Modi euphoria captures US ahead of first State Visit

Hundreds of enthusiastic Indian-Americans have gathered at iconic locations across 20 US cities and organised unity marches to send a message of welcome to Prime Minister Narendra Modi days ahead of his State Visit here. Prime Minister Modi is visiting the US from June 21-24 at the invitation of US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. They will host Modi at a state dinner on June 22. The visit also includes an address to the Joint Session of the US Congress on June 22. He will address an invitation-only gathering of diaspora leaders from across the country at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington on June 23. A few hundred Indian Americans from in and around the Washington DC area gathered near the National Monument on a bright Sunny Sunday to convey a message of unity and tell the prime minister that they are eagerly waiting for his arrival in the city. Chanting slogans of “Modi Modi” and India-US friendship, Indian Americans walked in a procession for over an hour towards the historic Lincoln Memorial where the participants busted into an impromptu dance. In Houston, the community members gathered at the iconic Sugarland Memorial Park, holding placards and Indian tri-colour to coincide with the timings of other cities like Boston, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, Tampa, Dallas, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Columbus, and St Louis. Similar scenes were visible at many iconic locations in the United States like Times Square in New York and Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.