In his maiden address to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India’s national philosophy drew from the wisdom of the Vedic tenet of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – the whole world is a family. Modi urged the UN to declare one day of the year as International Yoga Day (IYD). Within weeks, the UN proclaimed June 21 as the International Yoga Day.
Modi’s reference to national philosophy was also a subtle hat tip to an organisation that considers itself the sole flame bearer of Indian culture and values. Modi is only the second person trained in the nursery and steeped in the ideology of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to occupy the most powerful position in the country. The IYD was seen by the Sangh Parivar (the family of RSS affiliates and ideologically aligned organisations) as a global nod to India’s civilisational sophistication and a step closer to its goal—India becoming Vishwa Guru or the intellectual master to the world and attaining Param Vaibhav or ultimate glory.