Ahead of PM Narendra Modi’s US visit from September 21-23, here’s a memory of his trip to America during the 1990s narrated by Arvind Sant, an NRI from the States.
In the 1990s, Modi was invited by the US government to participate in a meeting for young delegates in New York. After the event, Modi set out on a 15-day tour across the country to meet the Indian diaspora.
Sant, an Indian living in the US at the time, recalls the days vividly. He says, “During those 15 days, I had the honour of driving Modi around the cities. When Modi ji visited New York, he arranged a meeting with all the karyakartas from the city. He even came to our home."
“While driving, Modi ji asked me to tune into the radio and play speeches, which was quite unusual. He even discussed the idea of creating an audio library where people could listen to speeches from great leaders. It was a concept far ahead of its time," Sant says.
For the next 15 days, Modi travelled across the US and visited some colleges. He was keen on meeting students to discuss their technological interests and learn about developments. Although he was just an RSS pracharak at the time, Modi’s passion for engaging with the youth and discussing technology was evident.
He wasn’t a big political figure yet, but his curiosity and willingness to learn from everyone, whether young students or seasoned professionals, stood out. “His focus on gaining new insights and sharing knowledge was always clear," he adds.
Modi’s US visit helped him connect with the Indian diaspora and shaped his vision of using technology and education to drive India’s progress.
PM Modi will visit the United States from September 21 to 23. This is the first visit of PM Modi in his third term and is also significant as this time, along with bilateral issues, QUAD, concerns of Global South, the focus is also on the war in Europe as he recently visited both Russia and Ukraine.
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