BRICS Leaders Arrive in New Delhi by Bullock Cart to Prove Multipolarity Is Slower Than Expected
In a summit-opening gesture no protocol manual anticipated, every BRICS+ head of state crossed the Yamuna on a single bullock cart, one leader per hour, while New Delhi's traffic police redirected the entire city around a two-kilometer-per-day procession.
NEW DELHI — Every BRICS+ head of state arrived at the summit venue by bullock cart, one leader per hour, after India's sherpa corps ruled that a motorcade would «undermine the multipolarity of the arrival itself.» The first cart left the airport perimeter at dawn; the last is expected to reach the plenary hall by Friday.
The Ministry of External Affairs requisitioned the entire fleet of the National Bullock Development Board — 1,100 animals — and assigned each delegation a cart painted in its national colors. Traffic police cleared a two-kilometer corridor through central Delhi, which the procession covers at a rate of one kilometer per day. Officials describe the pace as «deliberate.»
Delegations that had booked five-star suites were relocated to roadside camps with shared hand pumps. A senior Indian official said the arrangement «builds the muscle of sovereignty.» Brazil's advance team has already begun training for next year's summit, which will reportedly be held at walking speed.
By Thursday, the summit's opening session had still not convened, but the carts had reached the outer ring road. A Kremlin aide, watching from a folding chair, said the format «proves that no single power can set the tempo.» The summit's closing declaration is expected to be drafted on the move.
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