Boris Johnson praises 'change-maker' Modi in memoir: Felt his curious astral energy

In his memoir 'Unleashed', former British PM Boris Johnson credits himself for setting the course for a "proper free-trade deal" with India thanks to finding "exactly the partner and friend" in PM Modi.

In Short

• Boris Johnson praises PM Modi in his new book
• Johnson's memoir 'Unleashed' features a chapter on India-UK ties
• He credits himself for initiating a free-trade deal with India

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his new book, calling the Indian PM a 'change-maker' and describing how he felt a 'curious astral energy' during their first meeting.

Boris Johnson's memoir 'Unleashed' hit the shelves in the UK this week. In the book, Johnson has devoted a whole chapter, ‘Britain and India’, to Britain’s ties with India, calling it "a relationship as good as it has ever been".

Johnson, who served as the UK prime minister from July 24, 2019, to September 6, 2022, credits himself for setting the course for a "proper free-trade deal" with India thanks to finding "exactly the partner and friend" in PM 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, referencing his first meeting with PM 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.

In his memoir, Johnson also reveals how a “distinctly sniffy” UK Foreign Office had warned him off meeting the “Hindu nationalist” leader during an earlier mayoral trade delegation to India in 2012.

Johnson also called his January 2022 visit to India a “tremendous success” which was a much-needed “morale boost” and “balm for the soul” for him away from an increasingly belligerent domestic politics.

He claims he had also wanted to use the visit to make a “gentle point to Narendra” on the issue of relations with Russia at a “global inflection point” with its conflict with Ukraine.

“I knew all the history and the sensitivities, the reasons for India’s post-war non-alignment with the West, the seemingly unbreakable relationship with Moscow. I understand the Indian dependence – like China’s – on Russian hydrocarbons," he writes.

“But I wondered if it was not time for a modulation, a rethink... As I was to put it to the Indians, Russian missiles were turning out to be less accurate, statistically, than my first serve at tennis. Did they really want to keep Russia as their main supplier of military hardware?” he adds.

Johnson goes on to credit himself with injecting a broader vision for the India-UK partnership to go beyond trade and climate change and educational partnerships and embark on a whole programme of military and technological collaboration.

“Overcoming the qualms of the MoD (Ministry of Defence), who are always worried about India’s closeness to Russia, we agreed to work together on all kinds of military technology, from submarines to helicopters to marine propulsion units,” he proudly declares.

With inputs from PTI