Thousands of Indian-Americans will gather for the mega “Howdy, Modi!” event to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in US’ Houston on September 22.
“Howdy Modi” is the first big attempt by Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to rouse the prosperous diaspora in the United States, which is home to four million Indian-Americans.
This will be Modi’s third major address to the Indian-American community after he became the Prime Minister in 2014 and the first after his re-election in May. The previous two were at the Madison Square Garden in New York in 2014 and the Silicon Valley in 2016. Both the events were attended by more than 20,000 people.* US President Donald Trump will join Prime Minister Modi at the “Howdy, Modi!” event, a move seen as a boost to India-US relations and a nod to the growing personal equation between the leaders. It will also be attended by a bipartisan delegation of US governors, members of Congress, mayors and other officials.
* The diaspora outreach event “Howdy, Modi!” has been sold out with more than 50,000 people registering for the event.
* It will take place at the NRG Stadium in Houston, which has one of the largest concentration of more than 150,000 Indian-American community in the US. Houston is the energy capital of the world and also a hub for space research and healthcare.
* “Howdy Modi!”, hosted by Houston-based non-profit body the Texas India Forum (TIF), is being promoted as a community summit. Reports have said it is expected to be the biggest ever gathering of Indian-Americans in the US.
* Organisers have said the live audience at the event will be the largest for an Indian Prime Minister in North America and the largest for a foreign leader visiting the US, other than the Pope.
* Apart from remarks by Modi and Trump, special cultural programme to reflect the US-India cultural ties with a tagline, “Shared Dreams, Bright Futures”, will also be showcased.
* The a 90-minute cultural programme, “Woven: The Indian-American Story”, will have a music, dance and multimedia show with nearly 400 artists from Houston and elsewhere in Texas.* It will also highlight the contributions of Indian-Americans to enrich the American life, as well as, the key role it has played in strengthening relations between the two nations.
* The event will also focus on the growing trade between India and Houston. India is Houston’s fourth-largest trading partner, just behind Brazil, China and Mexico, in 2019 to date. From 2009 to 2018, trade between Houston and India averaged $4.8 billion annually and was valued at $7.2 billion in 2018.
* The audience will have the chance to hear Modi’s vision for India and the US-India partnership. The address will have a simultaneous English translation available via smartphone, the organisers have said.* “Howdy, Modi!” is being managed by more than 1,000 volunteers and 650 Welcome Partner organisations.
* It will be broadcast live online and on television channels reaching over 1 billion people across the US and India.