PM Modi gifts Bidens a sandalwood box and green diamond. But can they keep it?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s maiden state visit to the United States has begun on a high note. After being received by US president Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at the White House, the leaders exchanged pleasantries and official gifts. On his arrival, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in New York indulging in yoga diplomacy at the UN headquarters, thanked US president Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for hosting him at the White House, saying, “We had a great conversation on several subjects.” After their conversation, the two world leaders also exchanged gifts; PM Modi gave a handcrafted sandalwood box to President Joe Biden, and a green diamond to First Lady Jill Biden. The sandalwood box contains a silver idol of Lord Ganesha and a diya (oil lamp), while the 7.5 carat diamond is eco-friendly – which was gifted in a box made of paper pulp - also known as kar-e-kalamdani. Modi also gifted Joe Biden a copy of the first edition print of the book The Ten Principal Upanishads. On the other hand, the US president and his wife gifted Modi a handmade, antique American book galley from the early 20th Century. According to news agency PTI, they will also gift Modi a vintage American camera, accompanied by an archival facsimile print of George Eastman’s patent of the first Kodak camera, and a hardcover book of American wildlife photography. What is the significance of such gift giving? What happens to the gifts given to US presidents? Do they get to keep them? We take a closer look at the history of gift diplomacy in America. Can American presidents keep gifts? Over the years, American presidents have received some very lavish and sometimes odd gifts from other world leaders. In the past, all gifts from foreign dignitaries had to be approved by US Congress, after which they could become the property of the recipient. However, in 1928, protocol was put in place to help presidents entertain visiting dignitaries and organise customary gift exchanges. And years later, the Foreign Gifts and Declarations Act of 1966 came into place that put a limit to the value of a gift a president could accept, with most gifts going directly to the National Archives after being presented. As of January 2014, the limit is currently set at $375 (Rs 30,724). Gifts given to presidents are located in the National Archives or are transferred to the Presidential Library when he retires. However, presidents and other government officials can purchase the gift they were given in office if they are willing to pay market value of that specific item. While rarely done, former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton purchased the black pearl necklace given to her by Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi in 2012 for $970. However, some of the gifts go through the Secret Service before they’re passed onto the appropriate government arm. Secret Service spokesman Robert Hoback was quoted as telling NBC News that certain gifts, including food items, are routinely evaluated for safety reasons. Besides gifts from foreign leaders, the president is permitted to accept presents from the American public. But he has to disclose their financial status if they exceed the $350 value, in order to maintain transparency.

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What’s the significance of gifts given? Gift giving between countries is actually a very important part of diplomacy. It symbolises the friendship and journey shared between the two countries. A lot of importance is given to the gifts being exchanged so much so that when Obama gave then British prime minister Gordon Brown a selection of classic American movies on DVD in 2009, the choice was derided in the British press as boring and unimaginative. Incidentally, Brown couldn’t even enjoy the DVDs as they only worked in North American DVD players. [caption id=“attachment_12773102” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Former US president Barack Obama and Britain’s Gordon Brown walk through the Colonnade at the White House in Washington in 2009. During the visit, Obama had presented Brown with 25 American classic movies. File image/Reuters[/caption] But does the American president personally decide the gifts being given? The US president’s participation in gift selection varies from administration to administration. Most often, the Office of Protocol brainstorms the ideas and seek approval from the president and First Lady. The one thing that the US administration has to keep in mind when giving a gift to a world leader is that it must be made in America. It is for this reason that gifts from luxury jeweller Tiffany & Co is a popular choice. For instance, President Bill Clinton had a custom-designed Tiffany silver cachepot that he gave to many visiting heads of state. What are the weirdest gifts US presidents have received? While Modi has presented Bidens with beautiful and gifts steeped in Indian culture and history, there is a history of some strange gifts being given to US presidents. In 1806, US president Thomas Jefferson broke his policy of not accepting gifts from world dignitaries when he accepted four Arabian horses from the Tunisian ambassador. When asked to justify the expensive gift, he said that he intended to sell them to use the proceeds to offset the American government’s cost of the ambassador’s visit. Years and years later, in 1972 Chinese premier Zhou Enlai gifted US president Richard Nixon and his wife, Patricia, a set of giant pandas – Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing. The pandas, who lived in the Smithsonian Institute’s National Zoo, were presented after First Lady Patricia Nixon had mentioned in passing about her fondness for the bears. President Theodore Roosevelt also got a zebra and a lion from Ethiopia. If these gifts didn’t raise eyebrows, then the komodo dragon given to President George W Bush surely would. In 1990, Indonesia presented Bush Senior with the dragon named Naga. Naga was given to the Cincinnati Zoo, where it lived a busy and productive life (it fathered 32 baby Komodo dragons) before passing away in 2004. [caption id=“attachment_12773122” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] US president George W Bush was gifted Naga, a komodo dragon by Indonesia in 1990. He was given to the Cincinnati Zoo, where it lived a busy and productive life (it fathered 32 baby Komodo dragons) before passing away in 2004. Reuters[/caption] During a 2011 visit to Australia, President Barack Obama received crocodile insurance from the head of the Northern Territory. On receiving it, Obama had then joked, “I have to admit, when we reformed health care in America, crocodile insurance is one thing we left out.” But perhaps the funniest of them all must be when the late Queen Elizabeth II gave the gift of herself during the 2021 G7 summit to President Biden. The British monarch presented Biden with a photo of herself in a silver frame valued at $2,200 (Rs 1.8 lakh), according to the State Department. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.