Addressing close to 15,000 members of the Indian diaspora at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Long Island in New York, Modi also announced that India will open two new consulates in Boston and Los Angeles, a year after the opening of a consulate in Seattle. The announcement will take the number of Indian consulates to eight in the US, besides the embassy in DC.

Modi began by recalling his long association with the US and the Indian diaspora. “When I was not a PM or CM or a leader, I used to come here as someone wanting to learn. I used to come with many questions. When I was not in any position, I had already travelled to 29 states in US. Then when I became CM, through technology, I continued connecting with you. As PM, I got tremendous love from you. In 2014, Madison Square; in 2015, San Jose; in 2019, Houston; in 2023, Washington and now in 2024, New York, each time you break the last record,” Modi said, referring to his visits as PM to cities where he has engaged with the diaspora.

He said he understood the role and importance of the Indian diaspora and saw them as the strongest “brand ambassadors” for India. When he referred to them as the nation’s ambassadors, the crowd responded with chants of “Modi, Modi”. “You have connected America with India and India with America. Your talent, skill and commitment has no competition. You may have come across seven seas but there is no ocean that is deep enough that can keep India afar from you. We can never forget what India has taught us.”

Modi said that Indians understood diversity, lived it, and this was in the culture and blood of Indians, for India was a land of multiple traditions, religions, languages, yet Indians were one. These values made India a “viswabandhu”, a friend of the world, the PM said, using a term that is increasingly becoming a part of India’s aspirational foreign policy lexicon.

The PM talked about the recent T20 World Cup held in the US, and referred to the contribution of the Indian Americans in the team. “For the world, AI is Artificial Intelligence. But I believe AI is American Indian..America India..And that is the power of the world. This AI spirit is giving the India-US relationship a new height. I salute the Indian diaspora.”

Modi said 2024 was a huge year for the whole world since on one hand, there was a war between various countries and, on the other hand, there is a celebration of democracies in many countries. “India and US are together in this festival of democracies. US is about to hold elections and India has just held elections.”

At a time when there have been questions about Indian democracy’s health in the US, Modi pointed out that the elections were the largest in human history. “Can you imagine that twice the entire American population, more than the whole population of Europe voted in India? When we see the scale of Indian democracy, there is even greater pride.” Modi spoke about the three month long polling process, a million polling stations, 2,500 political parties, 15 million poll workers, 8,000 candidates, scores of television channels, newspapers and radios and millions of social media accounts as elements that make Indian democracy vibrant. “Our electoral process goes through this level of scrutiny. This time, in India, there was something unprecedented that happened. What happened?” Modi asked.

He then led the crowd and said, “Abki baar”, as supporters responded with, “Modi sarkar”.

Modi said that in the third term, India had to move with three times more energy and at times more the pace. He then used a new acronym — “Pushp” — and defined it as “progressive, unstoppable, spiritual, humanitarian first, prosperous” Bharat.

Modi also spoke of an “aspirational India” as another AI. “Millions of Indians are driving India’s growth..They don’t just want roads, but expressways; not just rails but high speed rail; every city expects a metro and an airport; every citizen and village and city wants the best facilities of the world.” In 2014, Modi said, five Indian cities had metro, now 23 cities had a metro network and India had the second largest metro network in the world. In 2014, 70 cities had airports, while now 140 cities had a metro. He gave similar examples in other sectors.

“Development has become a people’s movement in India. India is a land of opportunities today. And India doesn’t wait for opportunities. It constructs opportunities. In every sector, India has prepared the launching pad in every sector. In a decade, India has lifted 250 million from poverty,” the PM said.

Modi spoke about India’s manufacturing successes and plans, the welfare schemes that have made people’s lives easier, the financial inclusion that has connected citizens to the economy, and other governance achievements. He also pointed to India’s environmental record even though India had no role in “ruining the world” with negligible emissions.

Modi then turned to foreign policy and reiterated that from working on a policy on equidistance, India was now working on a policy of equiproximity. “When India says something on a global platform, the world listens. Sometime ago, when I said this is not the era of war, people understood the importance of it. When there is a crisis in the world, India comes across as the first responder. India sent vaccines and medicines to 150 countries. From earthquakes to cyclones to civil wars, we are the first to help. This is the legacy of ancestors. This is our culture.”

Modi said that a strong and capable India will play a key role in “global development, global peace, global climate action, global innovations, global supply chains”. But he also sought to project a distinctive story of India’s rise, “For India, strength and capability means that knowledge is for sharing, wealth is for caring, power is for protecting.”