MODI IN EUROPE
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PARIS: Indian soldiers who died fighting somebody else’s war during WW1 gave the country the right to a permanent seat in the UN Security Council and the days of “begging” for it were over, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told a congregation in Paris.
Arriving at the venue on Saturday evening after visiting a memorial for Indian soldiers who died in WW1 at Neuve Chapelle, Modi dwelt at length at their act of “fighting and dying for another person’s war”.
“I want the world to know that 14 lakh Indians put their lives at risk by participating in the World War I ... Who were they fighting for? Not for India or expansion of India ... Indian soldiers fought shoulder-to-shoulder with France ... They fought for somebody else ... One can fight for oneself but to die for others is different,” he said before winding up his fourday tour of France.
“Gone are the days when India begged before the world, we now demand from the world our due, including a seat in the UN Security Council for a country that has never attacked anyone and has always contributed to or led peacekeeping forces across the world. It is the right of the sentiments of Mahatma Gandhi and Gautam Buddha.”
Tugging at the heartstrings of the diaspora, Modi simultaneously NARENDRA MODI, Prime Minister
reached out to people of Indian origin in five overseas territories of France — becoming the first Indian Prime Minister to do so.
“The colour of your passport might have changed, you may not know any Indian language, but the colour of our blood is the same. India cares for your DNA, not the colour of your passport”, he said.
Interspersing his hour-long speech with the familiar mix of history, nationalism, politics and ambition, his speech at the Carrousel du Louvre mirrored similar well-attended diaspora events during his visits to the US and Australia.
“India has no reason to be poor… Based on my experience in so far in government, I can say that all the promises we made to the people of India will be fulfilled,” he told an audience that included 400 Gujarati-origin Bohra community members of France.