Abe Shinzo's murder is a personal loss for Prime Minister N D Modi, one of the Japanese leader's international friends -- Modi was the only world leader Abe followed on social media back in 2014 -- and the two prime ministers charted out a new road map for India-Japan relations that grew stronger in the Abe era and in the years since he stepped down.
Glimpses of Abe's special relationship with India over the years:
IMAGE: Abe and Modi at Hyderabad House, December 12, 2015. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters
IMAGE: Then prime minister Manmohan Singh, right, greets Abe as Dr Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur, second from left, and Abe's wife Akie look on at Rashtrapati Bhavan, August 22, 2007. Photograph: B Mathur/Reuters
IMAGE: Abe with then President Pratibha Patil at Rashtrapati Bhavan, August 22, 2007. Photograph: B Mathur/Reuters
IMAGE: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh calls on Abe in Tokyo, September 2, 2019. Photograph: Issei Kato/Pool/Reuters
IMAGE: Then external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj with Abe in Tokyo, March 30, 2018. Photograph: Toru Hanai/Pool/Reuters
IMAGE: Modi, Abe and Akie during their visit to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, September 13, 2017. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters
IMAGE: Abe and Modi take a selfie at the Ganga Aarti in Varanasi, December 12, 2015. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
IMAGE: Abe and Modi on the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi, December 12, 2015. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
IMAGE: A worker cleans a hoarding featuring Modi and Abe ahead of Abe's visit to Ahmedabad, September 10, 2017. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters
IMAGE: Modi hugs Abe during the India-Japan annual summit in Gandhinagar, September 14, 2017. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters
IMAGE: Modi enjoys a cup of green tea with Abe during a tea ceremony at the Omotesenke, one of the main schools of the Japanese tea ceremony, in Tokyo September 1, 2014. Photograph: Yuya Shino/Reuters
IMAGE: Modi and Abe during their visit to the Toji Buddhist temple, a UNESCO World Heritage site, in Kyoto, August 31, 2014. Photograph: Kyodo via Reuters
IMAGE: Modi and Abe pose with a Shinkansen bullet train before heading for Hyogo prefecture at Tokyo station, November 12, 2016, Photograph: Kyodo via Reuters
IMAGE: Modi and Abe and their delagations at their meeting at Abe's official residence in Tokyo, October 29, 2018. Photograph: Koji Sasahara/Pool via Reuters
IMAGE: Modi and Abe watch a video introducing the high-speed rail project at a joint news conference in Tokyo, October 29, 2018. Photograph: Kiyoshi Ota/Pool via Reuters
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com