Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a ‘change-maker’ in his new memoir, which reflects on his dynamic political career. He recounted feeling a ‘curious astral energy’ when he first met the Indian leader.

He recalled being told by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office to avoid meeting PM Modi on his first trade visit to India in 2012 as the Mayor of London, who described him as a ‘Hindu nationalist’. However, outside City Hall, when they eventually met, Johnson said PM Modi greeted him with a raised arm and some chanting in Hindi. Johnson wrote this in his book ‘Unleashed’, which hit the shelves in the UK this week.

Rethinking India-Russia Ties

On his visit to India in April 2022, in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to convince India to revisit its ties to Russia, Johnson described the welcome as “an orchestrated orgy of state-sponsored Beatlemania.” Acknowledging the reason behind India’s non-alignment with the West and dependence on Russian energy supplies, he wrote, “Did India really want to continue ‘aligned’ with the pair of autocracies? (Russia and China)”.

A Private Conversation With Queen Elizabeth

In his book, Johnson revealed a private conversation with Queen Elizabeth, just two days before her death in September 2022. He told her about the UK government’s struggles to persuade India to adopt a tougher line with the Russians on the Ukraine war. She recalled something Jawaharlal Nehru had once told her in the 1950s – “He told me that India will always side with Russia and that some things will never change. They just are.”