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Narendra Modi
Born             | Narendra Damodardas Modi, 17 September 1950 (age 63), Vadnagar, Gujarat, India |
Position | 15thPrime Minister of India |
Assumed office | 26-May-14 |
President | Pranab Mukherjee |
Preceded by | Manmohan Singh |
Nationality | India Indian |
Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party |
Spouse(s)Â | Jashodaben Chimanlal |
Religion | Hinduism |
Born on September 17, 1950, India’s 15th Prime Minister, Narendra Damodardas Modi remains one of the most successful politicians in India. He was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 till 2014 until he became the Prime Minister on May 26, 2014. He is an important member of the ruling party, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in India.
Both 1995 and 1998 state elections in Gujarat state had Modi’s role as a key campaign strategist to bring wins for the party. With his assuming office of Gujarat’s Chief Minister in October 2001, Modi became only person serving in said post for such long period till date. Modi remained an important campaign strategist for National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by BJP in 2009 general elections in which United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by opposition Congress won elections. It is worth noting that his leadership paved the way for outstanding win of BJP in recent Lok Sabha elections held from April to May months in recently concluded 2014 general elections.
Narendra Modi is a member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and so does he claim to be the Hindu nationalist politician. Gujarat riots of 2002 brought him into controversy in India as well as on the global level through acute criticism of his administration to handle such situations. The economic policies he has implemented brought ample praises for him. Such policies are considered key factors to bring success for him in Gujarat where economic growth welcomed. Ironically his administration came under scanner and got criticised due to not attaining success to bring impactful positive impact on the state’s human development front.
Early Life and Academics
Took birth in a grocers’ family of oil presser community named Ghanchi-Teli in the then Bombay state’s Mehsana District on September 17, 1950, Modi had big dreams in Vadnagar since childhood. His father Damodardas Mulchand Modi and mother Heeraben had four children out of which Modi was 3rd. He used to help his father in his early childhood to sell tea at the railway station of Vadnagar. He too started his own tea stall along with brother in teenage nearby a local bus stand. A teacher of him described Modi an average student with exceptional debating qualities whose interest in theatre was noticed by the time he finished schooling in 1967.
Family and Personal Life
Practicing community traditions of Ghanchi caste to which Modi belongs, his parents got him married while he was a child. By the time he was 13, his parents engaged him with Jashodaben Chimanlal. They were married off while he was only 18 years old. Their relationship didn’t continue longer as Modi alienated wife upon his decision to go for a peripatetic life instead. The biographer of Modi Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay though claims that such marriage wasn’t actually solemnised. He had a point to showcase having no reasons to be a corrupt politician during 2002 state elections in which he didn’t reveal such relationship and showed him single while declaring candidature. Interestingly, he acknowledged during filling nomination in 2014 Lok Sabha elections that Jashodaben is his legal spouse.
Such contradictions are taken into account to know his political career which he projects. He met his mentor and political guru, Lakshmanrao Inamdar alias Vakil Saheb whom he met at the age of just 8 years in RSS camps where he formally joined at local shakha. Modi became junior RSS cadet or the Balswayamsevak under Inamdar’s guidance. The then Jan Sangh leaders Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda groomed him during RSS morning exercise sessions or keri pitha shakha in the early days while he had direct influence from such leaders. It was in 1980 that those leaders founded the Gujarat Unit of BJP from erstwhile Jan Sangh.
Written by Kishore Makwana the book “Common Man Narendra Modi” was published in 2014 which shed light on Modi’s personality like his visits to Ramakrishna Mission Ashram in Rajkot at the age of 17 after leaving home and so is mentioned his attending Belur Math located nearby Kolkata city. The book further explains his joining an Ashram in Guwahati on later years that was set up by Swami Vivekananda in Himalayan foothills’ Almora. He came back to Vadnagar after 2 years tour to stay in his own house for some time before shifting to Ahmedabad again where he supported his uncle to run a tea stall. It was here that Modi met Lakshmanrao Inamdar again in city’s RSS headquarters at Hedgewar Bhavan. Until appointed fulltime RSS propagandist or pracharak in 1970, he remained associated with Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation staff canteen. It was in 1978 that Modi passed his graduation as external student through Distance Education mode from Delhi University in political science stream. He completed Masters in Political Science from Gujarat University in 1983 while still serving RSS as its pracharak.
Career
Soon after the end of Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, Modi joined RSS formally. He was selected to head the student wing of Sangh Parivar in Gujarat named Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad after finishing the compulsory RSS training in headquarters Nagpur to ensure he could delve into an official position in the Sangh. Declaration of state of emergency during 1975-1977 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her orders to jail political opponents caused resistance including her decision to ban RSS. Fearing his arrest, Modi went underground in Gujarat and was often disguised into Sikh, saints or an elderly person while continuing to print and distribute booklets in protest to central government. He continued with distributing Sangh pamphlets while organising agitations or distributing such secret pamphlets in this region. Â
Modi’s participation in Jayaprakash Narayan led movement to counter state of emergency is hailed. As general secretary of Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti he had key focus to maintain best possible coordination between state and activists. He wrote a book in Gujarati language named, Sangharsh ma Gujarat (Gujarat’s struggle) during those days which defined many important events including his yarns and personal experiences being faced during that period. By the year 1985 RSS advised Modi to become part of political party BJP. Even though BJP leaders Shankersinh Vaghela and Keshubhai Patel had powerful impact in Gujarat BJP in 1991, Modi attained valuable position and famous by his successful organising of Kanyakumari-Srinagar Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity) of BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi. He became organising secretary of Gujarat Unit of BJP in 1988 that indicated his well-planned entry as an emerging leader into mainstream political scene. He developed strategy as secretary to ensure BJP won 1995 state elections with huge margins.
By November 1995, BJP made Modi party’s National Secretary and henceforth he got shifted to the national capital Delhi to fulfil responsibility of involving in Haryana & Himachal Pradesh party affairs. By next year Vaghela lost in 1996 Lok Sabha elections and so did he defect from BJP to fulfil what he had indicated in 1995—a threaten. In May 1998, Modi was finally elevated to serve as BJP’s General Secretary. He strategized to ensure BJP doesn’t split in Gujarat for that his keen focus was to support Patel supporters instead of Vaghela during 1998 Gujarat Assembly elections. Such strategies paved the way for successful winning of BJP in 1998 elections in Gujarat state.
As Chief Minister of Gujarat
With losing by-election seats in state besides ailing Keshubhai Patel situation causing vacuum in BJP in 2001, several allegations came into forefront including Patel’s alleged abuse of power, poor administration and corruption cases. Most notable damage was stand of Patel administration to handle 2001 Bhuj Earthquake of Gujarat. Such scenarios forced central leadership of BJP to look for a new chief minister candidate in Gujarat. Modi was one of those leaders who had brought into focus loopholes of Patel administration so he was chosen a suitable replacement of chief minister. Senior BJP leader L. K. Advani still had doubts and didn’t want to replace Patel as he still felt that lack of experience and governance made Modi misfit. As Modi clearly indicated that no way he can serve as deputy chief minister under Patel and clearly indicated both Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee that either he would take full responsibility of Gujarat or not at all he was finally appointed Gujarat’s chief minister on 7 October 2001. He was given additional responsibility to start preparations for December 2002 elections and ensure BJP won. Governance ideas of Modi as a Chief Minister had keen focus on small government and privatisation issues which defied all sorts of anti-privatisation, anti-globalisation positions of RSS, which political commentator Aditi Phadnis defines. Â
As Prime Minister of India
Narendra Modi was sworn in as India’s prime minister by the president at the Rashtrapati Bhavan at 6.00PM on 26 May 2014. He maintains distinction of being first Indian prime minister who took birth after country attained independence. In unique gesture and practiced first time he took initiative to invite leaders all SAARC countries for their participation to attend swearing-in ceremony of Modi. The attendee guests were Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif; Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Nepal Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai, President of Maldives, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom besides Bangladesh speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury and SAARC observer cum Prime Minister of Mauritius Navin Ramgoolam who graced the occasion.
Honors, Awards and International Recognition
- Shri Poona Gujarati Bandhu Samaj awarded Gujarat Ratna at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch during the centenary year celebration.
- Computer Society of India awarded him e-Ratna award
- India Today magazine conducted nationwide survey and awarded Narendra Modi Best Chief Minister award in 2007 as one of the country’s best chief ministers.
- FDI magazine awarded him Asian Winner of the FDI Personality of the Year Award in 2009.
- As one of the few Indian politicians to have attained such recognition, Modi appeared on Time magazine’s cover in Asian edition in March 2012 issue.
- Time magazine featured Modi in Time's 2014 Time 100 list of the most influential individuals worldwide.
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