The domino-effect-like protest that led to the revocation of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s visa to the United States, in less than a month’s time, would seem like a miracle to the protestors themselves.

The events that stacked against Modi started with a massive Internet protest launched by the Coalition Against Genocide (CAG); the group’s founder, the Indian Muslim Council, has been lobbying against Modi since the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

Modi was invited by the Asian American Hotel Owners Association Convention (AAHOA) to be the keynote speaker at their annual convention in Florida.

The following events came within days of each other. Host Chris Matthews of MSNBC’s Hardball backed out from addressing the AAHOA meeting – his office said he had a scheduling conflict; and two U.S. Congressmen – John Conyers (D-MI) and Joe Pitts (R-PA) introduced legislation in the House condemning Modi for the riots. This came a day before Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with senior officials in India. However, it is unlikely the topic of Modi came up in the talks with Rice, otherwise, in all likelihood, the visa would not have been denied to the chief minister, given the Indian government’s position now.

That the issue did not came up with Rice is yet another indication that either the Indian government was not aware of the extent of protest against Modi, or if they were appraised of the situation, did not think it would warrant anything else other than a demonstration against Modi on his visit in the United States. India continues to be affected by their delay in hiring a lobbyist firm for the country in Capitol Hill.

The gap in information flow was evident in the United States as well; senior India Caucus Congressman Pitts introduced legislation against Modi while the founder of the Indian Caucus New Jersey, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) issued a statement last week saying that the State Department had been wrong in denying a visa to Modi.

Planned demonstrations against some visiting Indian politicians in the United States are nothing new.

A demonstration was planned last year by some member organizations of Coalition Against Genocide when Modi had announced he would visit New Jersey for a Gaurav Yatra [rally to take pride in Hinduism]. The visit never materialized as Modi backed off for personal reasons.

Other Indian politicians and personalities who have faced the ire of demonstrators include Sadhvi Rithambhara when she visited the Flushing Hindu Temple in New York, and actress and Rajya Sabha [Parliament of India] member Shabana Azmi two years ago in New York City, when she was invited by Shashi Tharoor to be one of the readers in staging excerpts from his book Riot. There was also some concern by organizers when writer and activist Arundhati Roy was invited for a book reading in the United States, shortly after she was released from a brief jail stint in India.

Modi is not the only foreign politician who got a snub from the U.S. government. Departing from a years-long St. Patrick’s Day tradition, the White House and senior Irish American legislators did not host Irish military group Sinn Fein’s controversial leader Gerry Adams. He was issued a visa by President Bill Clinton in 1994, and Adams has visited the United States several times, including this year, despite protests and demonstrations against him.

Modi seems to have played his cards well, at least for now. He lauded the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for standing up in Parliament and asking the U.S. government for a review of his visa denial case, and in a satellite broadcast from Ahmedabad to Madison Square Garden, sounded positive and cajoled the Indian American Gujarati community to keep flourishing in the United States. The point he tried to make, and which came across: Don’t see this as a slight against himself or the Gujarati community, treat it as a U.S. diplomatic blunder. It is best to rest the case on that.