Reform, Performance and Change: How Modi made the G20 a cultural movement with all Indians participating

The heads of the G20 nations will converge in New Delhi on September 9 and 10 to participate in the summit. The main event is getting closer. Public policy advisor Banu Nagarajan has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has provided a lesson in foreign policy to Indians through G20 events and work camps. In the Organiser, he wrote that Modi is not only making Indians think about their place in the world, but making them think for the world. Nagarajan pointed to Modi’s motto for the youth in his 77th Independence Day speech this year – “perform, reform and change” and wrote that public participation has been paramount in the G20 processes.

Nagarajan also writes that the opportunity to host several delegates at several events this year has given Indians an opportunity to experience global culture and interact with foreign cultures. India’s chairmanship of the G20 is said to be a big brainstorming session as it provided an opportunity for both Indian and foreign participants to connect and learn from each other. He describes India’s G20 chairmanship as a big brainstorming session as it provided an opportunity for both Indian and foreign participants to connect and learn from each other.

He writes that instead of the Peloponnesian War, PM Modi is teaching Indians International Relations in his own way. This foreign policy lesson, says Nagarajan, was through hands-on experiential modules where Indians learned about it by engaging with the world during this one year. The G20 theme adopted by the country is “One Earth, One Family, One Future”, derived from the Sanskrit phrase “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” – the world is one family. Nagarajan says Modi has shown the world how foreign policy can be taught with original thinking.