Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to Australia and Indonesia have drawn political criticism and set off a social media frenzy over the growing number of numerology-mathematics-geopolitics metaphors to explain India’s bilateral relationships with the two nations.

The latest debate followed delegation-level talks in Melbourne on Thursday, where Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the India-Australia partnership meant that “one plus one equals two”.

Modi responded with a Hindi expression, saying that when one stands beside one, it does not become two but eleven (“1+1=11”), using the idiom to suggest that the combined strength of the two countries is greater than the sum of their individual capabilities.

Writer and editor Prabhu Chawla defended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks by arguing that numerical references such as “1+1=11” are rooted in familiar Indian idioms rather than literal arithmetic. Chawla said the expression is commonly used in everyday conversation to convey that unity creates greater strength, adding that critics mocking the remark were overlooking its cultural context and relying on a literal interpretation.

Journalist Siddharth Varadarajan responded with a sarcastic post, taking the numerical symbolism several steps further. Referring to Modi’s earlier “1 and 1 is 11” remark to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, he jokingly tied together cricket, arithmetic and diplomacy before quipping that the Prime Minister had linked India, Australia and Indonesia through a “metaphysically mathematical” Indo-Pacific masterstroke.

The discussion soon spilled over to Modi’s earlier remarks in Indonesia. During a recent event with the Indian community in Jakarta, Modi said, “Friends, last year, India celebrated its Republic Day with great enthusiasm and fanfare on January 26. Twenty-six… 2 plus 6 equals 8, and my friend’s (referring to the Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto) birthday is on the 17th, 1 plus 7 also equals 8,” which was followed by applause from the crowd.

One user commented, ”The audience expected a vision for stronger India–Indonesia ties, fresh ideas on trade, technology, and global cooperation. Instead, social media found itself solving elementary arithmetic.”

Another post used the same trick from numerology by adding and subtracting numbers from Modi’s birthday and India’s press freedom ranking, which magically leads to zero — the number of news conferences done by the prime minister in the last 12 years.

Many users and pro-government handles claim this is a new narrative manufactured to embarrass PM Modi, where some users clipped Indonesia president’s remarks, where he stated that eight is his lucky number and said, “I wanted to be the seventh president, but destiny made me the eighth president of the Republic of Indonesia.”

Modi’s tryst with mathematics is not novel, as he has in the past used algebra to deliver a special edge to his diplomatic events, most notably during an India Today event in Toronto in April 2015.

Referring to the algebraic theory of ‘(a+b) whole square’, Modi had asked “Where does the extra ‘2ab’ come from?” and equated it as the extra energy and cooperative value created when India and Canada work together. Critics had pointed out that the analogy didn’t fit apart from being an awkward attempt to simplify geopolitics with school-level math”.

Many users also claimed the recurring appearance of the number eight carried symbolic significance for Indonesia. According to them, the belief is rooted in Chinese cultural traditions and Feng Shui, where the number is widely regarded as a symbol of prosperity, success and good fortune.

They noted that in Mandarin, the pronunciation of the number eight, “ba”, closely resembles the word “fa”, meaning wealth or prosperity, making it one of the most auspicious numbers in many Asian societies.

A user said, “By mentioning the number 8, Prime Minister Modi was acknowledging a cultural symbol that resonates with many Indonesians. Such references are often used in diplomacy to show respect for the host country’s traditions and to create a warm connection with the audience.”