I was among the 50,000 people who watched Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Howdy, Modi event in Houston on September 22. Along with him on the stage were US congressmen and senators, Republicans and Democrats. The Mayor of Houston was on the stage. And then the President of the United States joined him. Other than when they congregate in the US Congress, I have not seen that many American lawmakers of both parties on one stage, and that too with 50,000 people cheering them in a football stadium. None of this was familiar ground for Modi, except perhaps 50,000 deliriously cheering crowd. Yet he stood there, owning every moment of that event. He played the host and the guest both, with remarkable finesse.
As I watched Modi, the immortal words of Theodore Roosevelt played in my head. “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly.” Modi that morning was the man in the arena — one who leads from the front and never shies from a good fight. The stakes at Howdy, Modi were so high that if even one little thing went wrong the entire event would be derailed. No US president has ever appeared on the stage with a foreign leader in a rally in a football stadium. Houston City had never previously handled logistics and security for such a high profile event. Khalistani and Pakistani protesters had threatened to sabotage the show. Torrential rains had flooded the city of Houston just a day before the event and 50,000 people had to be ushered inside the stadium with proper security protocol. Yet that morning in the NRG Stadium, everything neatly fell in place and history was made.
To my left sat an elderly lady who had flown all the way from Atlanta. Her feet were swollen after standing in the security line for few hours. “I can barely fit my feet in my shoes,” she pointed towards her shoes. Originally from Ludhiana, she told me she would not have missed the event for anything. “What do you like about Modi,” I asked. “I haven’t seen a politician like this in my life. He does what he says,” she said, and before I could ask her another question, she was cheering and screaming like a teenager at a pop concert. To my right sat a young IT professional originally from Telangana, who was continuously charging his two phones with his power bank and furiously whatsapping photos and videos. “I am waiting to see what he will say about Pakistan and Article 370,” he told me. “I doubt he will say anything much,” I said, and he looked at me with disbelief. When Modi asked the audience to give Indian lawmakers who had helped pass the legislation to abrogate Article 370 a standing ovation, he stood up and cheered wildly, but not without giving me a look that said “Modi never disappoints”.
There was a bunch of giggling teenagers with popcorn tubs in front of me. Most of them were born and raised in the US. Why are they here today, I asked. “To watch India’s prime minister and cheer for him,” they said. “Can you recall the name of any previous prime minister of India,” I asked. They looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. “Not really,” they said almost in unison. “My parents talk about Modi all the time at home,” one of them told me. “India and United States are friends, it makes sense for them to tell the world that,” another teenager told me.
Standing in the NRG stadium it was hard to believe that just two decades ago, then US president, Bill Clinton, had imposed economic sanctions after India announced completion of a series of underground nuclear tests. That morning, as Indian and American flags were being waved together, it was clear that the cold war baggage had finally been thrown off. What was ignited by P V Narasimha Rao, carried forward by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, solidified by Manmohan Singh had now been given new wings by Modi.
India and the US are not allies. The two countries will, perhaps, never be allies given how the US defines its allies and non-allies. However, the largest and oldest democracies have found a unique way to work with each other, collaborate with each other and promote shared interests. As US President Donald Trump addressed the charged audience in the NRG stadium, he saw Indian flags and American flags being waved together and chants of Modi, Modi along with USA, USA. I was wondering if the US president would be comfortable seeing so many flags of any another country besides India in his audience. That Trump appeared in an event called Howdy, Modi was a testament to the comfort level both countries have achieved with each other. There will be bumps going forward because all developing relationships face those, but bumps will never slow down the progress the two countries continue to make. The credit goes to the Man in the Arena because he “dared greatly”.
This article first appeared in the print edition on October 1, 2019 under the title ‘Man in the arena’. Vashisht is a columnist and author based in Houston.
