Modi addresses U.S. Congress

WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered an ode to U.S.-India relations to a joint session of Congress Wednesday, noting that the close ties between the two nations deeply reflect the values the countries share.

“The traits of freedom and liberty form a strong bond between our two democracies,” said Modi, who was greeted by almost three minutes of applause on entering the House chamber. “Our nations may have been shaped by diverse histories, cultures and faiths, yet our belief in democracy for our nations and liberty for our countrymen is common.”

“As a representative of the world’s largest democracy, it is indeed a privilege to speak to the leaders of its oldest,” Modi said.

It was a sight to see, even more when you consider the state of relations between the U.S. and India just three years ago — the relationship was in tatters over the arrest and strip search of an Indian diplomat in New York for visa fraud and the underpayment of her housekeeper. During the same time, Modi was still barred from entering the country, censured for failing to stop a series of mass killings of Muslims in 2002 in the Hindu-majority state he led at the time.

After his election as prime minister in 2014, Modi began a determined effort to grow strategic alignment and striking up a relationship with President Obama.

He became the fifth Indian Prime Minister to address Congress, and was often interrupted by the applause and cheer of U.S. lawmakers, who see India as a democratic counterweight to China in the Asia Pacific. He repeated a sentiment during his speech that India will remain dedicated to the fostering of freedom and democracy, which served as a reminder that his country offers the U.S. a like-minded partner in an increasingly unsettled region.

“No wonder that the shared ideals and common philosophy of freedom shape the bedrock of our ties. No wonder that President Obama called our ties the defining partnership of the 21st century,” Modi said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said that the country may now do even more with India on a government-to-government basis than ever before, and more than virtually any other nation. The Prime Ministers visit was meant to serve as a celebration of that achievement and to cement it as the Obama Administration prepares to pass the torch to the incoming administration in 2017.

“This trip is both a love fest and a sales pitch,” said Michael Kugelman, a senior associate for South Asia at the Wilson Center.

Modi’s goal — and Obama’s — will be “to highlight the rapid progress made in U.S.-India relations in recent years and to underscore the importance of maintaining the current momentum in relations against a backdrop of changing U.S. leadership,” Kugelman said.

However, there are still points of friction that remain between the world’s two largest democracies. India would like to see the U.S. take a much stronger stance on climate change and human rights, while U.S. lawmakers have voiced complaints over India’s slave population, the largest in the world, its loose approach on intellectual property and the limits the country places on foreign investment.

Modi took time to address some of these testier issues, and did so with a hint of comedic relief. Lawmakers laughed when he said that even though more Americans practice yoga than know how to throw a curve ball, India has yet to claim intellectual property rights on the ancient practice.

He teased Washington lawmakers, saying he’d heard about the smooth efforts of bipartisanship in Congress, and that he saw the same thing in India.

Regardless, the theme has been singular: the last few years have represented the most constructive progress possible.

The numbers back the narrative. Trade between the U.S. and India has soared from $60 billion in 2009 to $107 billion in 2015, while American defense contractors are now selling India $14 billion worth of equipment, an increase from $300 million less than a decade ago.