Russia, China, Pakistan, Trump, Gujarat riots and AI… 10 big things from PM Modi’s interview in Lex Fridman’s podcast

PM Modi in conversation with American podcaster Lex Fridman

At the beginning of the discussion with Lex Friedman, Prime Minister Modi said that my strength is not Modi but my 140 crore countrymen, my great culture of thousands of years. Wherever I go, it is not Modi, I go with the great tradition of thousands of years from Vedas to Vivekananda, with 140 crore people, their dreams, their aspirations. That is why when I shake hands with any world leader, it is not Modi who shakes hands, but it is the hands of 140 crore people. So the strength is not of Modi but of India.

At the beginning of the discussion with Lex Friedman, Prime Minister Modi said that my strength is not Modi, but 140 crore countrymen, thousands of years of great culture. Wherever I go, it is not Modi who goes, I go with the great tradition of thousands of years from Vedas to Vivekananda, 140 crore people, their dreams, their aspirations. That is why when I shake hands with any world leader, it is not Modi’s hand but the hand of 140 crore people. So the strength is not Modi’s but India’s.

PM Modi said that whenever we talk about peace, the world listens to us. Because this is the land of Buddha, the land of Mahatma Gandhi. We are not in favor of conflict, rather we are in favor of coordination. We neither want conflict with nature, nor conflict between nations. We are people who want coordination and if we can play any role in this, then we have tried to play it.
What did PM Modi say on India-China relations?

During this conversation with Friedman, PM Modi spoke openly about India’s relations with China. He said that when there are two neighbors, it is natural to have differences. In such a situation, dialogue is the only way to ensure that differences do not turn into disputes.

Friedman asked PM Modi that you and Chinese President Xi Jinping consider each other friends. How can that friendship be strengthened again to help reduce recent tensions and resume dialogue and cooperation with China? In response to this, the Prime Minister said that the relationship between India and China is nothing new. The cultures and civilizations of both countries are ancient. Even in the modern world, both have an important role. If you look at historical records, for centuries India and China have been learning from each other. And both have been working together for the good of the world.

Prime Minister Modi said that old records show that at one time, India and China accounted for more than 50 percent of the world’s GDP. India has made such a huge contribution. And I believe that we have had such strong relations. We have such deep cultural ties. We do not have a history of conflict in earlier centuries. There has always been a history of learning from each other and understanding each other. At one time, Buddhism had a strong influence in China. We want to keep these relations strong in the future as well. Of course, differences are natural, when there are two neighboring countries, sometimes differences are inevitable. Even in a family, there are. But our focus is on ensuring that these differences do not turn into disputes. We actively work in this direction. Instead of discord, we emphasize on dialogue, because only through dialogue can we build a stable, cooperative relationship.

Message of peace amid the war between Russia and Ukraine

Lex Friedman asked PM Modi that you have talked about the fact that you have the ability, experience and geopolitical influence to establish peace in the world. Today, when many wars are going on around the world, you are becoming a peacemaker. Can you tell how you will establish peace in the world? How will you bring peace between the wars of two countries, for example Russia and Ukraine.

Responding to this, PM Modi said that I am representing the country which is the land of Lord Buddha, which is the land of Mahatma Gandhi and these are such great men whose teachings, whose words and behavior are completely dedicated to peace, so culturally our background is strong, when we talk about peace, the world listens to us because this is the land of Buddha and Mahatma Buddha. I have close relations with Russia and I have close relations with Ukraine. I can sit with President Putin and say that this is not the time for war and I also tell President Zelensky in a friendly manner that brother, no matter how much the world stands with you, the solution will never be found on the battlefield. The solution will come only when both Ukraine and Russia come to the negotiating table.

May God give wisdom to Pakistan

Responding to a question related to India-Pakistan relations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that before 1947, everyone was fighting shoulder to shoulder for freedom. At the same time, the policy makers accepted the partition of India. The people of India accepted it with great pain, keeping a heavy heart, that if Muslims want their own country, give it to them. But its result also came out then. Lakhs of people were killed in the massacre. Trains full of dead bodies started coming from Pakistan. There were very scary scenes. But instead of thanking India and living happily, Pakistan chose the path of conflict. Now a proxy war is going on. This is not an ideology, work is going on to export terrorists.

PM Modi said in the podcast that whenever an incident of terrorism occurs anywhere in the world, then somewhere or the other the Pakistan connection comes to the fore. He said that a big incident of 9/11 took place in America. Its main mastermind Osama bin Laden was sitting in Pakistan taking refuge. The world has recognised that Pakistan has become a source of trouble for the whole world. We are constantly saying that you should give up the path of terrorism, this is state terrorism which should be stopped. Everything has been left in the hands of terrorists, who will benefit from this?

I got the values ​​of life from the Sangh

Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed in detail the important role of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in his life, its contribution to the society and his personal experiences in a podcast with Lex Fridman. Lex asked him a question that when you were eight years old, you joined RSS, which supports the idea of ​​Hindu nationalism. Can you tell me about RSS? What impact did it have on you and the development of your political views?

In response to this, PM Modi said that since childhood I had the habit of always being engaged in some work or the other. I remember there was a man named Makoshi, I don’t remember his full name properly, I think he was part of the service group. He used to carry a drum with him. He used to sing patriotic songs in his deep, powerful voice. Whenever he came to our village, he used to perform in different places. I used to run after him like crazy, just to listen to his songs. I used to listen to his patriotic songs all night. I used to enjoy it, I don’t know why, but it was just fun.

PM Modi said that in terms of the size of membership, if I may say so, we have the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh. It has about 50,000 unions, which have lakhs of members across the country. Perhaps, in terms of scale, there is no bigger labour union in the world. But the interesting thing is what kind of approach they adopt. Historically, leftist ideologies have promoted labour movements across the world. And what has been their slogan? ‘Workers of the world, unite’ The message was clear, first unite, then we will take care of the rest. What do the labour unions run by RSS trained volunteers believe in? They say, ‘Workers have united the world.’ Others say, ‘Workers of the world unite.’ And we say, ‘Workers have united the world.’ This may seem like a small change in words, but it is a huge ideological change. Volunteers from RSS follow their own interests, nature and instincts and by doing so they strengthen and promote such activities. When you see these initiatives, you will see that in the last 100 years, RSS has worked devotedly like a sadhak, away from the glitz of India. I was fortunate to get the values ​​of life from such a pious organisation.

Confusion spread about Gujarat riots

PM Modi said during the podcast about the 2002 Gujarat riots that confusion was spread by calling it a very big riot. While riots used to happen in Gujarat even before this. I would like to present a picture of 12 to 15 months before the old incidents you have talked about so that you can guess what the situation was. For example, it was December 24, 1999, that is, about three years ago. An Indian flight from Kathmandu to Delhi was hijacked and taken to Afghanistan. Hundreds of Indian passengers were taken hostage. There was a huge uproar in the whole of India, because people were worried about life and death. Another crisis shook the country. On September 11, 2001, there was a huge terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in America, which once again worried the whole world. The people who attack everywhere are the same type of people.

What did PM Modi say about his friendship with Trump and the Howdy Modi program?

In a conversation with famous American podcaster Lex Friedman, PM Modi also discussed his strong relationship with US President Donald Trump. What do you like about Trump as a friend and leader? In response to this question, PM Modi mentioned an old incident. He said that we had an event in Houston, ‘Howdy Modi’. I and President Trump were present there, the entire stadium was packed with people. The gathering of so many people at one place was a big event in America. When I gave my speech there, Trump was sitting down and listening to me. It is his greatness that the President of America is sitting down in the stadium and listening and I am giving a speech on the stage.

PM Modi said that after giving the speech, I went down from the stage, and I told Trump that ‘Come, let us take a round of the stadium, there are so many people, let us greet everyone and then come, so without delaying even one, US President Trump walked with me in the crowd’. During this time, the security system of America got restless. But it touched my heart that this person has a lot of courage. He takes decisions on his own, he has faith in Modi that if Modi is taking him along, then he will go along.

Prime Minister Modi said that when Trump was shot during the election campaign, I saw only one Trump. The Trump who walked holding my hand in the stadium and the Trump who lived for America even after being shot. PM Modi said that I am an ‘India First’ person and Trump is an ‘America First’ person. So our pairing is perfect. These words of Trump are appealing.

When PM Modi narrated that childhood story

Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the early days of his life in a conversation with American podcaster Lex Friedman. During this, PM Modi said that my life was spent in extreme poverty. But we never felt the burden of poverty. Because if a person who wears good shoes does not have shoes, then it seems that there is a lack, but I have never worn shoes in my life. So how did we know that wearing shoes is also a big thing. We were not even in a position to compare, my mother used to work very hard. My father used to work very hard.

PM Modi said that my father was very disciplined, he used to leave home every morning at around 4 or 4:30, cover a long distance and visit many temples and then reach his shop. The Prime Minister said that my father used to wear traditional leather shoes, which were handmade in the village, these were very hard, while walking those shoes used to make a clicking sound, when my father used to go to the shop, the villagers used to say that we could guess the time by listening to the sound of his footsteps that yes, Damodar Bhai is going. He used to work till late night without getting tired, such was his discipline.

PM Modi said during the conversation that I remember that there was no question of me ever wearing shoes to school. One day I was going to school, I met my maternal uncle on the way. He said ‘Hey! You go to school like this, you don’t have shoes’. So at that time they bought me canvas shoes and made me wear them. They would cost 10-12 rupees then. Those shoes were made of canvas and would get stained, so what I used to do was that when the school was over in the evening, I would stay in the school for a while. And I would collect the pieces of chopsticks that the teacher would throw away and bring them home. I would soak those chopstick pieces, make polish and apply it on canvas shoes to make them shiny white. That was wealth for me.

Fasting and Hinduism
American podcaster Lex Fridman surprised PM Narendra Modi by revealing that he had been fasting for nearly two days before the talks. While starting the podcast, Friedman said, “I would like to tell you that I have kept a fast. It has been 45 hours or two days. I am only drinking water, I have stopped eating. I have done this to respect and prepare for this conversation so that we can talk in a spiritual way. After this, he asked a question to PM Modi, I have heard that you also keep a fast quite often. Will you tell the reason for keeping the fast? And what is the state of your mind at this time?

In response to this, PM Modi said that it is a big surprise for me that you kept a fast. And that too in such a way that it seemed as if it was being done in my honor. I express my gratitude to you for this. The religious traditions in India are actually a way of life. Our Supreme Court has given a very good explanation of Hinduism. The Supreme Court has said that there is no name of any worship method in Hinduism, but it is a way of life, a method of living life. In our scriptures, there is discussion of how to take the body, mind, intellect, soul, human element to the heights, there are also ways. There are traditions, there are systems. There is also a fast in it. Fasting is not everything. In India, whether you look at it culturally or philosophically, sometimes, I see that fasting is a way for discipline. PM Modi said that if I put it in simple words, or explain it to the audience who are unfamiliar with India, it is a powerful means to bring both internal and external balance. It also helps in shaping life. When you fast, you must have noticed, as you said you have been fasting on water for two days. All your senses, especially those of smell, touch, taste, must have become so aware that you will also smell the water. If you have ever drunk water before, you would not have felt the smell. If someone passes by you with tea, you will feel its smell, just like you feel with coffee. That is, all your senses suddenly become very active and their ability to observe and react increases.
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Why is AI incomplete without India?

In this conversation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressed his views on AI (Artificial Intelligence). In response to a question, he said that the world can do anything for AI, but AI is incomplete without India. He said that here everyone can help each other with their experience and knowledge. India is not only making its model, but is also developing AI based applications according to special use cases.

Prime Minister Modi said that we already have a different marketplace based model to make GPU accessible to all sections of the society. There is a change in thinking in India, others may take time due to historical reasons, government working style or good support system.

PM Modi said that when 5G came, the world felt that we are far behind in 5G, but once we started, today we have become one of the fastest delivering 5G countries in the world. Artificial Intelligence cannot have a future without human intelligence and that human intelligence is in the young talent of India. I believe that it has a great strength. Tech leaders in America are of Indian origin, like Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella and Arvind Srinivas. So what is it about their Indian background that makes them so successful? In response to this question, PM Modi said that the values ​​of India are such that both the land of birth and the land of work should be respected.