‘Howdy Modi’: Nine things to know about PM Modi's mega event in Houston

“Howdy Houston! It’s a bright afternoon here in Houston. Looking forward to a wide range of programmes in this dynamic and energetic city today and tomorrow,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he arrived in the US for the ‘Howdy Modi: Shared Dreams, Bright Futures’ event on Sunday.

Even as the event is set to begin, Indians in the US have started lining up outside the NRG Football stadium. The internet is abuzz with tweets, memes and pictures about Modi’s visit to Houston, with hashtag #HowdyModi trending. Some puzzled netizens even asked what the event is all about. Here are nine things to know about Howdy Modi event.

1. Howdy Modi is one of the highlights of the Prime Minister’s seven-day tour in the US. As a special gesture, US President Donald Trump, too, will share the stage with Modi at the event.
2. Why Texas? As part of the event, he will address 50,000 Indian-Americans in Houston, reportedly the largest gathering ever for a foreign leader visiting the country. The crowd at Houston is expected to be larger than Modi’s US visit in 2014 during the Obama era, where about 19,000 people had turned up. According to the Pew Research Center analysis of US Census data, the United States is home to about 4 million Indian-Americans, including about 300,000 in Houston and nearby Dallas.
3. The event is being organised by the Texas India Forum (TIF), Inc. According to the official website of Howdy Modi, TIF is a not-for-profit organisation that brings together Indian-American organisations and institutions in order to promote collaboration within the region and develop opportunities for engagement with India. The event has been organised with the help of more than 1,000 volunteers and 650 Texas-based Welcome Partner organisations.
4. Reports also said that the event will feature a 90-minute cultural programme titled, Woven: The Indian-American Story. Over 1,000 Gujaratis from Houston will perform a dandiya, the traditional Gujarati dance, to welcome the PM. A 16-year-old Indian-origin boy, born with a rare medical condition called osteogenesis imperfecta (brittle bone disease), will be singing the Indian national anthem at the event.
5. Modi will also be part of a mega roadshow in Houston. While Texas is a Republican stronghold, Houston is perceived as a Democratic stronghold. For the US president, the rally with Modi is a means to reach out to the Indian-American voters. Reuters reported that some 75% of the community had voted for his rival Hillary Clinton in 2016. For Republicans, the state of Texas is crucial for Trump’s 2020 re-election bid. The US state of Texas is as important for the Republicans as the state of Uttar Pradesh is for the BJP.
6. Meeting with the community: After the event, the PM would also attend a community reception at the Centre. He will also unveil a plaque at the Eternal Gandhi Museum, inaugurate the Gujarat Samaj of Houston Event Centre and the Siddhi Vinayak Temple in Houston. Ahead of the event, Modi PM also interacted with the members from the Kashmiri Pandits community.
7. With India’s energy independence being one of the major goals of the PM, he held a roundtable meeting with the CEOs of top energy companies based in Houston, which is considered the world's energy capital. Texas accounts for 10% of India-US trade, about $7 billion worth of US goods and commodities are moved between Texas and India.
8. After the Howdy Modi event, Trump and Modi are likely to sign trade deal to lower some tariffs on US produce and restore preferential treatment for some Indian exports to the country.
9. The event comes on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 74) in New York, where the Indian Prime Minister is expected to have a face-off with his Pakistani counterpart Imran Khan over Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile, people from Sindh, Baloch and Pashto groups, too, from across the US are protesting outside the stadium to draw the attention of Modi and Donald Trump for independence from Pakistan.

(With inputs from IANS)