New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi gifting President Vladimir Putin with a Russian translation of the Thirukkural on Friday is another example of his efforts at putting forward India’s heritage and culture before the rest of the world.
“This is not the first time PM Modi has taken our culture global!” said ‘Modi Story’, an initiative to bring forward the Prime Minister’s work and thoughts through the eyes of those who have caught a glimpse into his life.
The social media post on Saturday was in reference to him presenting President Putin with a Russian translation of the composition which carries the eternal wisdom of the great Thiruvalluvar across languages and borders.
The Russian President is in India to participate in the 18th BRICS Leaders’ Summit, now underway in New Delhi.
The composition is a timeless work on ethics, politics, and love, among those by the celebrated figure in Tamil literature and philosophy, who is also referred as Valluvar.
“Back at the 2019 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, PM Modi spearheaded an initiative to translate 10 modern Indian works into Russian, Chinese, and English so regional literature could reach global audiences,” it added, quoting a statement from K. Sreenivasan, former Secretary of Sahitya Academy.
The 19th SCO Summit was then held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, focusing on regional security, economic cooperation, and multilateral diplomacy.
“He (PM Modi) has created space for Indian culture, Indian literature, Indian languages, (where) though we’re creating excellent literary works, we’re not able to showcase it before the world,” Sreenivasan said in a video attached with the social media post.
“Then, in 2020, we contacted the External Affairs Ministry and the Ministry of Culture and then made a list of 10 books to be translated in the three languages,” he added.
It was in 2020-2021 when the Summit was held under India’s chairmanship — it was the time of the pandemic and the meeting had to be held virtually — that the books were released, he also said.
Prime Minister Modi then announced that the country had achieved what he had set out to do.
“I want to say this to tell how he is concerned about Indian literature, Indian languages even in the international platform,” Sreenivasan stressed.
The social media post reminded that earlier, during President Putin’s India visit in December 2025, Prime Minister Modi had gifted him a Russian edition of the Bhagavad Gita.
“PM Modi’s cultural diplomacy is a masterclass in putting Indian heritage front and centre on the world stage!” it added.
(IANS)
