International Yoga Day was held on 21 June with hundreds of people doing Yoga at different iconic locations around the world, including the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and Rajpath in Delhi. It was promoted by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi and represented the spread of ‘Hindutva’ – understood as Indian culture, not necessarily Hindu religion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s platform when he won his overall majority in the Indian Parliament was and is ‘development’. It was a simple and straightforward message, building on his achievements over ten years as chief minister in Gujarat. But this development is strictly limited to economic development.
When President Obama spoke at the Republic Day celebrations in India on 26 January he affirmed the importance of religious freedom, saying that India could not succeed without religious freedom and religious tolerance. On 17 February Prime Minister Modi affirmed equal respect for all religions and their freedom to preach, practice and propagate their faith.
