Prime Minister Narendra Modi fasts every year during Navratri festival.
AFP/New Delhi
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to observe a nine-day religious fast during his upcoming visit to the US, during which he will make his maiden speech to the UN General Assembly.
Modi, a strictly observant Hindu and a teetotal vegetarian, fasts every year for the Navratri festival, which this year runs from September 25-October 3 and coincides with a visit to Washington to meet President Barack Obama.
Local media reports said he would restrict himself to a liquid diet of lemonade and tea during the fast, meaning he will miss out on the lavish meals that traditionally characterise such visits.
Modi's office would not comment, although a senior official told AFP on condition of anonymity that "the prime minister's fasting will have no bearing on his engagements in the US".
"Engagements will take place as per schedule," the official added.
Modi will begin his US visit in New York, where he will address the General Assembly on Saturday and then attend a rally of Indian Americans before flying on to Washington.
His White House visit will be a remarkable transformation for a man once refused a US visa over accusations he failed to stop 2002 violence against India's Muslim minority as chief minister of Gujarat state.
Modi, who led his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party to a crushing victory in May elections, has always denied any wrongdoing.
In 2012 he wrote a blog post in which he said he had been observing a Navratri fast for over 35 years, calling it "an act of self-purification".
"Fasts such as this have been a source of strength, power and inspiration for me over the last many years," Modi wrote.
Hindus across India celebrate Navratri, when female deities are worshipped. Devotees install large idols in their houses and fast until the last day when the idols are immersed in water, symbolising the triumph of good over evil.
