A year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s famous speech at the Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, he is again set to visit the US, this time the West Coast, which has a large Indian-American population. The PM is scheduled to address the Indian diaspora on September 27 at the SAP Center in San Jose. Modi’s visit is historic because he’s the only PM after Jawaharlal Nehru in 1949 to visit the West Coast.
Prominent Indian-American organisations in the West Coast have formed an organisation called the Indo-American Community of West Coast USA to coordinate details around the PM’s visit. Vijay Chauthaiwale of the foreign relations department of the BJP also recently visited Silicon Valley to interact with the Indian community in the West Coast to plan PM Modi’s visit.
Mukesh J Mowji, principal of Silver Creek Hospitality, a hotel development and management company in Silicon Valley, is upbeat. “This is a very important visit for the Indian-American community and we, in the planning committee, are trying to make sure that a large number of community members have an opportunity to attend PM Modi’s address and that tickets are not overpriced,” said Mowji. He added that Silicon Valley with its concentration of America’s top technology companies, venture capitalists and startups, many of them founded by people of Indian origin, is the ideal backdrop for the PM to showcase his ‘Make in India’ message.
“We are all hoping that PM Modi makes at least one big-ticket announcement and also speaks about infrastructure and the business environment in India.
Besides Indian-Americans, who are a very successful community as entrepreneurs and top honchos in various technology companies, this is also home to the largest community of Indian tech professionals on H1B and L1 visas. Everyone here is excited about the prime minister’s visit,” said Mowji, a former chairman of the Asian American Hotel Owners’ Association (AAHOA).
While Modi’s last visit was more about engaging with the political establishment, this time it will be about technology and business, feel experts. “This visit will showcase that he is one of the most tech-savvy leaders globally. Many members of the Indian-American community in the West Coast are technology leaders themselves and have a sense of tech connection with the PM,” said Sanjay Puri, chairman of the Washington-based US Indian Political Action Committee.
Besides his address to the community, the PM is likely to visit community centres as well and hold meetings with key leaders. While many Indian-American organisations in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley are engaged in planning for the events during Modi’s visit, the administration of the state of California and the city of San Jose, and council member of district 2 of the city of San Jose Ash Kalra, too, are working closely with the newly formed organising committee to ensure the San Jose public event is a success.
“The community in Silicon Valley is excited because after such a long time the head of state of India is coming to see what Silicon Valley is all about. The conversation, we hope, will revolve around innovation and how Silicon Valley Indian leaders can help India. We hope that we can dazzle with the innovation that is happening in the Valley around smart cities, Internet of things and consumer Internet,” said Vishal Verma, partner at Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Edgewood Ventures. He added that Indians in Silicon Valley are also looking forward to learning more about the prime minister’s vision for India.
Source: The Economic Times
