PARUL KAUSHIK
November 24, 2014
There are issues, many coming into
the limelight after decades of silence, bigger than they look, of solidarity
with your people and how they can contribute towards the country. A spellbinding
magic is cast on NRI and PIOs as the 10- day tour of the Prime Minister to
Myanmar, Fiji and Australia reaches destination India.
The East Asian Summit, ASEAN- India
Summit and many bilateral talks which dotted Modi's itinerary re-announced
'Make in India' and 'Swaccha Bharat' to the world, also reaffirming the pride
in the tech province as Digitalising Myanmar was a give-away. Our neighbour in
the North-East is a strategic buffer between India and China-- the two major powers
of the region. Infrastructural development internationally to connect India- Myanmar-
Thailand via road is not just to boost tourism.
The address to Australian Parliament,
bilateral meet at Canberra, G-20 leaders' Summit in Brisbane and the Melbourne
Cricet Ground and sydney speeches marked the Australian stay of 'Rockstar'
Modi. His outreach to Indians living here was phenomenal. The maturity in
Indo-Australian relations is welcome but we should not forget that the lifting
of ban on Uranium in India faced mass protest in the country. Paying that cost
for a country where a leading institute doesn't show Kashmir on the map, for a
country where our fellow Indian faced racial attacks, are they forgotten?
Economy and energy were at the core
of the G-20 discussions. the leaders of 85 per cent of the world population
came together and agreed on certain ripe issues like female labour force,
increasing the GDP of the world, infrastructural growth. We have to wait for
the IMF reports on the implementation of the same to see what course did this
two-day brainstorming actually takes. Certain issues like climate change
suffered as the host country opined differently and strongly though jointly India and Australia agreed on a
landmark framework for security cooperation across the spectrum in defence,
cyber and maritime security and combating terrorism, including the threats
posed by foreign fighters joining extremists groups.
The next destination was 37 per cent
Indian-- Fiji, where the media calls India "the Asian superpower." Modi
succeeded in wooing the Indian Diaspora by announcing the merger of OCI and PIO
status, and asked support for the Clean India Campaign. Surely, it lies in the
heart of our PM. The island in the pacific can be used extensively to serve our
purposes in the area with the demography supporting Indian causes and providing
strength and a counter to China's 'string of pearls.'
When the pro-active PM had started
for the series of summits and numerous bilateral meetings by their sidelines, black
money was a key issue, but as he came back, he had strengthened Brand India
with not much spoken on black money. Why do issues change? Why is the focus of
Modiplomacy so staggered?
The Executive have to find their
way, as meandering between several issues will fail to bear fruits even if the
intentions are noble. Rebuilding historic connections in Myanmar, wooing the
'pravasi bhartiya' in Australia or empowering the ties with the pacific islands,
all showcase a strong and welcoming India. The story is still rolling, and
certainly the 'Act East' will have to be maintained as the leaders meet in
Nepal for the SAARC summit, as we stand in competition with China and
camaraderie with the rest of the east.
(Submitted
to K.G. Suresh Sir on 26/11 )
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