It’s fairly common knowledge that Narendra Modi’s frequent trips abroad are less about diplomacy and more about staging diaspora jamborees to convince his followers that he is a leader of great stature, admired across the world. For years, these stage-managed gatherings gave his supporters and crony-controlled media the spectacle they wanted. They cheered a leader they imagined gave them bragging rights.

Crowds at embassy-arranged events chanting ‘Modi, Modi’ and media amplification of this theatre of endorsement by well-heeled Indians abroad fed into his image at home as well. Not everyone was similarly enamoured perhaps, but his critics kept a lower profile than his supporters.

That picture seems to have suddenly changed, with city streets in Europe, North America and Australia erupting simultaneously in solidarity protests running under the banner ‘Jantar Mantar Is Everywhere’. They are echoing the demands of their friends, kin and fellow countrymen, demanding accountability, fair elections and the freedom to dissent.

Protest gatherings in London, New York, Toronto, Sydney, Berlin, Dublin, Stockholm, Copenhagen, The Hague and other cities have brought students, professionals and activists together against the reported massive electoral irregularities and the brutal oppression of protesters in India. This surge of diaspora protests matters more than their size may suggest. Even fifty people coming together can break the silence, ease fears of retaliation, build connections and make the next protest easier to organise.

It’s still too early, though, to declare that the diaspora has given up on Modi. Indians abroad remain divided by religion, caste, class, generation and political experience.

Carnegie’s 2024 Indian American Attitudes Survey found that 47 per cent still approve of Modi’s........

© National Herald