India and Indian's image in the world

Many people claim that India's image has improved in the world in the last 5 years. How do we know it's true??

Can we confirm it just by travel of the Prime Minister? The 1st PM of India traveled almost similar as the current PM. So, does that mean they both enriched image of India?

Nehru traveled to 46 countries, comprising of 70 trips in the span of 1947-1964.

Modi traveled to 60 countries, comprising of 105 trips in the span of 2014-2019

Irrespectively, it's still a wrong comparison of foreign trips between Modi and Nehru as the context itself was different. And, some countries didn't even exist during the period of Nehru. We definitely can't compare the stature of India in 1947 and 2019 as there is a definite improvement and it cannot be credited to a single person like a PM of the country too.

But, let's compare on more realistic terms to what does it mean to an Indian. Did it make a difference in the life of an Indian who is abroad or who intends to travel abroad?? I'm not referring to Indians who renounced citizenship, but primarily Indian expatriates who are abroad for a temporary purpose. Did it improve their life in the last 5 years as many claim to do so?? I don't think so. It's a very wrong conclusion to say as such. Maybe India got better (which can be understood through different means, primarily with FDI inflows and that's a different discussion), but definitely not for an Indian. They are two different things. There is a big distinction between India and Indians.

A simple way to understand if the image of India is actually improved by checking how a country has changed its policy towards Indians. And, that's where you can understand if the image of India has improved, because Indians overall represent India, not just the PM.

Let's take a simple metric. Global ranking of our passport. It's a simple, but very interesting metric as it shows the improvement of relations not just for the PM and businessmen, but overall for all Indians. After all, when the term of PM completes, he/she still has to get a visa to travel abroad and still apply through normal channels. Maybe the application would be expedited due to the previous work experience of a PM, but that doesn't change the visa rules for PM (unless a country also treats ex-PM's favorably for a visa).

2009 - Rank is 75

2014 - Rank is 76, with access to 52 countries

2019 - Rank is 82, with access to 59 countries

Source - https://www.henleypassportindex.com/global-ranking

Of course, this is a very simple metric and it can be argued that trade deals and bilateral relations have improved between countries (and that's a metric for India, not for Indians). That can be measured too, but not as simple as measuring what has changed for an Indian. But, for a typical Indian, a trade/arms deal is of less concern as it doesn't impact/change their life. Unless the stature of India is improved in the policy towards its citizens, it shows there is still a lot of room for improvement.

As much as the President of USA and PM of India talk about various things, a typical American also looks at traveling India in a different lens. Not the photograph of the PM and President, but the travel advisory issued by U.S. Dept. of State.

The current advisory for India is as follows

Source - https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/india-travel-advisory.html

This also says what does a country think of India and Indians. Reading the detailed report isn't a happy read. It looks like India is not a great place to visit and that's what a typical American looks at when he/she wants to visit India (not what President says). It's almost contrasting to the belief of Indians of atithi devo bhava (the guest is equivalent to god).

Some of the points from the report are as follows:

- Indian authorities report rape is one of the fastest growing crimes in India. Violent crime, such as sexual assault, has occurred at tourist sites and in other locations.

- Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, and government facilities. 

- Do not travel alone, particularly if you are a woman. 

- Incidents of violence by ethnic insurgent groups, including bombings of buses, trains, rail lines, and markets, occur occasionally in the northeast.

If Indians still think the value and image of India has risen, maybe, yes. But, definitely not of Indians. The image of India could've improved, but definitely a long way for Indians to improve their image. And, an improvement in the image is more apparent like change in visa rules, travel advisory notices, etc. And, that's not the responsibility of just the PM, but collectively of all Indians irrespectively if they are in India or not.