When the Prime Minister set foot into the NRG Stadium down in Houston, the crowd estimated around 50,000 broke into wild cheers! After all, this was the Prime Minister of Nav Bharat, not the old India! What was eye-catching was not the spectacular show but the minute details that people often tend to miss! We were so enamored by the Big Two (DJT and NaMo) that everything else was inconsequential! Like the protesters on the streets who were, well, protesting this event!
Let’s get this right. Not all the people on the streets were of Pakistani origin. Yes! There were quite a few Indians in this not-so-big a crowd that came to display their abhorrence for the man NaMo. Why? Because they could! It was not an ideological tussle, nor was it a fight between equals! On the one side you had the might of Nav Bharat and the US of A; on the other side you had a few disgruntled people who, in their attempt to disrupt the event, succeeded in making this an even bigger show!
Social media was lit up with both sides making wild claims and allegations! One such allegation was that billions of USD were spent on this one day event! The TIF(Texas Indian Forum) has never divulged what they spent so I’m a little confused and concerned. Confused about how the anti-Bharat lobby got these details; concerned because one part of me believes they are just shooting blindly and if they score, great, otherwise just move to the next target.
The event showed the clout of the Indian diaspora when the President of the Greatest Country In The World, the indomitable US of A, made his way to Houston to be with his friend, NaMo! Contrary to popular belief that the Government of India paid for this event, this was paid for by the TIF, an association of Indians both wealthy and not so wealthy! The forum wanted to showcase India and its achievements and succeeded wildly!
The PM’s address both at this event and in New York at the UNGA, showed him to a global ambassador! His address was one of growth, environmental issues, of terrorism and of wanting the world to come together! A day or so later, we had the Prime Minister of Pakistan address the same forum, where his nearly one hour long speech was more about Islam, the RSS, Kashmir and of confrontation with India. In contrast, the sad or funny thing depending on how you look at it, was how the National Assembly in Pakistan rejected a motion to allow Non-Muslims as Prime Ministers or Presidents of the country! Talk about hypocrisy at its best, or worst!!!
Could somebody remind Pakistan that India has had quite a few Muslim leaders who went on to become Presidents and Vice Presidents! We don’t believe in laws passed by a wildly biased assembly that denies the minority of its basic rights; and yet, have the stones to complain about India at the UN General Assembly! I am unable to take the amused look off my face! Imran Khan really walked into a pile of you-know-what!!!
Whatever he walked into, it’s going to take a monumental effort to extricate himself from that mess! Knowing his penchant for landing into another mess, we probably won’t have to wait too long! Till then
Jai Ma Bharati