PM Modi makes India stand tall (Image: X)
Just a few months ago, few within the international community would have expected the President of the European Union Council, Ursula von der Leyen, and the distinguished delegation of the top office-bearers of the European Union to be the Guests of Honour at the January 26 Republic Day parade on Kartavya Path. Or indeed that several transformational agreements would be signed between the two sides. Yet such is precisely what happened. Hundreds of millions of citizens of the EU and India would have watched the proceedings and marvelled at the warmth and cordiality exchanged by the two sides. As Ursula von der Leyen posted on social media, “Long live the friendship between the two sides”. Both India and the EU will benefit from the agreements that were signed by the two sides, including that related to defence. From the Indian side, the response was scripted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, assisted by senior colleagues such as External Affairs Minister, Dr S. Jaishankar. The high-profile visit of the European Union delegation and their interaction with colleagues on the Indian side was a triumph of diplomacy on both sides. At the same time, through such a high-profile visit by the European Union delegation and the agreements signed. It was shown to the world that those who are less than friendly to other friends of India can be engaged in friendly diplomacy where India is concerned.
Even the White House appears to have read the tea leaves right where the EU visit to India was concerned, and is beginning to soften the harsh cadence with which it had been talking to India and about India.
At the same time, India remains a champion of the Global South. Indeed, the country with the largest population in the world has shown that the Global South and the Global North (which the EU is part of) can script Win-Win outcomes in place of the Zero Sum outcomes that were prevalent during the colonial era until the closing decades of the previous century. Just as India has changed, it must be admitted that Europe has too. A continent that once sought to wall itself from migration from the Global South has witnessed an explosion of multiculturalism. Indeed, marriages between citizens of countries in the Global North with citizens from countries in the Global South have become commonplace.
The offspring of such marriages usually navigate seamlessly between the Global North and South, imbibing the best of the culture of both sides. The change has been marked in Germany, where less than a century ago, theories of “ethnic purity” abounded. Germany has become the first large country in Europe outside of the United Kingdom to welcome young Indians to work and even to settle in Germany in specialised fields. While the US under President Trump is making it more difficult for Indians to work and to settle in the US, several European countries are recognizing the economic progress that such talent brings. Importantly, Indians are overall model citizens, paying taxes on time and abstaining from crime and violence. In contrast, immigrants from some other parts of the world soon become notorious for committing crimes.
In Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country has a Head of Government who has become known and welcomed across the world. India will soon be the third largest economy in the world, and given a facilitatory regulatory boost is set to join the league of superpowers, joining the US and China. Indeed, it may be in the Prime Ministership of Narendra Modi that such a development takes place, and a double digit rate of growth of GDP achieved. When he took charge at Tiananmen in 1949, Mao Zedong declared “China has stood up”. It could truly be said that under PM Modi, India has not just stood up, but is standing tall.
