“America will always be faithful and a loyal friend of India. Thank you for the spectacular welcome.” Thus spoke US President Donald Trump at the Namaste Trump event held at Ahmedabad’s Sardar Patel Stadium in his honour. Indeed, the welcome was truly extravagant. It had grandeur enough to visibly impress a leader accustomed to the confetti-laced razzle-dazzle of American festivities. It also had the throngs of people he had so publicly been rubbing palms in anticipation of.
Trump appeared to bask in the attention of over 100,000 Indians seated all around amid rivalrous roars of approval that such crowds usually reserve for batsmen who hit boundary shots off the cricket pitch. The raptures were roused by Trump’s host, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose embrace of the world’s most powerful man seemed to say it all.
India and the US were now inseparable. It was a power clinch like few ever seen before, complete with heady speeches on the wonders of each other’s country and what the two could mutually achieve. Once the euphoria settles, perhaps the irony of it will also begin to surface. Given the deep divisions in the politics of both countries, the very closeness on display could go against India-US relations should this joint outreach exercise alienate those opposed to the two leader.
Lavishly praising “his friend” Prime Minister Narendra Modi for being a tough negotiator and taking measures to pull people out of poverty, President Trump set the stage ahead of the serious While reminding that the US defeated the ISIS and remains committed to combating terrorism, the President categorical asserted that it is working with Pakistan to keep Islamabad on the right side in the run-up to the peace deal with the Taliban, which is scheduled to be signed this weekend. The American President’s promise to withdraw troops from Afghanistan also depends on the active role that Washington anticipates Islamabad can and would play in the region.
Unlike President Obama, who raised the issue of religious intolerance during his 2015 visit at a town hall meeting with youth, President Trump avoided any direct reference to the issue but chose to mention the Golden Temple and Jama Masjid as classic representations of pluralistic strands in India.
