New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said he had a clear road map to channelise the immense capability of Indians, and refused to be drawn into comparisons with China even as he stressed there was need to have faith that the neighbouring country would accept global laws.
In an exclusive interview to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, telecast in its entirety Sunday, Modi said India had a chance to rise to its glory of the past. He said the present era belonged to Asia, laid stress on education of girl child, on winning trust of people through his actions and revealed he derived pleasure from his work.
Modi, in his first interview since becoming prime minister in May this year, also spoke of the benefits of yoga in integrating mind and body.
In the interview, parts of which were released Friday, Modi, who spoke in Hindi, said the Indian Muslims will live and die for India and the Al Qaeda is “delusional” if it thinks Indian Muslims will dance to its tunes.
The prime minister, who is scheduled to travel to the US later this week, also said that it was possible for the two countries to develop a genuine strategic alliance.
Asked if India will be the next China and grow consistently at 8-9 percent, he said that India does not need to become anything else but remain itself.
“India must become only India. This is a country that once upon a time was called ‘the golden bird’. We have fallen from where we were before. But now we have the chance to rise again,” he said.
He said India and China have grown at similar paces over the last several centuries and were both growing rapidly together.
“It is my absolute belief that Indians have unlimited talent. I have no doubt about our capabilities. 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,” Modi said.
Asked about worries among China’s neighbours about its behaviour in the East China and South China Seas, he said the world was not in the 18th century and was in a different era.
The way China was focused on economic development was hardly sign of a country that wants to be isolated, he noted.
“It wants to stay connected. That is why we should have trust in China’s understanding and have faith that it would accept global laws and will play its role in cooperating and moving forward,” Modi said.
Though he made the remarks in context of concerns among China’s neighbours over maritime disputes, there is concern in New Delhi over reported intrusion by Chinese troops in the Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir.
Refusing to be drawn into comparisons with China, Modi said high growth can be achieved through democracy.
About developments in Ukraine and about Russia’s annexation of the Crimea, he said all efforts should be made to sit together and talk to resolve problems.
To a query about violence against women, he said the dignity of women was a collective responsibility.
Asked what he would like people to say after his first year in office, Modi said that faith of people should not break.
“If I can win the confidence of the people of India, not from my speeches but by actions, then the power of 1.25 billion Indians will come together to take the country forward,” he said.
On how he relaxed, the prime minister said he was not the “not-working” type and derived pleasure from his work.
He said he was thinking of something new every moment and drew pleasure in governance, in doing new things and bringing people together.
He said he has always advised everyone to make yoga a part of their lives.
“Sometimes, we notice our mind works on one thing, the body on another, and time brings us in conflict. Yoga synchronizes the heart, the mind, and the body,” he said.
