Ambition is fantastic, even if the goal is very far.

The President of the US speaks to the joint session of the Congress in his State of the Union address. Yesterday Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi stood at the same podium to address a joint session of both the House and the Senate, chaired by the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan and Vice President Joe Biden. He started off by quoting Abraham Lincoln and then went on to applaud US sacrifice on D-Day by quoting words from the American National Anthem," I applaud....India applauds, the great sacrifices of the men and women from 'The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave' in service of mankind." Then he started clapping, which was very unusual. This got him his first standing ovation. He then talked about the Indian Constitution saying," For my government, the Constitution is its real holy book." Which was perhaps a gentle dig at the Congress which had denied him a visa in 2005 because of riots in Gujarat in 2002. This in a country where Obama would never be allowed to run for president had he not converted to Christianity. Modi had a little dig at the Congress Party in India when he said," I am informed that the working of the US

Congress is harmonious. I am also told that you are well-known for your bipartisanship. Well you are not alone. Time and again, I have also witnessed a similar spirit in the Indian Parliament, especially in the Upper House. So, as you can see, we have many shared practices." The joke was well appreciated but must have stung back here. After all, Indian politicians are not known for their sense of humor. Although his pronunciation is not English as She is Spoke he spoke with confidence and not as a supplicant from a poor country with millions of poor people, which has sustained our socialist politicians for 68 years. He gave the Americans a clear list of what he wants to do. A roof over every head, skilling millions of youth, electricity in every home and 100 smart cities. The US is known for its American Dream where the 'pursuit of happiness' is written into its Declaration of Independence, so they appreciate ambition, even if it is difficult to achieve. He did not talk about the famine in 1965 which was relieved by the charity of the US government but he referred to Norman Borlaug and the Green Revolution, which has made India self sufficient in food. This was not a Prime Minister having to devalue the rupee by 57% when western countries stopped giving us alms after the war with Pakistan in 1965, or the one who had to sell 67 tonnes of our gold reserves in 1991. His reference to maritime security was an indirect reference to China while his naming of terrorist groups was an open reference to Pakistan. For someone who used to sell tea on trains it was bravura performance.