Shaping India's destiny

Modi blew us all away. But then, we always knew he would

aving captured the imagination of millions back home with his radical ideas and visionar y beliefs, lndia's charismatic new Prime Minister Narendra Modi aka NaMo, fi n ally touched base with expatriates as Sydney r oiled out the red carpet for ,a rock star reception, uni ting the heterogeneous d ia spora in a show of strength

It was a magical Monday cha t will be etched in our memories forever. Even th e Australian dignitaries gathered on t he o ccasion watc hed o n in awe, lapping up the thunderous applause and freezing the moment wi th their mobile phones.

As I hopped off tbe train at Strathfield en route to All phones Arena, an excited CityRaiJ attendan t let m e through the electronic gates "Yo u m ust be goi ng to meet your Prime Minister," he qui pped.

The h umble chaiwallah's rags -to-riches tale, scripted to perfection, li ke a BolJywood extravaganza, has cleatl y struck a chord with m ore than just the de.rhis and videshis There had been media frenzy all week botb o n tbe domestic and in ternational front Expectations ran high, the mood was electric and Modimania gripped Sydney O lympic Park as 20,000 Indian J\uscralian s congregated to finall y meet the m an himsel f TI1e repercussions were felt far and wide A-11d the sh ow didn't disappoint

The doomsday prophets wer e nowhere to be see n a nd naysayer s wer e clearl y in t h e tninority, drown ed our b y the overw helming exubera nc e.

Tapping into th eir exte n sive r esou rces, the Indian Australian Community Foundation wweiled an impress ive performance. T h e arrangem en ts were impeccab leright from the free shuttle to ticket distribution, crowd management to culmral showcase. A Modi - lied vegetarian menu was u p for g rabs to o in honour of the ceetotalJer A large network of vo lu nteer s ensured the b ig night om unfolded without a glitch.

Every ethnic minority was well represented includ ing the T ibetans and Dawoodi Bohras, conspicuous in their traditional attire and proud to be a part of celebrn.cions Religio u s differences were p ut aside, despite at tempts b y som e sectio n s o f med ia co harp on about unsavoury incid ents of INDIANLINK the past. India was in t he limelight and nothing else matrered.

Th e euphoria was palpable, risi ng co a crescendo when Mod i finally cook centre stage. And t he g lobal audience listen ed in rapt attention

Much h as been w ritten about h is firebrand rhetoric and consummate showman shi p but what the Allpho n es Arena wimessed on the historic occasion was si.m plicicy of his visio n and genuine desi re to uplift India, quite along the lines of our freedom fighte r s. Hoping to emulate Mahatma Gan dhi and Swami V ivekananda, Modi's grand plan s are fi rmly centred o n usmall" men.

"Many peop le ho ld dreams o f doing man y great jobs. Good luck co chem, what I have co do is small jobs for small er people and [make] the small peop le big, That is what] wa nt to work for," he re iterated

His vision of India is founded on egalitarianism and meritocracy. "\Y/e weren't fo r tunate e n ough co light for the country 's freedom, we didn 't have the good luck to go to jail for India's in depend ence We couldn't die for the country, but at lease we c an live for t he country If we fight, if we struggle, it should be for our country," he further stated passio nate.Iy, whipp ing up the spirit of nationalism for the first time in post-colonial India.

While nuclear p ower, clean energy and regional security, figure prominently on Mod i's agenda, h is immediate p r iority is a clean India - an India tbat we c an all be proud of. Bo rrowing heavily from our ttadi tional belief tha t cleanliness is next co godliness, Swach Bhuarath Abhfyt1an is not only h is pet p roject , but one that dominated his Sydney address.

"After so man y years of independence, not getting clean drin king water or electricity is something we are n or proud of," the Prime Ministe r admitted witb brutal honesty "Basic sanitation a nd hygiene are pressing issues. If we can make the country clean , it will be the b iggest service for po or people," he continued. ''If you have any feeling to save yo u r cotmtry, then you can clean up the im age clue tbe wotld has of lndia."

Earlier, acknowledging the trad itional own ers of Au stralia, Modi spoke of shared values and common inheritances. O u tlining the e.'ltensive contributions of Indian Australian s to their 'k.ar11M bhoo,m', he complimented thern on their culmre of hard work and dedication

Th e role of the A nglo-Indian legacy in shaping the history of Ausa:alia did n ot go unnoticed ''Australia is a beautiful coun try with bountiful resources, but your biggest asset is yo ur people," he added.

Bur what struck Modi m ost was the dignity of labour '1 have always admired th is concept. Here, a research sc ientist also works as a cab driver. There is n o shame in hard labour," he noted , saluting th e egalitarian spirit.

Paying trib u te to the strength of democrac y in the two countries, be firmly b e lieves India would once again lea d the world, as a yotmg and energetic nation with "2,500 million arms".

" Democrac y i s a wonde rful concept. I am he re because of Indian democraC )'· Even a common man can climb greater heigh ts in a real d emocracy like India."

Speaking p ersonally to every member of the gatheri ng, he stated "I know many of you too k great interest in tbe Lok Sabha elections o f 2014 I know t bat for you, it was n oc about wh o wins or loses, it was about wanting to know w he n India will become like t he country that you are residing in."

Working closely with the diai,pora, Modi hopes to deliver o n cl1e herculean prom.ises he has Lmdercaken on comrnon 's m an 's be half. To cl1is end, he has alread y begun disman tling bureaucratic red tape and gargantua n hierarchies that have sci fled economic progress.

''Please let us open the window and let some fres h air in Let us b reath e a nd l.ive for the first time and savour the new found freedom," he added poignantly.

An astute leade r, l\fodi is also acucely aware o f tbe strength of yo uth power and is engaging with them as never befo re

''We want to achieve new heights of development, my dear you ng friends, and India has decided to concentrate on the you ng people," he highlighted "On the confidence of t h eir talent, on the confidence of their capacity, cl1ey would become compete n t co help the whole world l wish tbat cl1e who le world should come to India. The manu facm.ting sec tors, they should come i n because l wi sh that the youth of India should get employment I ha,7 e decided that 100 per cent foreig n invecstment will be allowed in the railways. I'm inviting everyone - please come, please come and invest in India's future."

The emerging superpower is cl eatly open for b usi n ess, a s l\fodi time and time again declared, and Australia will no longer be at the peri p h er y of its visio n. Perhaps Indian Australians can p lay a greater role in shaping the d estiny of their mathmhboomi