Modi’s speech depicts a shameful America

If Americans are not ashamed of Modi’s speech in the US congress, then something is wrong with the American national character. During the much rehearsed speech that Modi gave, he mentioned AI in two contexts: one AI stands for the advancements in artificial intelligence and the other one, he said, meant the advancements in American and Indian relations. I agree with both.

Here is why: the American government officials inside the US congress seemed so eager to appreciate the ridiculously delivered speech that each time Modi took a break to breathe in some air from that overly rehearsed speech, they just started clapping. That must be AI behaviour because such an unnecessary and out of context clapping cannot be human behaviour. I had heard of bots on Twitter but bots inside the US congress is really a testament to the argument that the world of AI can be limitless and bizarre.

Modi kept talking about his similar speech in front of the US congress members back in 2016. He kept going back and forth between 2016 and 2023 to highlight the things that may have changed, yet, how the American Indian bond has remained strong. Well, it would be unwise on part of Modi as well the American audience to go beyond 2016 and back into the early 2000s. That is when Modi orchestrated the murder of over 1200 innocent Muslims in the Indian state of Gujarat. The United States of America had placed a visa ban on him, meaning he was not allowed to travel to America.

Fast forward to when India’s leading terrorist was elevated to the highest office, which by the way speaks volumes about the national psyche of India. The Obama administration welcomed him to America and hugged him like old pals. But it got me thinking; besides climate change and the threat of nuclear war, the fact that some of the most dangerous men are elected by people to positions of highest power without knowing much about global affairs has to be a similarly top notch threat to world peace. The crimes of Modi were sanitised by the most powerful man in the world who was also involved in killing his own citizens without the due process of law.

Modi standing in the US congress is quite an amazing fact if one thinks about it and not for the reasons that the Indian media would like to tout. It is a testament to the fact that the US stance against aggression and terrorism is nothing but a figment of imagination, ready to be erased at a moment’s notice. One day this man was a terrorist and the next day the same man was hailed as a great American ally. It is as if Modi went on some interstellar journey and came back the same man, yet, the people who had banned him from entering the United States have disappeared. It speaks volumes about how morally bankrupt the American legislature can be. People heard Modi speak that rehearsed speech, but what I was hearing was the silent American legislators who were shouting on top of their lungs basically saying that sanctions, bans, laws, legislations, policies, stances, morality, and so forth do not mean anything.

Modi did not walk to the podium for his speech. He rather walked over the principles and morals that the American power centre likes to define itself by. He walked over American democracy. Modi was banned without the American people knowing or caring about a bunch of Muslims killed in Gujarat. And he was hugged and welcomed into the US congress without the American people knowing or caring about what was happening. It is the unsaid words that I heard louder than the words Modi uttered. The American people should do one thing: they should feel ashamed of their democracy and their flexible morality.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 6^th, 2023.

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