Boris Johnson felt Modi's 'astral energy' during 1st meeting
Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has written in his memoir that he felt Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "curious astral energy" when they first met in London. Johnson, who was advised against meeting PM Modi—then the chief minister of Gujarat—because of his Hindu nationalist leanings, went ahead with the meeting. He recounted how Modi "raised my arm and chanted something in Hindi, and I felt his curious astral energy."
Johnson's 2022 India visit and stance on Russia
Johnson also reminisced about his April 2022 visit to India, which took place just after Russia had launched the invasion of Ukraine. He called the trip "successful" and remembered asking India to lessen its dependence on Russian energy and defense. While he understood "the reasons for India's post-war non-alignment with the West" and "India's dependence on Russian hydrocarbons," he asked if it was time for a rethink in their alignment strategy.
Johnson's observations on India-Russia military relations
Johnson also emphasized what he saw with India's military ties with Russia during his visit. He observed that "Russian missiles were turning out to be less accurate statistically" and asked if India wanted to keep depending on Russia as their primary supplier of military hardware. Despite worries over India's closeness to Russia, he assured both countries agreed to work on several military technologies from submarines, helicopters to marine propulsion units.
Johnson's conversation with Queen Elizabeth on India-Russia ties
In his memoir, Johnson also revealed a private conversation he had with Queen Elizabeth in September 2022. He told her about the difficulties the UK government was having in convincing India to take a harder line against Russia over the Ukraine war. The Queen reportedly responded by recalling what Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, told her in the 1950s, "He told me that India will always side with Russia... some things will never change."
