Google Hosts Narendra Modi at Tech Summit

Amit Dave/Reuters Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi speaking at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, in this Jan. 12, 2013 photo.

MUMBAI- Gujarat’s controversial chief minister, Narendra Modi, will address a Google summit in New Delhi on Thursday to speak about how the Internet is changing politics in India.

The Google Big Tent Activate Summit on Thursday will address topics like the potential of the Internet to affect economic growth, the effect of the Internet on Indian culture and how the Internet is changing the democratic process in India.

Through a live video in the Google Plus hangout on “Technology and Politics,” Mr. Modi is expected to discuss “how the latest technology has brought a qualitative difference in the lives of the people at large,” according to a press release from his office.

Others scheduled speakers include Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, who is visiting India, Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Sam Pitroda, adviser to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on public information infrastructure and innovation, and Stephanie Cutter, a political consultant who served as deputy campaign manager for President Obama’s re-election campaign.

Summit partners say the invitation is not intended to be a political move for Mr. Modi, who is widely seen as one of the leading political challengers to become India’s next prime minister in the national elections in 2014.

“The manner in which Narendra Modi has used the Internet and social media to disseminate information about his campaign and his politics has drawn attention in India and worldwide,” said Sanjay K. Das, senior vice president at MediaGuru, a media consulting firm that is one of the partners for the summit.

Mr. Modi’s use of 3D holograms to allow his speeches to reach a wider audience in the latest Gujarat election was one such example of his innovative use of technology, Mr. Das said.

“Mr. Modi is a prime example in India, among the A-list political leaders, of someone who used technology the Internet and social media in politics,” he said.

As chief minister of Gujarat for over a decade, Mr. Modi has always been an extremely polarizing figure, especially after the 2002 Gujarat riots, which led to the deaths of over 1,000 people. But he enjoys popular support at home: last year, he won his third consecutive election victory in Gujarat.

“Mr. Modi is considered by many as a controversial figure, and wherever he has been invited abroad there have been some pros and cons,” said Mr. Das. “However, we are coming at this from looking at his massive and successful usage of social media.”

However, the decision to invite Mr. Modi to speak at the Google summit has elicited various reactions on Twitter. Piyush Khandelwal, who describes himself as a social media analyst, quipped, “Blow to #Google, after Inviting Modi for Google Summit, Indian govt may block google in India, they say that Google may incite communalism:p”

Mitra Kalita, an editor at the business news site Quartz, alluded to the United States’ refusal to issue Mr. Modi a visa by saying on Twitter, “Can’t deny @narendramodi a visa on Google+ Hangout.”

Earlier this month, in a decision that attracted much debate and speculation, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania withdrew Mr. Modi’s invitation to speak at its India Economic Forum. Though Mr. Modi had been invited to discuss Gujarat’s development model via Skype, the student organizers of the conference rescinded their invitation following a petition circulated by a few professors at the university who opposed Mr. Modi’s participation.

Ania Loomba, a professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania, said the professors objected because they “were concerned that this conference would help contribute to his efforts to sanitize his government’s record.”

In the runup to the 2014 elections, analysts see the Google summit as another opportunity for Mr. Modi to project himself as modern and development-focused.

Mr. Modi “has set his eyes on the Delhi throne so he will go to any audience where he can reach out to people,” said Satish Misra, a senior fellow in politics and governance at the Observer Research Foundation in Mumbai. “He is trying to project himself as a modern person who is keen on developmental issues and this summer offers him a platform to reach out to people of the younger generation - what we call aspirational India.”

Referring to the Wharton controversy, Mr. Misra said that with India being a democracy, Mr. Modi, like anybody else, was entitled to get his views across and that it was Google’s decision to allow him to do so.

Google executives were not available for comment.