Five ‘Asanas’ Modi Has Perfected To Deflect and Distract From Real Issues

In the late 1800s, American author Susan Coolidge penned a series of books called What Katy Did, What Katy Did Next, and What Katy Did In School. These books narrated the adventures of a spirited 12-year-old girl who dreams of doing grand things, but whose impulsive nature invariably lands her in trouble. 

One is almost tempted to pen a similarly named series called What Modi Did, What Modi Did Next, and What Modi Did After the Pahalgam Attack.

Journalist Ravish Kumar seems to have had almost the same idea. 

In an incisive YouTube video posted on May 3, Kumar spelt out in some detail the prime minister’s preoccupations and activities in the 12 days following the Pahalgam attack. He also juxtaposed these with what the family members of those killed in the terror attack had to go through in the same period.

Himanshi Narwal and Aishwarya, (both newlyweds who lost their husbands) Sheetal Behn, and Aarti Menon, who lost her father, are being viciously trolled by majoritarian mobs for refusing to promote an anti-Muslim, anti-Kashmir narrative.

Unlike Lalita Ramdas (wife of the late Navy Admiral Ramdass) who has written a powerful and moving letter to Himanshi commending her courage and fiercely secular values, Prime Minister Modi has not bothered to reach out to any of these women.    

At a time when the prime minister should be working together in consultation with other major political parties to chalk out an appropriate responses to the huge challenges facing the nation, Modi seems to have defaulted to his time-tested strategies of dodging, deflecting and distracting – or “3D” as he might call it himself.  

One wonders if, perhaps, on June 21, International Day of Yoga, our self-styled vishwaguru should patent five new asanas depicting some of the skills he has perfected over the last 11 years. These are not real asanas, of course, but could be, given their centrality to the prime minister’s modus operandi most of the time. 

1. Upekshasana: Upeksha means to disregard or ignore. This asana has stood Modi in good stead when it comes to barely paying attention to the most pressing issues at hand, as elaborated by Kumar. 
2. Mithyasana: Mithya means false, untrue or deceptive. One might recall that during his 2023 visit to the White House, when correspondent Sabrina Siddiqui asked Modi about his government’s questionable human rights record, Modi slipped  deftly into this asana and said, “I am surprised you can even ask me that. Within India’s democratic values, there is absolutely no discrimination, neither on the basis of caste, creed, or age or any kind of geographic location. Democracy is in our DNA. The democracy is our spirit. Democracy runs in our veins. We live democracy.”

He practised this ‘asana’ again in a recent three-hour long podcast with Lex Fridman where he declared that “criticism is the soul of democracy. “We should have more criticism, and it should be sharp and well-informed. Genuine criticism requires thorough study, in-depth research, and careful analysis. It demands finding the truth from falsehoods”

Those who attacked Kunal Kamra, after his comedy special Naya Bharat and vandalized the Habitat Comedy Club where he had performed it, clearly missed this memo.

3. Nivartanaasana: Nivartana means deflection or turning away. Besides releasing an audio-less video of a meeting with the Indian Armed Forces chiefs, Modi laughed and joked with Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar on stage while addressing an election rally in Bihar on April 24.

He also inaugurated WAVES (World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit 2025 on May 1 in Mumbai, and cracked jokes about the opposition “losing sleep” while inaugurating the Vizhinjam Seaport built by Adani in Kerala on May 2. 

In between these engagements, he also carried on business as usual with his Mann Ki Baat and other programmes.

4. Apahrtyasana: Apahrtya means to appropriate or usurp. The Modi government’s sudden endorsement of a caste census on April 30 is a perfect example of this asana. 

What was termed “the thought of urban naxals” by the prime minister till last year has now suddenly become the need of the hour with Union home minister Amit Shah calling it an example of “the government’s strong commitment towards social equality and the rights of every section.” One cannot help but wonder about the timing of this decision.

5. Santrasanasana: Santrasa means fear and intimidation. If all else fails, then there is always this asana to fall back on, with the help of agencies like the Enforcement Directorate.

It has been said that the biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place. Modi has relied on this illusion for far too long, and his predictable attempts to dodge the burning issues in the country by creating distractions, deflections and diversions are not working anymore. 

It is easier to do a good job than to spend vast amounts of time and resources trying to convince everyone else that you did. So here is a humble suggestion: Perhaps if Prime Minister Modi would focus on just one asana for the remainder of his term, the country would be eternally grateful. This ‘asana’ could be called Namrakarmadharasana. Namra means humble, karma means duty or action and dhara is a steady flow. The meaning of this ‘asana’, I believe, is self- evident. 

Rohit Kumar is an educator, author and independent journalist and can be reached at letsempathize@gmail.com