Modi: Indian Muslims will live and die for India

'The patriotism of Indian Muslims cannot be questioned'

'Al Qaeda is delusional to think Indian Muslims will dance to its tunes'

'I am confident that India and US can develop genuine strategic alliance'

Ahead of his visit to America, Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks to CNN.

Days ahead of his historic visit to United States later this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria in his first-ever international interview since assuming office.

Modi stressed on the numerous similarities the two countries share given their history and culture and emphasised that he was confident that India and US would build a strategic and genuine alliance in the coming future.

An excerpt from the interview:

There are many people in the US and some in India who wish that the US and India were much closer allies -- the world’s oldest democracy, the world’s biggest democracy. But somehow that has never happened, and there have always been these frictions and difficulties. Do you think it’s possible for the US and India to develop a genuinely strategic alliance?

I have a one word answer, and with great confidence I say -- YES.

Let me explain — there are many similarities between US and India. If you look at the last few centuries, two things come to light – America has absorbed people from around the world and there is an Indian in every part of the world. This characterises both the societies.

Indians and Americans have co-existence in their natural temperament. Surely, there have been ups and downs in our relationship in the past century. But from the end of the 20th century to the first decade of the 21st century, we have witnessed a big change. Our ties have deepened. India and the USA are bound together, by history and culture. These ties will deepen further.

So far, in your talks with the Obama administration, you have had several cabinet members come here -- do you feel there is a genuine desire from Washington to try and upgrade the relationship with India substantially?

Relations between India and America should not be seen within the limits of just Delhi and Washington. It is a much larger sphere. The good thing is that the mood of both Delhi and Washington is in harmony with this understanding. Both sides have played a role in this.

The head of Al Qaeda has issued a video and an appeal trying to create an Al Qaeda in India/South Asia. He says he wants to free Muslims from the oppression they face in Kashmir and Gujarat. Do you worry that something like this could succeed?

My understanding is that they are doing an injustice towards the Muslims of our country. If anyone thinks Indian Muslims will dance to their tunes, they are delusional. Indian Muslims will live for India, they will die for India. They will not want anything bad for India.

Why do you think it is that there is a remarkable phenomenon that you have 170 million Muslims but there seems to be almost no or very few members of the Al Qaeda? What is it that has made this community not as susceptible?

Firstly, I’m not the authority for doing a psychological or religious analysis on this. But the question is whether or not humanity should be defended in the world. Whether or not believers in humanity should unite. This is a crisis against humanity, not a crisis against one country or one race. So we have to frame this as a fight between humanity and inhumanity, nothing else.