New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday opened up on a host of foreign affairs issues as he stressed that cooperation between India and China is essential for global peace and prosperity and called out Pakistan’s links to global terrorism, accusing Islamabad of responding with hostility to his attempts to rebuild ties.
In an interaction lasting over three hours with US-based popular podcaster and computer scientist Lex Fridman, Modi said he and US President Donald Trump connect well as both put their respective countries first and asserted that their mutual trust remained unshaken even when the Republican leader was out of office during Joe Biden’s presidency.
The prime minister also touched on various aspects of his life journey, praising the Hindutva organisation RSS for instilling patriotic values in him, lauding Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy and describing himself as a peacemaker who has nudged both Russian and Ukrainian leaders to come to the negotiating table.
He said normalcy has returned to the India-China border after his recent talks with President Xi Jinping to defuse tensions ignited by the 2020 clashes between the two armies in eastern Ladakh.
Sounding optimistic about the ties between the world’s two most populous countries, he said differences between neighbours are natural and emphasised the ancient cultural ties between them when the two civilizations learnt from each other and had little conflict.
Asserting that their efforts are aimed at ensuring that their differences do not turn into disputes and preferring dialogue over discord, he said the two countries once contributed over 50 per cent of the global GDP.
“Our cooperation is not only (mutually) beneficial but also essential for global peace and prosperity,” he said.
Turning to Pakistan, the prime minister said he took the initiative of inviting its leader to attend his swearing-in ceremony in 2014 and then travelled to Lahore in 2015, but his efforts only drew negative reactions from the neighbouring country.
“Yet, every noble attempt at fostering peace was met with hostility and betrayal,” he said, expressing the hope that wisdom will dawn on Pakistan and it will shun the path of terrorism.
Pakistan has since independence waged a proxy war against India and the trail of every terror incident in the world goes back to that country, he said, noting that Osama bin Laden was also hiding there.
Asked what he likes about Trump, Modi recalled that the US president during his first term had ignored security protocol and agreed to his request to take a lap around the stadium hosting the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston.
“I was touched by his courage and his trust in me,” he said, noting that Trump conveyed similar courage following the assassination attempt on him during the presidential campaign.
Trump believes in “America First” and his motto is “nation first” or “India first”, Modi said, adding that this similar spirit makes them connect well.
Without referring to the trade issues involving the two countries, Modi, while speaking of his recent meeting with the US president and his colleagues, noted that Trump in his second term seems far more prepared with a clear roadmap and has put together a strong team.
On the Russia-Ukraine conflict, PM Modi said it will only be resolved when both sides join the negotiation table, asserting that there can never be a resolution on the battlefield.
Highlighting his good relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Modi said that he can urge Russia that war is not the solution while reminding Ukraine that battlefields do not bring real solutions no matter how many people may support it.
“I have a close relationship with Russia and Ukraine alike. I can sit with President Putin and say that this is not the time for war. And I can also tell President Zelensky, in a friendly way, that brother, regardless of how many people stand with you in the world, there will never be a resolution on the battlefield,” Modi said.
Asked about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), he said he feels blessed to have learnt life’s values from a “sacred” organisation such as this as he lauded it for working since 1925 to inspire people to dedicate themselves to the country.
Modi said the RSS gave him the purpose of life, noting that its different affiliates are involved in numerous fields and with every section of society.
To a question about the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat when he was the chief minister, he said it was an attempt to create a false narrative to target him, and his political opponents in power at the Centre wanted him to be punished. The courts, however, cleared his name, he said.
Modi said the perception that the 2002 riots were the biggest riots ever in Gujarat was an attempt to push misinformation.
“If you review the data from before 2002, you will see that Gujarat faced frequent riots. Curfews were constantly being imposed somewhere. Communal violence would erupt over trivial issues such as kite flying contests or even bicycle collisions,” Modi said.
The prime minister said the riots in Gujarat in 1969 lasted for more than six months and that was an era when he was nowhere on the political horizon.
Modi said the Godhra train burning incident took place barely three days after he was elected as a legislator of the Gujarat Assembly.
He said that a fake narrative was spread regarding the Godhra case.
“But, the courts investigated the matter thoroughly and found us completely innocent. Those who were truly responsible have faced justice from the courts,” he said.
The prime minister said the most important thing was that Gujarat, which used to witness violence almost every year, has not seen riots since 2002.
Fridman, who had moved to the US from Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, started his podcast in 2018 which was originally titled the Artificial Intelligence Podcast but the name changed to Lex Fridman Podcast in 2020.
Guests on his podcast include Donald Trump, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, SpaceX founder Elon Musk, American businessman Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
PTI
