(Photo: AP)
Metropolis Desk-
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi began the public leg of his US tour by quietly flexing India’s cultural reach by participating in a morning yoga session at the United Nations with a group of diplomats and dignitaries. He praised yoga as “truly universal.”
Modi paused and bowed at a statue of the dead Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi, whose checkerboard of made-in-India yoga mats covered the expansive north lawn of the UN building. Then, in succinct remarks, Modi shifted to the subject at hand, presenting yoga as a practice open to all ages and cultures that can be tried anywhere.
“We feel physically fit, intellectually at ease, and emotionally fulfilled when we practice yoga. However, it’s not just about working out on a mat, Modi remarked. Yoga is a lifestyle.
Then, as a yoga instructor led the introductory chants, a cloud-filtered sun glinted off the nearby East River, and the flags of the international body’s member nations waved in the breeze, the head of the most populated country in the world took his place on a mat among the crowd with his hands folded.
The occasion celebrates the International Day of Yoga, which Modi convinced the UN to declare a yearly observance of in 2014.
Modi began a journey that will give him plenty of chances to talk about concerns across the world on Tuesday when he arrived in New York. But for a premier who has turned yoga into both a personal practice and a diplomatic instrument, choosing to start by stressing an age-old pursuit of inner peace is a clever and significant move.
As a Hindu nationalist, Modi presents himself as an ascetic who follows the edicts of his faith regarding vegetarianism and yoga. He has shared videos of himself performing yoga postures on social media over the years, not to mention live videos of him meditating in a cave in the Himalayas after the 2019 midterm elections.
During his most recent visit to the UN, Modi stated that “all kinds of questions have been raised about the UN” and its efficacy in addressing issues like terrorism, the coronavirus pandemic, and climate change.
Additionally, he made a point to assert India’s position in the global community by saying that “every sixth person in the world is Indian.” Since he gave his speech, India has surpassed China to become the highest population in the world, with 1.425 billion people.
The Security Council, the supreme body of the UN, is a position that India has long desired to occupy permanently. India has previously been chosen for two-year terms, most recently in 2021–2022.
Later on Wednesday, Modi planned to fly to Washington for a three-day trip that will include meetings with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office, a speech to a joint session of Congress, a state banquet at the White House, and other events. One of the proposals calls for Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Vice President Kamala Harris, whose mother was born in India, to host a State Department luncheon.
Both nations are eager to improve their relations, hence the visit.
The US has looked to India, the second-largest democracy in the world, as a critical ally in dealing with issues like containing China’s aspirations in the Indo-Pacific area. India, on the other hand, seeks to strengthen its military and commercial ties with the US.
Biden is being urged by human rights activists to confront Modi on international and domestic human rights issues. Modi has come under fire for legislation that expedites citizenship for some immigrants but excludes Muslims, a rise in violence by Hindu nationalists against Muslims and other religious minorities, and Rahul Gandhi’s recent conviction for making fun of Modi’s surname. (Gandhi recently traveled to the US and spoke to both university students and private organizations.)
The Indian government upholds the country’s democratic values and defends its record on human rights.
Source- Arab News
