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Thousands of Indian Americans attend Modi rally in Houston 'Howdy Modi': thousands of Indian Americans attend Trump rally
(about 3 hours later)
Tens of thousands of Indian Americans have packed into a stadium in Houston for a rally featuring India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, and Donald Trump, in a rare mass show of support for a foreign leader on US soil. Deafening drums marked the entrance of Donald Trump and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi as they clasped hands and walked across the stage in a packed Texas stadium on Sunday, sending a message of unity between the world’s two largest democracies despite trade tensions.
The event gives Modi, a nationalist facing international criticism over a crackdown in disputed Kashmir, a chance to energise his relationship with Indian Americans who are active political supporters. Trump goes on offensive over Biden and Ukraine as Schiff ponders impeachment
Jubilant supporters dressed in everything from saris to cowboy hats waved US and Indian flags, chanted “Modi! Modi!” and ate concession stand snacks that included samosas, naan breads and nachos. Trump highlighted the growth of US exports to India, the billions of dollars spent by India on US-made defense equipment and joint military exercises with New Delhi.
“Today we celebrate our community and its importance in Houston and all America,” said Ketan Inamdar, who works in the administration of Houston’s Democratic mayor, Sylvester Turner. “India has never invested in the United States like it is doing today,” he said, adding that “we’re doing the same thing in India.”
“Trump is very welcome here today. This event is to build harmony and love,” he said, standing just in front of the dais where Trump and Modi would speak. “Race, religion and political parties don’t matter today.” The president also discussed border security, an important campaign issue for Texas, which shares a border with Mexico.
Houston is a rare Democratic stronghold in Republican-dominated Texas and serves as the economic anchor of a state that will be critical to Trump’s 2020 re-election bid. Polls show tepid support by Indian American voters, some 75% of whom voted for Hillary Clinton. But organisers of the “Howdy, Modi” event, which kicked off with a 90-minute cultural programme featuring 400 costumed dancers, say Trump can expect a receptive audience. “We are taking unprecedented action to secure our southern border and stop illegal immigration,” Trump said.
“His presence is an indication of his support and endorsement of the strengthening of India’s relations with America,” said Preeti Dawra, a spokeswoman for the Texas India Forum, which organised the event. “This event is about strengthening those ties.” About 50,000 Indian Americans attended the “Howdy Modi!” rally in Houston, where the crowd chanted “Modi! Modi! Modi!” as he took the stage to introduce Trump as “my friend, a friend of India, a great American president”. Modi even used Trump’s political slogan to say the president had a strong resolve to “make America great again.”
It will not be the first time Modi, who heads the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party, has addressed a large crowd in the US, which is home to about 4 million Indian Americans including about 300,000 in Houston and nearby Dallas, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of US census data. “When I met him for the first time, he said to me ‘India has a true friend in the White House,’” Modi said. “Mr President, this morning in Houston, you can hear the heartbeat of this great partnership in this celebration of the world’s two largest democracies.”
About 19,000 people turned out for a similar event in New York in 2014, and Indian American volunteers living in US suburbs helped run a telephone blitz of voters in India in the run-up to his May re-election campaign. The event had the feel of one of Trump’s campaign rallies, complete with a packed venue and a roaring crowd, and Trump treated it that way at times. He ticked off his accomplishments in office, highlighted a drop in the unemployment rate among Indian Americans and extolled their contributions to the US as he pitched for their vote in a Republican state Democrats have visions of winning next year.
Modi‘s visit to Houston comes ahead of this week’s UN general assembly in New York and amid a particularly tense time on the subcontinent. The Indian leader further strained long-simmering relations with Pakistan last month by revoking the partial autonomy enjoyed by Muslim-majority Kashmir, which both nuclear-armed countries claim. Trump said Modi invited him to the rally – one of the largest US gatherings of the Indian diaspora in history – when they met last month in France, and Trump seemed to explain his decision to attend by saying: “I love India.”
Modi’s move has been criticised internationally. Pakistan has condemned the crackdown and its prime minister, Imran Khan, warned it would drive more of the world’s Muslims to extremism. Members of India’s religious-minority Sikh and Muslim groups are planning gatherings near the stadium to protest Modi’s Kashmir policy. Earlier this year, Modi won the biggest reelection India has seen in years and his support for Trump could help the president at the polls next year. The two are to meet Tuesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The US-India relationship on trade and tariffs is rocky, though Trump and Modi appear to have strong personal ties. But Devesh Kapur, the director of Asia programmes at Johns Hopkins University, said that while the rally had symbolic value for both leaders, “it’s unlikely by itself to impact thorny trade issues ... but it can’t hurt”. Trump is also scheduled to meet this week with Pakistani leader Imran Khan, who recently solicited his help mediating the Pakistan-India conflict over Kashmir. India’s government has stripped the disputed Himalayan region of its semi-autonomy and launched a security crackdown last month.
Kapur also forecast little improvement regarding Trump’s standing with Indian Americans. “The Trump administration’s hardline policies on immigration ... have hardly endeared [him] to the community,” Kapur said. “Appearing with PM Modi might mildly help but certainly not reverse the community’s overall pro-Democrat leanings.” Trump said US-India bonds are expanding despite tensions over India’s trade surplus with the US. In June, the US canceled special trade privileges that had allowed India to export certain goods with lower tariffs. India responded by slapping tariffs on more than two dozen US goods.
The US and India are discussing ways to negotiate at least a partial trade deal, which would let the president score a victory as he campaigns for re-election. A partial deal could include Washington reinstating India’s special tariff status in exchange for concessions related to access to Indian markets, possibly in dairy and medical devices. Other issues are thwarting efforts to sign a larger trade deal.
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In an address in Hindi to “my family”, Modi briefly mentioned the trade talks and expressed hope that an announcement can be made while he and Trump participate in the UN gathering.
Modi said that while Trump has called himself a “tough negotiator”, he has learned a few things from Trump about the art of making deals. After the speeches, Modi asked Trump to walk hand-in-hand around the perimeter of the stadium floor, looking up to the stands of cheering fans.
After the Houston event, Trump flew to Ohio, a key state in the 2020 presidential race. He and Australian prime minister Scott Morrison were to mark the opening of an Australian-owned Pratt Industries plant in Wapakoneta. Trump hosted Morrison and his wife, Jenny, on a state visit last week.
In Texas, Trump was briefed on recent storm flooding in the south-eastern part of the state when he stopped at a US coast guard station. Authorities blame the storm for at least five deaths.
Narendra ModiNarendra Modi
IndiaIndia
Donald Trump
KashmirKashmir
Houston
South and Central AsiaSouth and Central Asia
Donald Trump
Houston
TexasTexas
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