It will be his
first visit to Britain as prime minister and many in the Indian community have
been eagerly awaiting this moment.
"People
are going mad for Modi, Modi, Modi," says CB Patel, a London-based
publisher and columnist and longstanding supporter of India's prime minister.
"I call it Modimania."
Wherever Mr
Modi goes - and he has spent a lot of time globetrotting in the 18 months he
has been in office - he seeks to talk directly to the Indian diaspora. He has drawn huge crowds at venues ranging from New York's Madison Square
Garden to Dubai's cricket stadium,
as well as many smaller events in places ranging from the Seychelles to Paris.
The gathering
at Wembley just a few days after the Hindu religious festival of Diwali is
expected to be his biggest yet.
The organisers
say they can't meet the demand for the free tickets.The cost is being met
largely by donations - 10,000 people are said to have contributed - along with
businesses that are both supporting the event and paying to advertise.
Not all the 1.5m
people of Indian origin living in Britain are cheerleaders for Mr Modi and his
Hindu nationalist party, the BJP. A Modi Not Welcome campaign is
organising protests during his visit, complaining of religious intolerance and
an autocratic style of government.
Part of his
purpose, say these campaigners, is to create a worldwide network of Hindu
right-wingers - something they regard as worrying.
But there is broad
enthusiasm among the Indian diaspora for Narendra Modi. Here's why:
Modi has actively sought support from Indian communities abroad, and
that's something new; the Indian diaspora are more often made to feel guilty
for turning their backs on the home country than embraced for their global
influence and success. Even now, any Indian seeking to become a national of
another country has to hand back their Indian passport.
India's prime minister has praised the diaspora as part of India's
"soft power" - standing alongside yoga and the Bollywood movie
industry in giving the country global prestige and influence. No other Indian
leader has spoken so warmly of the achievements of Indians abroad.
Indian communities in Western countries are often high-achieving and
prominent in business, technology and the professions; they tend to be
sympathetic to Modi's business-friendly policies. "Indians worship money
and want to become rich," says CB Patel, "and Modi's economic
priorities are much admired by Indians abroad."
Gujarati pride is also at play. Modi is from this western state, which
makes up just 5% of India's population but is much more prominent in the
diaspora. More than 600,000 people of Gujarati origin live in Britain; along
with Punjabis, they constitute the greater part of the Indian-origin
population.
The BJP's
landslide election victory last year was in part because Modi was seen as
representing hope for a revitalised India; the welcome he has received in
Western capitals, with Barack Obama personally nominating Modi as one of Time magazine's '100 Leaders',
is relished by Indians abroad as a sign of India gaining global influence and
authority.
While the organisers insist that Indians of all religions, regions and
backgrounds will be present at Wembley, Modi's success reflects a Hindu
cultural revivalism which is at least as evident, some would say more so, among
the diaspora as in India.
The courting of
Indians abroad is in part about money. The 30 million Indians living outside
the country contribute an estimated $70bn (£45bn) to the economy each year in remittances.
Narendra Modi has taken steps to encourage investment
community in India, as well as making it easier for those with foreign passports
to spend time in what many consider their mother country. Some
wealthy Indians abroad also said generous contributions to political parties
home.
Political
financing in India are known to be turbid, and views differ on the importance
of the diaspora money BJP – but academic experts say that there is any doubt
that the right-wing movements are well out of this source of funds.
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