Behind Bhagwad Gita in Russian gift to Putin, lies pledge PM Modi took at 2019 SCO Summit

The gifting of noted scripture was seen as an expression of India’s soft-power tradition, besides enhancing cultural, strategic and economic co-operation with its long-term ally.

The gesture also carried India’s literary and spiritual heritage into a global dialogue, showcasing how literature and spiritual texts form an important part of its diplomatic engagement.

However, many wouldn’t know that behind all this lies Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s consistent resolve to take India’s knowledge beyond its borders.

It was PM Modi who first mooted the idea of translating ten Indian literary works into global languages, reflecting his focus on the proliferation of the rich Indian culture.

In a video shared by Modi Story, a popular social media handle, Dr K Sreenivasarao, former Secretary of Sahitya Akademi, recalls how, during the SCO summit, PM Modi underscored the need for translating the Bhagwad Gita into 10 languages, reflecting his commitment and vision towards replication and propagation of the noted scripture as well as modern literature in multiple languages.

At the 2019 SCO Summit in Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), PM Modi put forward the idea of translating 10 modern Indian literary works into the languages of the SCO nations, so that readers across these nations could access Indian writing directly.

“Ministries and Indian embassies later coordinated the translations, particularly in Russian, Chinese and English, working with linguistic and editorial experts to take this plan forward,” says the X handle.

During the Covid era, when India held the SCO Chairmanship, the translated works were formally released.

On Friday, when the Prime Minister gifted a Russian edition of the Bhagwad Gita to Vladimir Putin, this showed the former’s commitment and focus on bringing Indian literature and culture into global conversation.