Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now become the country’s “biggest brand ambassador”, according to Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who said India’s identity abroad was only associated with Mahatma Gandhi earlier.
Even 10 to 15 years ago, he said: “If any visitor told anyone abroad that he was an Indian, the answer would be: India! Oh, Mr. Gandhi.” In an interaction reported by news agency PTI on Saturday, the minister said that India’s image and identity remained “stuck in Gandhiji”.
Shekhawat said: “But today, and I say it with confidence, you can go to any country in the world… from the smallest island in the Caribbean Sea to America, and from South Asia to West Asia, you can go anywhere, and if you say to someone, ‘I am from India,’ you will see a bright smile on his face, and an exclamation mark: ‘India! “Oh, Mr. Moody.”
The minister was asked who is India’s bigger brand ambassador: culture and tourism or Bollywood.
“Right now, our biggest brand ambassador is our prime minister,” he replied.
‘Not a political response’
Shekhawat, a member of parliament from Jodhpur state in Rajasthan, stressed that his response was “not a political response.” “I’m saying this as a normal person,” he insisted. “Even 10-15 years ago, Gandhi was the brand ambassador of India for decades. Now Modiji is the brand ambassador of India. But the culture of India is the brand ambassador of India. The culture of India is the identity of India in itself,” Shekhawat said, as quoted by PTI.
He claimed that the first Indians abroad “reluctant to call themselves Indians”, and would instead present themselves as Asians. “Then if you ask him where he is from in Asia, he will say, ‘I am Indian,'” the minister said. He also claimed that the way India was viewed in the world was “somewhat deficient”.
Goal 2047 for tourism
He said that while culture and heritage remain the core of the state and its identity, the image of the leader changes the image of the state abroad. The Minister also said that when the image of a country changes, it inevitably affects tourism in the country and the attraction towards that country increases.
He also expressed confidence that the number of foreign tourist arrivals in India will grow from Rs 10 lakh crore at present to Rs 100 lakh crore by 2047. Prime Minister Modi has set 2047 as a target year for India to become a developed country.
He said that Indian embassies and missions abroad have been told that one of the criteria for evaluating their performance will be the number of tourists coming to India from this country. He said that now the missions are also in action, and everyone is ready.
Asked about India’s global tourism identity, he said: “It is ‘Incredible India’. Now we are taking it to ‘Inevitable India’.”
He also spoke about multiculturalism in India, saying that Indian civilization is a “fusion” of different religions; And the pages of history, “no matter their colour,” cannot be removed.
