India must become only India, not next China, says Modi

India does not need to become anything else, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, not the next China, debunking the common belief.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 21 Sept 2014, 09:28 PM
Updated : 21 Sept 2014, 09:28 PM

“India must become only India,” the BJP leader said in an interview to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria.

Sunday’s interview was his first for Modi who came to power in May and caught global attention after inviting leaders of the SAARC countries in his swearing-in ceremony.

The interview was mostly focused on global issues including India’s relations with China.

“This (India) is a country that once upon a time was called 'the golden bird',” Modi said, “We have fallen from where we were before. But now we have the chance to rise again.”

China has been consistent in its 8 percent to 9 percent economic growth in the last 30 years that India could not maintain that pace.

“If you see the details of the last five or ten centuries, you will see that India and China have grown at similar paces.

“Their contributions to global GDP have risen in parallel and fallen in parallel.

“Today's era once again belongs to Asia. India and China are both growing rapidly together. That is why India needs to remain India,” he said.

He said he had no doubt about capabilities and talent of the Indians.

“I have a lot of faith in the entrepreneurial nature of our 1.25 billion people. There is a lot of capability. And I have a clear road-map to channel it,” he said.

He stressed on the girl child’s education and also on the need to ensure the safety of the girl child.

“Dignity of women is our collective responsibility. There should be no compromise in this matter. There should be no erosion in the law and order situation,” he said as containing violence against women appear as a challenge for India.

He, however, does not see any problem after Ayman-al- Zawahiri, the head of al-Qaeda, issued a video and an appeal trying to widen its network in India.

“My understanding is that they are doing injustice towards the Muslims of our country. If anyone thinks Indian Muslims will dance to their tune, they are delusional.

“Indian Muslims will live for India. They will die for India. They will not want anything bad for India,” he said.

He said the biggest challenge for him in the next year would be to have people’s faith and trust.

“That trust should never break. The public should have faith that this is the government they elected, and it's trying to work for their welfare with honesty and commitment. That's the biggest thing.”