Modi and Swedish PM Exchange Tagore Gifts to Celebrate India-Sweden Literary Ties

Narendra Modi and Ulf Kristersson exchanged commemorative gifts honouring Rabindranath Tagore, celebrating shared literary heritage and strengthening cultural ties between India and Sweden.

on May 19, 2026

Modi and Swedish PM Exchange Tagore Gifts to Celebrate India-Sweden Literary Ties

Narendra Modi and Ulf Kristersson gifted each other mementos in honour of Rabindranath Tagore on the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Sweden. This is indicative of the long-standing cultural connection that still exists between the two countries.

One of the mementos gifted by Kristersson to Modi was the facsimile of two epigrams handwritten by Rabindranath Tagore. These epigrams were found in the archives of the Swedish National Archive and accompanied by a detailed description along with a historical picture of the 1921 visit of Rabindranath Tagore to Uppsala University.

These handwritten epigrams have been discovered in the archives of the country and are dated back to 1921 and 1926 when Tagore paid a visit to Sweden on two occasions. Significantly, 2026 will be celebrating the centenary of Tagore’s visit to Sweden in 1926.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed gratitude saying Tagore’s words inspire generations irrespective of culture and geography and are a testament to India-Sweden's cultural connections.

In return, the Modi government gifted a selection of Tagore’s literary writings along with a hand-crafted Shantiniketan bag based on designs associated with the poetic vision of Tagore that is meant to aid local artisans and is a symbol of Tagore’s view about art in daily life.

Rabindranath Tagore, who won the first non-European Nobel Prize in Literature award in 1913, had always maintained his ties with Sweden. He had missed the opportunity to travel to Stockholm to receive the Nobel Prize but he did have an official welcome from King Gustav V of Sweden when he visited the country in 1921.

The gift exchange brought some literary and cultural aspects into the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Sweden where the purpose of his two-day trip was to promote mutual understanding and cooperation.

As part of his visit, Prime Minister Modi was honored with the Royal Order of the Polar Star, Degree Commander Grand Cross, in appreciation of his contributions to India-Sweden relations.

The symbolic gesture is a testament to Tagore’s continuing role as a bridge for dialogue and friendship among nations over a hundred years after the Nobel Prize changed world literature.