Though India established diplomatic ties with Israel way back in 1992, Narendra Modi is the first Indian prime minister to visit the country. Modi arrived at Tel Aviv on Tuesday to meet his 'friend' Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli prime minster who receives only US presidents and few western leaders personally, made an exception for Modi. On meeting with Netanyahu, Modi gifted him replicas of two sets of relics from Kerala inscribed in the ninth-tenth century, regarded as key artefacts of the long Jewish history in India. The first set of copper plates is regarded as a charter by King Cheraman Perumal (or Bhaskara Ravi Varma, as he is known) to the Jewish leader Joseph Rabban, describing the grant of hereditary royal privileges and prerogatives. The second set of copper plates is believed to be the earliest documentation of the history of Jewish trade with India. The first set of replicas were made possible with help of the Paradesi Synagogue in Mattancherry while the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in Thiruvalla, Kerala, played a major role in getting the replica of the second set of plates.
The prime minister's gifts seem to be carefully picked, especially when it comes to international leaders. Not only do they represent India's rich cultural diversity, but also the relationship between the two nations. Modi, who has made 64 international visits till date as prime minister, seems to have planned them all carefully. On his visit to the White House last month, a story in Forbes called him 'cunning' and not to be underestimated as he kept everyone on toes and certainly surprised President Donald Trump by hugging him. In March, the _Time _ magazine called Modi one of the most influential people. So, while international media is taken by his politics, here's a closer look at the gifts he has been giving to international leaders.
@PMObeat | Twitter
When he met Donald Trump and first lady Melania, he presented them shawls from Jammu and Kashmir and a 1965 stamp India had released to commemorate President Abraham Lincoln's death centenary. He gave the president a wooden chest with intricate inlay pattern that is a speciality of Hoshiarpur in Punjab. And to the first lady, he presented a hamper with a traditional, handcrafted silver bracelet from Himachal Pradesh, and tea and honey from Kangra valley.
When Modi visited Iran in May 2016, he gifted President Rouhani a rare 7th century manuscript of the Holy Quran written in Kufic script. And to King Salman of Saudi Arabia, in April 2016, he gifted a gold-plated replica of the first mosque in India, the Cheraman Juma Masjid built in 629 AD, which can be seen as a symbol of India's religious tolerance and its ties with Saudi Arabia.
In July 2015, he visited Uzbekistan and gifted leader Islam Karimov, a specially commissioned replica of Khamsa-i-Khusrau by the 13th century Sufi poet, Amir Khusrau, who was born in Uttar Pradesh.
When he met Prime Minister David Cameron in November 2015, he gifted him bookends with inscriptions from the Gita.
Modi gifted former UN General Secretary Ban Ki Moon a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi in October 2015. And in April 2015, he gifted the then Canada Prime Minister Stephen Joseph Harper, a traditional Indian miniature painting showing Guru Nanak Dev with his disciples Bhai Bala and Bhai Mardana. This was a nod to the large Sikh community in the country.
Other thoughtful gifts by Modi include three cricket balls signed by Kapil Dev and a replica of Mahatma Gandhi's charkha to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott in November 2014, replicas of stone casket of Buddhist relics and a stone statue of Buddha that were excavated from the stupa of Dev-ni-Mori, a site 80km east of Vadnagar in Gujarat, to China's President Xi Jinping in May 2015, books on Vivekananda to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and handwoven stoles on which Tagore's poem on Korea is hand embroidered, to President Park Geun-hye of Republic of Korea.
While on the surface, these gifts may not seem much, they surely symbolise India's 'feelings' towards the country and its policies.
