Temple in the desert: PM Modi's launch of project in UAE raises questions

It will subtly add to the notion that India is conducting a 'Hindu' foreign policy, which is not in any Indian's interest

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to West Asia, during which he visited three nations, including the Palestinian National Authority in the West Bank, demonstrated, in some ways, the continuities of Indian foreign policy. Mr Modi paid his respects at Yasser Arafat’s memorial and reiterated support for the Palestinian cause, in spite of the visible bonhomie between the Indian and Israeli establishments when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited New Delhi earlier this year. Such symbolism is, of course, important, and Mr Modi understands the value of signifiers — few details, surely, of such visits and the programmes around them have