My take on PM Modi’s public address in Vienna
“Bharat ne duniyo ko Yuddh nahi Buddh diya hai”, this sentence conveys a profound message to the world that India’s intentions throughout it’s recorded history has been one of serving the world and not of conquering it. These words spoken by PM Shri. Narendra Modi was directed to the western audiences particulary the citizens and intellectual class of european powers, who were starting to view India’s rise on the global stage as threat along the lines of China. No one could have communicated the intent and vision of Modern India better than the PM Modi. Yes, we aspire to be one of the great powers of the world, not because we want to exercise our authority like imperial powers of the yore, but to make the lives of our citizens and that of the world better. These were some of the highlights from PM’s speech in Vienna, Austria. It was my luck, I could listen and admire a masterful orator and communicator in action. Most importantly, I was finally able to see and hear a leader I admire from close quarters.
PM Modi was in Austria to commemorate the 75 years of diplomatic ties between India and Austria. He became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Austria in 41 years. Accordingly, the indian community in consultation with India embassy had planned an event for local Indian community to interact with PM. It was an invite-only event and passes were issued on first-come-first-serve basis. I was lucky enough to secure a pass, though I would have been happier if Ashwini had also got the pass. The mood in the venue was one of celebration. It offered an opportunity for me to meet community members from the whole of Austria. Prior to PM’s address, there were few cultural programs that had been planned by the local community, to keep us occupied until the PM’s arrival. I later heard this anecdote from Ashiwni, who was present outside of the venue, that the security cover provided to Indian PM was such that no viennese person had seen such elaborate security arrangements for any Head of state in recent memory. It was nice gesture accorded by austrian government to Indian PM thereby to people of India. Inside the venue, all of us were finding suitable vantage points that would offer us opportunity to greet PM Modi when enters/exits the venue. Due to security concerns, his entry direction was not revealed until the last moment. I was standing near the main entrance, while he entered the venue using the side entrance. I felt that I missed an opportunity to greet him from close quarter. Instead I got to greet EAM Mr. S. Jaishankar and NSA Mr. Ajit Doval, which was a nice surprise.
PM Modi started his address amidst chants of “Bharat Mata Ki jai”, “Vande Mataram” and “Modi Modi Modi !!!”. His address covered salient points of his vision for India and role of India in the upcoming multi-polar world. He also touched upon other major events like Russia/Ukraine war and it’s impact on Europe and the world, World’s response to Covid-19 Pandemic and the reformation of institutions like UNSC, World bank to make them accessible to global south nations. Two policy ideas that strongly resonated with me are: 1. Vision 2047 i.e. Mission Vikasit Bharat 2. Journey from Vishwaguru to Vishwabandhu.
Vision 2047 is clarion call given to the citizens of India in general and to the youth in particular. The goal is to make India as the top 3 major economies of the world there-by achieving the status of a developed nation i.e. comparable to today’s US and China. This will be made possible, by leveraging the demographic dividend that India will have for next 2 decades. It is a clarion call to the youth of the nation, along the lines of Swami Vivekanada’s call to youth for India’s freedom movement, to unleash their passion and energies into every sector like Manufacturing, High-Tech, Construction, Connectivity, Communication and Logistics, by buliding or working for companies or organizations that solve for Indian problems and these solutions can then be taken to the rest of the world i.e. Build for India and the world. If we leverage the next decades it is not a impossible dream to make a 30 trillion dollar economy by 2047, thereby achieving the goal of Vikasit Bharat.
The history of last 400 years is replete with examples of nations wanting to be superpowers at the expense of the rest of the world. This approach has been successful but it is not sustainable. You can become the power center of the world by crushing the rest of world for sometime, but you cannot stay at the top for long. India offers an alternative path, where all nations have the opportunity to prosper and no one nation can bully others into submission. India does not aim to be a superpower in the conventional sense. India aims to play the role of guiding light i.e. Vishwaguru with soul of a friend helping the ones in need i.e. Vishwabandhu. Our ethos is not that of a conqueror but of a torch bearer to show the path forward for all those who seek for it.
PM’s address lasted for about an hour. Thereafter, he started making his way towards the exit, luckily I was standing at a vantage point where I had the chance to meet him and have an handshake with him. This is one of those unanticipated moments of your life where you meet the person you look upto in close quarters. A special moment thats now been added to my pool of precious memories that I will cherish forever.