“Yoga comes from India and it has a very old tradition”, Modi said, "but like all ancient Indian traditions, it is also living, dynamic”.

When Modi came to the Lotte Palace Hotel in midtown Manhattan, he flouted security to greet supporters deliriously chanting his name and dancing, while worried Secret Service agents and security personnel tried to put him in a tight physical cordon.

Following the UN lead, Yoga Day has become an international celebration around the world with group practices and asana demonstrations across the globe.

“Sarva dharma sama bhava is a unique concept of Indian secularism, which maintains that all religions are inherently good and worthy of respect”, the Indian representative said.

A measure of the unity around paying homage to the peacekeeping heroes was the support of Pakistan, which had moments earlier attacked India at the Assembly on a different issue, but joined in as one of the main co-sponsors of the monument resolution.

The Biden administration supports Germany and Japan in addition to India for permanent seats, and also as yet undetermined representatives of Latin American and African nations. France and Britain also support permanent seats for the three countries and for Brazil, while Russia backs India publicly but not the others.

“As the first Hindu-American and South Asian-American woman elected to state office in New York, I take special pride in advocating for new American communities, including those that celebrate Diwali,” Rajkumar 

Unlike in the Indo-Pacific region, where China poses a security issue for India and US, the challenge in the Middle East is from Beijing’s subtle economic and political push through its Belt and Road Initiative. 

The bill says, “Diwali, also known as Deepavali, is an auspicious day celebrated by many South and Southeast Asian communities as well as religious groups including the Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, and Jain communities”.

In December, India launched the Group of Friends to promote accountability for crimes against peacekeepers with Bangladesh, Egypt, France, Morocco and Nepal as co-chairs. The group advocates for bringing to justice those committing crimes against peacekeepers.