Dear Editor,
The nationality of a composite of six races from the land of many waters, with the encore of “Boukaiya, Nnoo, Bem-Vindo, Huanying and Svaagat,” will collectively convey a Guyanese “welcome” in a singular voice echoing a “One Guyana,” as the 74 years old Indian Prime Minister, Shriman Ji Narendra Damodardas Modi, sets foot for the second time on the soil of Guyana, the birth place for some 40 percent of Guyanese who have traceable links to Bharat Mata due to the arrival of their ancestors from India, their mother land. After 56 years, an Indian Prime Minister is gracing this South American nation, the late Indira Gandhi being the last in 1968. Other Indian officials to visit Guyana include the late Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, the then Vice President of India visited Guyana in 1988 and Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the then Vice President of India came on a state visit to Guyana in 2006. The famous and familiar reciprocal “Namaste,” said with clasped hands, will be inclusive in the greetings.
Prime Minister Modi, leader of the largest democracy in the world with a population of 1.45 billion people, comes from a country which has a legacy of having a “people-centric approach and mainstreaming the priorities of the Global South.” The agricultural and diversified country being the 7th largest nation in the world with an area of 1.269 M square miles and speaking some 780 languages, India has 28 states and 8 union territories with a GDP growth rate of 7.6 % annually. The 2023 World Bank report also states India’s Gross Domestic Product as 3.55 trillion USD with her GDP per capita being 2,484.85 USD.
For 89 years, India was a British colony and was known as the British Raj. In 1947, India single handedly defeated the British with words and wits and won her independence with the Mahatma Gandhi’s path of truth and non-violence (Satya Graha) approach. India became divided with the birth of Pakistan as a neighbour. A decade ago, India was the 11th largest economy in the world. This nation which was ravaged by invaders, raped for her wealth and repudiated as a “Coolie” mentality. Slowly but surely, like its national flower, the Kamalgatta, it rose from Dharti Ma and the Ganges, to blossom as the 5th largest economy in the world, beating its former master the British.
While the US remains as the only nation to put man on the moon, on the 23rd August 2023, India became the 4th nation to land on the moon. With India’s “Chandrayaan – 3, she became the first country to successfully land a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole, demonstrating a Safe and Soft Landing on Lunar Surface, a Rover roving on the moon, and conducting scientific experiments.
Apart from India’s fascinating foods, fantastic fields and famous festivals, she is fanaticized for cricket, songs, music and films. The Taj Mahal is one of the 7 wonders of the world and visited by millions of tourists who travel also to the snow laden mountainous Himalayas in the North and the watery Kerala in the South. A country landscaped with beauty, brains and business, it houses a rich culture of traditions, religions, festivities, and celebrations. India glorifies a way of life catering to an ambience of spirituality feeding off a spectrum of Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews, Baháʼís, eremites, teachers, holy men, charlatans and a host of other significant inclusivity.
From a historical background of 77 years of different, diversified and determined leaders, Prime Minister Modi has survived to lead the nation with three consecutive election victories since coming to power in 2014. He is on the rise in a country boasting 167 billionaires in the world, being the third highest. The IMF is forecasting a prediction that India is expected to take over Japan’s position to clinch the title of the world’s fourth largest economy in Fiscal Year 2025 with a GDP at $4,340 billion USD.
The quiet, humble and approachable but fiery Prime Minister who is charming and charismatic, is ever friendly, hard working and resolute. His aim is to reshape the image of India in the eyes of the world with pride from a proud past, dignity with a determined destiny and resilience to rule not from the rear. While PM Modi is adept, he is wary of human limitations and remains practical. His job corelates with the cooperation of his courageous commissioners who act as his confidants, consiglieres and commanders. As campaigners for Modi, they help to chronicle and communicate many of the conversations which are cumbersome and convoluted with concerns, controversies and criticisms.
Prime Minster Modi is careful and he surrounds himself with a chosen few who are his eyes, nose and ears, following him like a shadow. He places confidence in those he trusts and has faith in his closest and oldest allies as he delegates them with responsibility. His 3 days visit to Guyana will be fruitful as it can remove barriers of distance and development between two countries with common ideologies, people and aspirations. The Guyanese people and President Ali do welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi with open arms.
Yours respectfully,
Jai Lall.