At the UN, Narendra Modi celebrates yoga and participates in a pose

Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, on a three-day visit to the United States, started a group yoga session to international diplomats on the lawn of the United Nations in Manhattan on Wednesday morning, to emphasize the non-denominational aspect of the practice, which has its roots in Hindu spirituality.

“I was told that almost every nationality is represented here today, and what a great goal to bring us all together – yoga,” Mr Modi said. “Yoga means uniting.”

After his remarks, the Prime Minister joined the crowd for stretching exercises. He plans to travel to Washington later on Wednesday for a state dinner with President Biden the following day.

Mr Modi’s focus on inclusiveness at the United Nations contrasted with his political stance at home: Mr Modi’s Hindu nationalist policies during his more than eight years in office, critics say, have undermined India’s religious minorities and his government has cracked down on dissent. India has a population of 1.4 billion people, including about 200 million Muslims.

In recent years, Mr Modi’s government provoke protests for policies that appear to favor non-Muslims, including, for example, an accelerated path to citizenship for non-Muslim migrants from Bangladesh and some other Muslim-majority countries.

On Wednesday, prior to the yoga session, Modi bowed before a statue of Mahatma Gandhi, a leader, according to reports, whose creeds of religious tolerance and secularism formed the basis for the country Modi now rules.

The event, which was also attended by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, was in honor of International Yoga Day, June 21, an event Mr Modi successfully lobbied the UN to commemorate nearly a decade ago. The prime minister has used yoga to endear himself to both the international community and the Hindu electorate with whom he remains very popular, tweeting videos of his downward dogs and warrior poses. The Indian army also broadcast it soldiers practicing yoga.

“Yoga comes from India and it is a very old tradition, but like all ancient Indian traditions, it is also alive and dynamic,” the prime minister told the crowd, who sat cross-legged on yellow yoga mats in front of a backdrop of the East. River.

“Yoga unites. It is for everyone: for all ethnicities, for all religions and for all cultures,” Mr Modi said. “Yoga is truly universal.”