JIP Exclusive
Finnicky, Fussy, Flabbergasted US diggers find a Kargil resolution- ‘HR 227’ and the Modi connection. They are bowled. They are now heads over heels on Modi, his Vikas, his Development Agenda, his Global Vision, his Globalised India. Result : Top Line – PM Narendra Modi’s 3-day US trip : 26 meetings in 3 days (lined up);
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi promises to pack more than a diplomatic punch in his upcoming visit to the US, where he is expected to reach out to the global community through a series of meetings and extensive use of technology while seeking to maximise the impact on investors and policy-makers
Modi’s three-day visit from September 27 is expected to be chock-full with as many as 26 different meetings, in addition to his working lunch with US President Barack Obama at the White House and address to the United Nations, people familiar with the preparations said, adding that the schedule is yet to be finalised. The PM will be in New York on September 27 and 28, and in Washington for a day thereafter for the trip, which experts say could elevate his stature further on the global stage and infuse fresh energy and sense of purpose into relations between the world’s two largest democracies.
With Barack Obama and Narendra Modi meeting for the first time, Americans are discovering that the new Prime Minister is no pushover.
As inter-agency meetings to give concrete shape to an imponderable Indo-US summit began within the Obama administration last fortnight, documents surfaced in Washington which pointed to a hitherto unknown role played by Modi in securing the withdrawal of Pakistani forces from Kargil at the heavy prodding of then US President Bill Clinton.
These documents have convinced those working on the September 29-30 summit that Modi was not a stranger to foreign affairs even in 1999 when he visited the US as a pracharak of the RSS.
Modi’s visit took place five days before Nawaz Sharif flew into Washington and agreed after a day-long meeting with Clinton to pull out of Kargil, enabling a ceasefire in the conflict that worried the world because it began soon after India and Pakistan became declared nuclear powers.
Modi’s role in the turn of events, it is now revealed, was critical.
The discovery of these Kargil documents and revelations that are not on paper have alerted the Obama administration that they will have their hands full.
The documents, which were recovered from the mists of time 15 years ago, are the result of painstaking research and a tribute to America’s institutionalised memory of dealings with events around the world as a superpower.
The story they have to tell is as follows and points to how history can look very different with the passage of time and how contemporary events are not what they are as they happen. They also offer a window into the BJP-RSS ways of doing things, often very different from other political organisations.
After the Pakistanis sought strategic advantage over India in the spring of 1999, a full military conflict erupted along approximately 150km around Kargil by June. As Indian casualties mounted, the Americans assessed that then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was considering opening another front “to force Pakistanis to fight on territory favourable to India”, according to Bruce Reidel, who was Clinton’s special assistant and senior director for near east and south Asia in the White House national security council from 1997 to 2001.
Vajpayee concluded that although India could fight a long war and win conventionally, international pressure on Islamabad, particularly from Washington, could force a Pakistani withdrawal from Kargil and end the loss of lives and other destruction.
But the Clinton administration, in particular the state department, was ambivalent: Foggy Bottom, the seat of the state department, like the Pentagon had a history of supporting Pakistan. So, all of India’s efforts were concentrated on getting the US Congress to mount pressure on the American executive on behalf of New Delhi.
On the other side, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif feared a coup and his overthrow if the conflict continued. He wanted to pursue the path of Lahore, where Vajpayee had gone and extended the hand of friendship. But Pervez Musharraf, his army chief, wanted to press for strategic advantage with India and he saw Kargil as the route to achieve that goal which had eluded Pakistan throughout its history.
It will never be acknowledged, of course, but the text of that House resolution, “HR 227,” was virtually written by Indian lobbyists on Capitol Hill on behalf of the Indian embassy in Washington.
Going through transcripts of meetings of the House of Representatives Committee on International Relations for that week, it is clear the draft had the support of all members but one. The resolution was to leave the committee in that form and would have been passed by the House, but Narendra Modi arrived in Washington and with support from Overseas Friends of the BJP, launched into a whirlwind of meetings with key Congressmen.
Modi said the only thing that would hurt Islamabad was a financial crunch and he called on the US to work towards cutting off funds for Pakistan from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Modi’s three-day visit from September 27 is expected to be chock-full with as many as 26 different meetings, in addition to his working lunch with US President Barack Obama at the White House and address to the United Nations, people familiar with the preparations said, adding that the schedule is yet to be finalised. The PM will be in New York on September 27 and 28, and in Washington for a day thereafter for the trip, which experts say could elevate his stature further on the global stage and infuse fresh energy and sense of purpose into relations between the world’s two largest democracies.
“There is a huge amount of enthusiasm in the US about Mr Modi,” said Vijay Jolly, convenor of the BJP’s foreign cell, who recently returned from a 12-day multi-city visit to the country.
For people in India as well as in the US, there will be separate toll-free numbers to listen to Modi’s public speeches, besides the social media packaging on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other platforms that marked his successful campaign for prime ministership, said Arvind Gupta, head of the BJP’s IT cell.
The biggest event during the visit will be the one organised by the Indian American Community Foundation at New York’s Madison Square Garden, where 20,000 of the diaspora will be selected through a draw of lots. Much like any other big event organised by the BJP in the past few months, this one too will be broadcast live using internet TV, webstreaming and also the technology patented by the party – Live Talk – where people can call on a toll-free number to hear the speech live.
BJP general secretary Ram Madhav, who is in charge of the preparations in the US and returned to India on Tuesday, said he was aware of the Madison Square event but refused to divulge further details. Bharat Lal, resident commissioner for Gujarat in Delhi, is currently in the US pitching for his state to investors. Lal was in charge of liaising with investors and foreign governments for the state when Modi was chief minister of Gujarat before becoming PM.
Although external affairs ministry officials and those at the Indian embassy in the US were tight-lipped about the plans, the people cited earlier said on condition of anonymity that the US-India Business Council is planning a big event where representatives of American companies, investors, Wall Street businessmen and executives will meet the PM on one of the days in New York.
The Indian embassy is planning to organise a dinner where over 700 members of the influential Indian American community will get an opportunity to meet the PM. Several big investors, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, tech and insurance company chiefs and retailers are expected to meet Modi.
The total bilateral trade in goods between the two countries stood at $63.7 billion in 2013 – Indian exports stood at $41.8 billion while US exports were at $21.9 billion. US foreign direct investment or FDI in India stood at $28.4 billion in 2012, led by investments in professional, scientific, technical services, manufacturing finance and insurance, and the information sectors.
Without disclosing details of the preparations, David O’ Brien, communications manager of US-India Business Council told ET that the visit presents a “wonderful opportunity to honour Prime Minister Modi and his new government and to foster dialogue with American government and business leaders on a range of important subjects”.
He added, “We believe the US and India have the opportunity to set the course for a new relationship that will benefit both nations for decades to come.” The United States India Political Action Committee, which represents the political views of the Indian American community in the US, could also organise a dinner in Washington, a person said.
The Overseas Friends of BJP, one of the bodies that have a meeting lined up with Modi, plans to give him a memorandum about various issues ranging from immigration, student visas and tourism development, among others. The visa issue for Indian IT companies is expected to be among the top discussion points when the PM meets the US President.
“Several American businessmen too want to meet Mr Modi to talk about opportunities in renewable energy, the Ganga cleaning programme, smart cities, infrastructure building and others,” said Jayesh Patel, the US-India liaison chief for the Overseas Friends of BJP in the US.
Chandrakant Patel, president of the Overseas Friends of BJP in the US said after the PM returns to India, the organisation will hold meetings with external affairs minister