Narendra Modi’s BiographerBy all accounts this was Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s most laboured effort in public speaking. There is no doubt that he is among India’s most effective speakers in Gujarati and Hindi — in that order. But Mr Modi begins groping for words the moment he begins speaking in English.It is not simply a matter of rustic pronunciation, but it is a question of thought process — his linguistic programme doesn’t run in English but in either his mother tongue or the one in which he has conducted political discourse for most of his political career, now more than four decades old.If one goes back to the video of his Sriharikota speech, there is no escaping that the first time Mr Modi breaks into a smile after beginning is well after five-and-ahalf minutes. That is when he switches to Hindi: and he elaborates that Indian space science has come of age compared to times when satellites were transported on bicycles! This continues throughout his speech; his body becomes more fluid, his voice surer and his eyes focussed.Despite this the effort was remarkable for a few reasons. He must have made quite an effort to prepare for this speech. The speech writer would have laboured to make the points not appear very technical yet not very commonplace. In the end the headline points came from two issues — choice of language and the call for a Saarc satellite Why did Mr Modi choose to speak in English? Was it simply to score a personal point that he could deliver a public lecture without a teleprompter (it did not appear that he was using one — and if he did, he is surely competition for TV anchors)? Or was there a deeper political reason? Since Mr Modi’s electoral campaign began in the middle of 2013, his lack of comfort with English was often discussed and this was not liked by NaMo admirers.Critics got a shot in the arm when Mr Modi decided to use an interpreter in meetings with foreign leaders. But that was a ploy to tide over handicap in comprehending English spoken in a different accent. It was also a tool used by Chinese and Japanese most frequently togain precious seconds before responding during a dialogue.Critics forgot that Mr Modi was comfortable in English during TV talk shows in the late 1990s when he was Bharatiya Janata Party general secretary. But he needed concession to be able to break into Hindi whenever he felt boxed by a limitation.The Sriharikota speech ‘had’ to be made in English for political reasons. It is less than a fortnight after the language controversy erupted following a home ministry directive to use Hindi in the social media. The question of imposition of Hindi has a long history of strife and protests south of Vindyas especially in Tamil Nadu.There were loud objections led by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, at the directive. The Centre has doused the passions and Mr Modi would not have wanted to stoke linguistic embers by speaking in Hindi. He decided to ward off a political flash point by risking personal derision. The other headline point is related to his effort to emerge as a regional leader. A Saarc satellite?Well nothing really has been stated beyond that so we do not know if the statement has been made after assessing space science backgrounds of other Saarc countries. Do they actually want a gift in a satellite and then to do what with it? Do they have the wherewithal on the ground to manage satellites?Will the gesture be seen as India attempting to play Big Brother? Will it not be better if diplomatic groundwork was done before prime ministerial assertions? It must have been a great day for Mr Modi which will end with a smile or two. Though not exactly a Prime Minister’s Day Out, but this was surely among the more joyful days since he assumed the top job.