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A large number of Gujarat-linked organisations as well as those with Hindutva affiliations have registered as "welcoming partners" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's reception on September 28 at New York's Madison Square Garden. MSG or Garden, as the multipurpose indoor arena is referred to, is best remembered for the boxing bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier and late Beatle John Lennon's final concert. The $1.5-million reception hosted by the Indian American Community Foundation at MSG, which can house close to 20,000 people, is being watched with interest as Modi, denied a US visa in 2005 after Gujarat riots when he was the chief minister of that state, has now been invited as the Prime Minister of India.
Rocky Mountain Gujarati Samaj, Gujarati Samaj of Atlanta, Gujarati Cultural Association Chicago, Gujarati Samaj of Baltimore, Gujarati Association of Western Massachusetts, South Gujarat Patel Pragati Mandal, Gujarati Kshatriya Mahasabha, Friends of Gujarat, Gujarati Literary Academy of North America, and Long Island Gujarati Cultural Society have committed attendance at the Modi event.
"Naturally, as Modi comes from Gujarat and Gujarati-origin Indians represent a large part of the Indian diaspora in the New York area, you are bound to see more participants from Gujarat," Ruyintan E Mehta, a representative of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay Alumni Association, Greater New York Chapter, told Business Standard. IIT Bombay Alumni Association has also registered for the reception.
Then there are organisations such as American Hindu Federation, Dharma Civilization Foundation, Telugu Association of Greater Sacramento, VHP of America, Vallabhdam Temple (Connecticut), Sikh Gurdwara DC and Iskcon Orlando, among others, gearing up to attend the event.
Gokul Kunnath, president, United States Hindu Alliance, said: "There is great excitement and enthusiasm in the three-million US Hindu community, mostly of Indian descent, in welcoming the new PM." "Had there been an alternate venue available that could accommodate a larger crowd, there would be 100,000 people to greet him." MSG will be full and thousands will be disappointed because they could not attend the historic event, he noted.
Institutions and organisations representing the intelligentsia and those working in the social sphere, with no apparent affiliations, are expected in good numbers, too. These include IIT Bombay Alumni Association Greater New York Chapter, TIE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Boston, Next Generation Foundation, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, Asian Women's Safety Net, Society of Indo-American Engineers and Architects, and Indian Students' Association at Columbia University.
Apart from the 394 partners which will send their representatives to the Modi event, there will be a long list of special invitees and volunteers. Plus, www.pmvisit.org, created for the Modi reception, will open for individual registration for a day on September 2, according to the website. While entry to the event will be ticketed, there's no charge on the ticket. Donations and advertisements will raise the money required for an event of this scale.
"Community organisations are reaching out to affluent donors to financially support the $1.5 million welcome reception," said a partner. The list of celebrities who will attend is still being finalised.
According to earlier reports, Modi is keen on a broad-based, all-inclusive event, rather than a reception bearing the stamp of any particular community. Bharat Barai, a physician based in Chicago and Modi's old friend, is coordinating the event along with Indian Embassy. Former PMs Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee were also given community reception in the US, but they didn't attract the kind of crowd that Modi is expected to.
According to Ruyintan E Mehta of IIT Bombay Alumni Association, as a Trustee of the Greater New York Chapter, there was unanimous consent amongst all 7 executive committee members and all 14 active volunteers about participating in the community reception for PM Modi as a partner organisation. "Like our beloved alma mater, IIT Bombay, we are totally secular in nature. We are much more excited about the freshness that Modi brings towards governance than petty politics."
Peo Nathan, president of Next Generation Foundation, an NGO registered for the Modi reception, said: "The fundamental programmes Modi has outlined is the reason for our enthusiasm to welcome him on his first official visit." Nathan, who's a Tamil-speaking practising Catholic settled in the US for about two decades, added: "Modi represents a larger hope for the people of the subcontinent after almost 60 years of so-called socialism."
RECEPTION IN UNCLE SAM'S LAND
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A large number of Gujarat-linked organisations registers for PM Narendra Modi's mega reception on Sept 28
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Madison Square Garden is best remembered for the late Beatle John Lennon's swansong and the boxing bout between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier
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PM's US visit assumes significance as earlier the American govt denied visa to Modi for his alleged role in Gujarat riots of 2002
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The $1.5-million reception hosted by the Indian American Community Foundation at MSG can house close to 20,000 people
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According to earlier reports, the PM was keen on a broad-based, all-inclusive event, rather than a reception bearing the stamp of any particular community
