‘Curious astral energy’: Boris Johnson all praise for Modi in his memoir

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson is all praise for “change-maker” Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a new memoir that reflects upon his eventful political career and recalls a “curious astral energy” that he felt on his very first meeting with the Indian leader. ‘Unleashed’, which hit the shelves in the UK this week, devotes a whole chapter to Britain’s relationship with India as “a relationship as good as it has ever been”.

Repeatedly stressing the strong India-UK friendship in the context of the Indo-Pacific, the former prime minister credits himself for setting the course for a “proper free-trade deal” with India thanks to finding “exactly the partner and friend” needed with Modi.

“For some reason, we went down to stand in the dark in the plaza by Tower Bridge, in front of a crowd of his supporters,” shares Johnson in the chapter entitled ‘Britain and India’, referencing his first meeting with Modi during a visit to his City Hall office by the river Thames when he was Mayor of London. “He raised my arm and chanted something or other in Hindi, and though I couldn’t follow it I felt his curious astral energy. I have enjoyed his company ever since – because I reckon he is the change-maker our relationship needs. With Modi, I felt sure, we could not only do a great free-trade deal but also build a long-term partnership, as friends and equals,” he writes.