After taking over as prime minister, Narendra Modi had strategically chosen to widen the ‘soft component’ of India’s foreign policy by focusing on yoga, ayurveda and Buddhism. He had personally lobbied with the United Nations to recognise 21 June as International Yoga Day. The date and day has great significance not only because it is summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, but it is also Keshav Baliram Hedgewar’s birth anniversary. The prime minister’s move may continue to draw flak for years to come, but by linking the RSS founder’s birth anniversary with a UN celebration, it was almost
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