Around 2am on Monday, the Press Trust of India reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who returned to India after a foreign tour, asked BJP president J.P. Nadda “what’s happening in India?” Nadda was quoted by PTI as replying: “The country is happy....”
The following is a cheat sheet for the Prime Minister on what has been happening in India while he was overseas. The days may overlap because of the time difference. The cheat sheet, by definition, is not exhaustive.
TUESDAY, JUNE 20
What you did: Waved goodbye and took off. Met Elon Musk, singer Falguni Shah and others in New York
What happened in India: A 10-party delegation from Manipur had been waiting for 10 days to meet you. You left without meeting them although you found time to meet Manoj Muntashir who wrote the dialogues for the movie, Adipurush. Former Manipur chief minister Ibobi Singh, part of the delegation that waited in vain to meet you, said: “We are not beggars. Our people are dying. Our state is burning.... But the Prime Minister does not have five minutes for us.”
WEDNESDAY
What you did: Yoga in New York to mark the International Day of Yoga at the UN. Then you reached Washington D.C. You had a private dinner at the White House with the Bidens and you gifted a 7.5-carat lab-grown diamond to US First Lady Jill Biden.
What happened in India: Congress leader Sonia Gandhi invoked the conscience of our nation and spoke of the great human tragedy unfolding in Manipur. “It is heartbreaking to witness our brothers and sisters who have coexisted peacefully turn against each other,” Sonia said.
THURSDAY
What you did: You had a busy day. The meeting with Biden, the “joint press conference” at the White House where the most important outcome was that you took two questions, the address to the US Congress and then the state dinner at the White House....
What happened in India: Don’t know if foreign minister Jaishankar or NSA Ajit Doval or any of the other movers and shakers you bumped into at the most famous address in the world told you: the day you were basking in the American limelight was also the 50th day since Manipur erupted and the 50th day of your silence. At least 131 people have been killed and 60,000 displaced since May 3. Yet, you have not spoken a word about Manipur in public.
FRIDAY
What you did: You took part in a “Hitech Handshake” event, had a luncheon with US Vice-President Kamala Harris at the State Department and addressed Indian-Americans
What happened in India: A group of armed men from Manipur’s Imphal East district advanced towards the hills, firing from automatic weapons. Your aides must have briefed you on the distinction between the valley and hills in Manipur. The North East Students’ Organisation (Neso) questioned your silence on the violence in Manipur. Oh, yes! Manipur chief minister and your party colleague Biren Singh made a brief road trip to Bishnupur district, his first visit to an area outside the state capital affected by the violence.
SATURDAY
What you did: You landed in Cairo. Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly received you at the airport. You met the Grand Mufti of Egypt Shawki Ibrahim Abdel-Karim Allam and discussed how India and Egypt could partner in countering extremist ideology and preventing radicalisation of the youth.
What happened in India: News emerged that a Manipur minister’s property was torched by a Meitei mob that assumed that two women whom he had saved were informers of the Kuki community. Your home minister held an all-party meeting on Manipur, where your silence was questioned. Meanwhile, some of your admirers have been busy highlighting the religion of Sabrina Siddiqui. Yes, you will not forget Siddiqui in a hurry: she’s the reporter who asked you at the White House not about mangoes but about minority rights and free speech.
SUNDAY
What you did: Again, you had a hectic day. You signed an agreement to elevate the bilateral relationship with Egypt to a strategic partnership, accepted the Order of the Nile and visited a historical mosque. Of course, you found time to pose for pictures near the Great Pyramid of Giza, too
What happened in India: Again, news emerged of how security forces found it “mature” to hand over to a crowd 12 militants they had detained. Never mind that one of the militants was the alleged mastermind of an ambush in which 18 soldiers were killed. Manipur chief minister Biren Singh met home minister Amit Shah in Delhi. And finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman showed how badly you had been affected by Barack Obama’s statement that Biden should raise minority rights with you
MONDAY, GRAVEYARD SHIFT
You landed in Delhi and asked: “What’s happening in India?”
India somehow survived without your reassuring presence, Prime Minister. Now, please get some rest after such a gruelling week. You must not give your “friend Barack” another reason to worry about your sleeping habits.
