of the popular East Asian economic model, and one with people’s participation. Expectations are very high now and Mr. Modi needs to match them.
Deba Prasad Bhanja,
New Delhi
The Prime Minister did well in highlighting India’s political positions and its ethos of universality. Overall, the visit could have been more sober, needs-related and blended with appropriate levels of informality. Personally, the Madison Square Garden event was brash, needlessly opulent and failed to serve any purpose as far as India is concerned. It was both inappropriate and insensitive, especially in the wake of the woes of flood-ravaged Kashmir. NRIs in the U.S. have not done themselves or the nation any favour or added any value with this event, which has been openly touted in the media as a form of “revenge” on the U.S. administration for blocking Mr. Modi earlier. This was only possible because Mr. Modi is now the Prime Minister. Distractions like these will only be a drag on his much-awaited performance.
M. Balakrishnan,
Bangalore
Mr. Modi’s hopes on youth power are what guide his vision. But I wish to caution him regarding the skills of our youth. As one who has served for four decades as a professor to rural professional and non-professional undergraduate students, I can say with authority that many students are at a loss to understand even common words. This is in total contrast to urban students who usually come from an educated background. A rural undergraduate student is often in awe of the communication skills of an urban child in play school. Developing quality education is a primary requisite to research, which in turn develops new technology. In other words, to develop national wealth we should take care of education.
Rajendra Singh Baisthakur,
Nellore
Mr. Modi’s compulsive desire to speak in Hindi is most inappropriate. An average Indian might be familiar with simple conversational Hindi but does not have the intensive knowledge to understand a political or religious speech. Jawaharlal Nehru always addressed the public in English. One wonders how the younger audience at Madison Square Garden understood Mr. Modi, given that they have been born and brought up in America.
Stanley Smith,
Brownsville, Texas
The media hype over Mr. Modi’s American visit gave the impression that it was highly successful, even before it began! In contrast, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh kept corporates and the media at arm’s length, with the result that the media played down his achievements and highlighted only his failures. The coverage of Mr. Modi’s visit makes it clear that the media are not free as claimed to be, but is most probably following a corporate-driven agenda.
M.K.B. Nambiar,
Mahe
