00:00 So, he is positioning himself as a global statesman, positioning himself as a global
00:27 thought leader, the leader of the global south, the voice of the global south and the voice
00:34 of a kind of rising India, rising to claim its place in the world.
00:38 And all of this I believe is designed to feed into the Modi personality cult, which is a
00:44 very expertly created, very well marketed cult designed to appeal to a demographic,
00:53 which will be very swayed by these promises of rising India, resurgent India internationally.
01:02 There I think we are looking at a more complicated picture, because I think that while you know
01:10 India is, as I said geopolitically in a sweet spot, there are rising concerns about human
01:16 rights, there are rising concerns about majoritarianism, there is a huge concern voiced by many organizations,
01:23 about India's democratic backsliding, the restrictions on internet, the restrictions
01:29 on the press, the restrictions on human rights activists, the jailing of dissenting voices,
01:35 the muzzling of the media.
01:37 So these are all real concerns and they are being raised across the western democracies.
01:45 He will be rubbing shoulders with President Joe Biden, who is coming for the summit.
01:50 He will be in the company of other global leaders.
01:52 So in terms of again bolstering that image, I think it will help him going forward into
01:59 the elections of 2024.
02:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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