It's the Narendra Modi show at New York's Madison Square Garden

India's new prime minister, once shunned by Washington, received a raucous reception in New York's famed Madison Square Garden, where he appealed for help from Indian-Americans to help develop his country's economy. He vowed that, under his leadership, the nation wouldn't look back.

A day after addressing a hushed UN General Assembly, Narendra Modi received a tumultuous welcome from upwards of 18,000 people on Sunday. He struck a chord by announcing plans to simplify the immigration bureaucracy for Indians living abroad, and called on them to "join hands to serve our mother India".

A dazzling, Bollywood-style show warmed up the crowd before Modi appeared. About 30 US lawmakers attended - ringing the stage as the Indian leader came into the auditorium under a spotlight like a boxing champion. The event had the feel of a political rally, and the audience periodically broke out into chants of "Modi! Modi!"

Modi was yesterday due to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House, a meeting that both sides hope can improve strained relations between the world's two largest democracies.

Being courted by Washington marks a major change since 2005, when the US denied Modi a visa for his alleged complicity in sectarian violence in Gujarat.

Several hundred anti-Modi protesters, mostly Americans of Indian descent, both Hindu and Muslim, gathered across the street from Madison Square Garden, chanting behind police barricades, "Modi, Modi, you can't hide, you committed genocide!"

Inside, Modi spoke in Hindi from a dais at the centre of the stage that occasionally rotated so he could face a different section of the audience. He vowed to fight corruption and champion India's legions of poor, who he said wanted to participate in the nation's progress.