new delhi, June 17 -- On Monday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred one of Cyprus's top civilian honours-the Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III-it cast a quiet glow on a corner of central Delhi. Tucked behind Lodhi Road, a short, tree-lined stretch named Archbishop Makarios Marg suddenly found itself in the spotlight. The road, renamed in the 1980s, honours Makarios III, the towering figure who served as Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus from 1950 to 1977 and later became the country's first President. He is widely regarded as the founding father of the Republic of Cyprus. The award Modi received also bears his name, cementing a historical thread between Nicosia and New Delhi-one woven through diplomacy and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). The Archbishop Makarios Marg, historians recall, was once called Golf Links Road. But in the wake of the 1983 NAM summit hosted in Delhi, it was among several roads rechristened in tribute to international leaders aligned with India's vision. "A host of important leaders were in Delhi for the summit, including Fidel Castro," said author Sohail Hashmi. "Soon after, roads were renamed for them-Josip Broz Tito Marg, Gamal Abdel Nasser Marg, Ho Chi Minh Marg-and Makarios Marg. He was a freedom fighter and central to Cyprus' struggle for independence." "Pandit Nehru's role was instrumental in the non-aligned movement and this continued till the 1980s, particularly during Indira Gandhi's time, when India wholly believed in this ideology," Hashmi added. The road named after Makarios is a relic of a diplomatic era that once burned brightly. Political scientist Anuradha Chenoy, former dean at JNU's School of International Studies and now with OP Jindal Global University, said, "I remember that summit-Fidel Castro, Yasser Arafat, had all come to Delhi," said Chenoy. "It was also a time when the city was being re-imagined spatially. The Shanti Path diplomatic enclave was coming up, embassies were being consolidated, and roads were named after world leaders. Makarios had passed away not long before. Naming a road after him was part of that ethos."...