# The leader of 1.2 billion people visited the United States this week . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 29, 2015, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-leader-of-1-2-billion-people-visited-the-united-states-this-week/732925 "2015-09-29T05:52:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![russian\_heel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f05b48/32.png) [@russian\_heel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/russian_heel)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-leader-of-1-2-billion-people-visited-the-united-states-this-week/732925/1 "2015-09-29T05:52:02Z")
. . no not the Pope, but Indian Prime Minister Modi, who visited Silicon Valley, the first time an Indian leader has visited California in 33 years: > **[Mark Zuckerberg Almost Makes Prime Minister Of India Cry](https://www.buzzfeed.com/nitashatiku/facebook-india-prime-minister-narendra-modi-mark-zuckerberg)** > > When Zuckerberg was lost, Steve Jobs told him to go to India. Now he's going back. . . AND a visit seemingly overshadowed by that of the Pope (RCC= 1.25 million) and Putin of Russia. I get it: theres millions of Catholics in America, and we are in a world crisis with Russia. Yet, India is a $8 trillion economy and the second largest country in the world. Why does India get such short thrift when it comes to the press? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-leader-of-1-2-billion-people-visited-the-united-states-this-week/732925/2 "2015-09-29T06:18:26Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > . . no not the Pope, but Indian Prime Minister Modi, who visited Silicon Valley, the first time an Indian leader has visited California in 33 years: > > [Mark Zuckerberg Almost Makes Prime Minister Of India Cry](http://www.buzzfeed.com/nitashatiku/facebook-india-prime-minister-narendra-modi-mark-zuckerberg#.lovoe7Pd9) > > . . AND a visit seemingly overshadowed by that of the Pope (RCC= 1.25 million) and Putin of Russia. Interestingly, the president of 1.3 billion people was in the U.S. last week and seems to have been overshadowed by the Pope, Putin, and Modi. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-leader-of-1-2-billion-people-visited-the-united-states-this-week/732925/3 "2015-09-29T06:23:36Z")
You forgot Xi Jinping. If Modi wants headlines, he’d better pick a better time to visit the US than the same week as the leaders of Russia, China, and the Vatican. Oh, and maybe actually meet with the president. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-leader-of-1-2-billion-people-visited-the-united-states-this-week/732925/4 "2015-09-29T07:44:11Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Why does India get such short thrift when it comes to the press? Because modern India still has a reputation as a literal shithole. Those 1.2 billion people are _why_ we don’t respect India, because we associate China with the problems of an industrialised nation, and India with the problems of a slum. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-leader-of-1-2-billion-people-visited-the-united-states-this-week/732925/5 "2015-09-29T14:15:19Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Because modern India still has a reputation as a literal shithole. Those 1.2 billion people are _why_ we don’t respect India, because we associate China with the problems of an industrialised nation, and India with the problems of a slum. Ouch. I mean, nothing you said is exactly inaccurate, but still stings. Still, I remind you, that China is communist and India is not, and as such, I think India remains a potential best ally in the future, better even than China. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-leader-of-1-2-billion-people-visited-the-united-states-this-week/732925/6 "2015-09-29T14:24:58Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > Because modern India still has a reputation as a literal shithole. Those 1.2 billion people are _why_ we don’t respect India, because we associate China with the problems of an industrialised nation, and India with the problems of a slum. Which is all kind of ironic when you consider that the GOP literally want to turn the US into another India. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-leader-of-1-2-billion-people-visited-the-united-states-this-week/732925/7 "2015-09-29T15:37:52Z")
India has historically been neither an ally nor an adversary, and without such a defined role, the country has not stood out in the American imagination. Indian people are stereotypically associated with certain economic roles in the US, but the country as a whole does not have the same sort of trading identity with the US that China does, and does not cross paths with US foreign policy in ways that generate major public interest. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-leader-of-1-2-billion-people-visited-the-united-states-this-week/732925/8 "2015-09-29T21:15:31Z")
> [@russian\_heel](#): > > Indian Prime Minister Modi, who visited Silicon Valley So, was he looking for an IT job? ---
**Author:** ![Construct](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@Construct](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Construct)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-leader-of-1-2-billion-people-visited-the-united-states-this-week/732925/9 "2015-09-29T21:38:04Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Which is all kind of ironic when you consider that the GOP literally want to turn the US into another India. Yes, literally. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-leader-of-1-2-billion-people-visited-the-united-states-this-week/732925/10 "2015-09-30T00:07:50Z")
Because half of the equation in one case is Obama, and the other it’s some random CEOs you’ve never heard of. Also, this is the Pope’s first US visit. [Putin has visited at least 3 times before](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_trips_made_by_Vladimir_Putin) and plus there aren’t many people in the US who look to him for moral guidance. There’s really no mystery. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-leader-of-1-2-billion-people-visited-the-united-states-this-week/732925/11 "2015-09-30T00:20:04Z")
He did get the front page of the _San Jose Mercury News_, which is fitting since it bills itself as the newspaper of Silicon Valley.