- Wednesday, April 30, 2025
The Indian expat community of nearly 3.5 million is the largest ethnic community in the UAE, constituting around 35 per cent of the country’s population.
By: Shubham Ghosh
Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Ahlan Modi’ (Hello Modi in Arabic) event scheduled for Tuesday (13) in Abu Dhabi, UAE, has generated a lot of excitement among the local Indian diaspora who were keen to hear the leader speak at Zayed Sports City Stadium. Among them is a woman who, despite being wheelchair-bound, is ready to enjoy the moments to the hilt.
Modi arrived in the desert city on Tuesday morning and held talks with president Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as India and the UAE exchanged memorandums of understanding. The host leader personally received the Indian PM at the airport and the latter was given a guard of honour. Modi also called Al Nahyan as his “brother”.
Meanwhile, the venue for ‘Ahlan Modi’ was all ready to welcome the prime minister. The event will witness cultural performances with several artistes. Modi himself was looking forward to the event and invited members of the Indian expat community to join. However, media reports in Abu Dhabi said the organisers had to close registrations for the event due to “overwhelming response” as more people wanted to hear the Indian PM.
Read: Modi holds talks with UAE president, calls him ‘brother’
Returning to the woman who wanted to enjoy the moments despite her physical limitations, she told India’s NDTV that she is never short of motivation for her country Bharat and despite living in the UAE for 48 years, she is an Indian by heart. She is so excited about the event that she is not ready to care about her knee surgery.
“From two days I was thinking what to wear… See my nails, my rings, my bindi, my scarf, everything, total Hindustani,” she told the channel. “I will enjoy. I will dance in wheelchair, no problem,” she added.
Read: Modi invites Indian diaspora members to attend ‘Ahlan Modi’ in Abu Dhabi: ‘Do join’
Organised by the Indian community in Abu Dhabi, the event has seen more than 65,000 registrations. However, due to inclement weather in the UAE, the programme eventually could be scaled down.
The Indian expat community of nearly 3.5 million is the largest ethnic community in the UAE, constituting around 35 per cent of the country’s population.
Expressing happiness over the event, president of the Indian People Forum and leader of the ‘Ahlan Modi’ initiative, Jitendra Vaidya, told Asian News International, “Our gates are yet to open, but people are already standing at each gate of this stadium. I can say this with guarantee that whenever people will remember a public event of PM Modi outside the country, ‘Ahlan Modi’ will be remembered as a landmark event.”
(With agency inputs)
