Narendra Modi |
Narendra Modi (Full Name: Narendra Damodardas
Modi) is the 15th Prime Minister of India. He led Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) to a decisive victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
Birth and
Brought up:
He
was born on September 17, 1950 in the house of Heeraben(mother) and Damodardas Mulchand Modi(father)
of Vadnagar, Mehsana district
(then Bombay state), Gujarat. He is the 3rd child of
the 6 children of his parents. During his childhood he helped his father
selling tea. He completed his schooling in Vadnagar. During his schooling
although he was an average student he was described as a keen debater who had
interest in theatres.
Marriage:
NaMo when he was a child |
At the age of 13 he got engaged
to Jashodaben Chimanlal and the got married with her at the age of 18. But
Modi chose to walk away from the marriage to Belur Ramakrishan Asharam. He
became a great follower of Swami Vivekanand. Till 2014 Lok
Sabha Elections he claimed his status as single. Modi acknowledged Jashodaben
as his legal spouse when he filled nomination form for 2014 Lok Sabha
elections.
Education:
Modi graduated through Distance Education in political science
from Delhi University. Modi remained a pracharak in the RSS while he
completed his Master's degree in political science from Gujarat University.
Early political career
He joined RSS
(Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) at the age of 8. During the 1960's India-Pakistan war,
even though he was only a young boy, he volunteered to serve soldiers traveling
through railway stations. After completing his early education,
side by side, he also worked in the staff canteen of Gujarat State Road
Transport Corporation. He became a full–time propagandist (pracharak) of the
RSS in 1971. As a youth, he
became a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a student
wing involved in anti-corruption. So he joined the Navnirman movement and
dutifully performed the tasks assigned to him. The movement was further
strengthened when it gained the support of Jayaprakash Narayan, a
well-respected public figure and a known crusader against corruption.
NaMo when he went underground |
NaMo when he went underground |
In 1975, when emergency was declared by the then Prime
Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, Modi participated in the movement against the
Emergency under Jayaprakash Narayan
and went underground.
In 1985 RSS assigned Modi to the BJP where he
showed his signs of becoming a successful politician.
NaMo during his Yatra |
In
1988, Modi was elected as organizing secretary of BJP's Gujarat unit that led
him to his formal entry into mainstream politics. He rose
steadily through the ranks, and was inducted into the national executive in
1991 after aiding Murli Manohar Joshi, a party senior, in his ekta yatra (journey for unity)
to bolster support. Modi was responsible for the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra
and a similar trek from Kanyakumari in Southern India all the way up to Kashmir
in the north.
As secretary, his
strategies led BJP to win in the 1995 state elections.
In November 1995,
Modi was elected National Secretary of BJP and was transferred to New Delhi
where he was assigned responsibility for the party's activities.
In 1996, when Shankersingh
Vaghela partnered from the BJP,
Modi was promoted to the post of General Secretary (Organisation) of the BJP.
His strategies proved to be key role in winning the 1998 elections.
As Chief
Minister of Gujarat
Narendra
Modi was the 14th CM of Gujrat and governed for 13 consecutive years
as its Chief Minister. He has been the longest-serving Chief Minister of the
state.
First term (Oct
7, 2001–Dec 22, 2002)
On Oct 7, 2001, Modi replaced Keshubhai Patel as the
CM of Gujarat, as he was unable to solve the problems of corruption and poor
administration. However, Modi did exceedingly well, focusing on privatization
and minimum interference in business.
2002 Gujarat
riots (anti-Muslim riots)
In February 2002,
there were riots in Gujrat in which more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims,
were killed, for which the government of Gujrat was accused for not taking
sufficient action against violence.
The matter was led into a national-level debate,
with opposition parties demanding Modi's resignation. He resigned and elections
were held again.
However,
in April 2009, the Supreme Court appointed a Special Investigation Team (SIT)
to inquire into the Gujarat government and Narendra Modi's role in the
incidents of communal violence.
In
December 2010, the SIT reported to the court submitting that they did not find
any substantial incriminating evidence against Modi of willfully allowing
communal violence in the state.
Second term (Dec
22, 2002–Dec 22, 2007)
During the campaign, Modi's emphasis shifted from Hindutva to the economic development of Gujarat
and managed to win 127 out of the 182 seats.
The
changes brought by Modi in the period 2002–2007 have led to Gujarat being
called an attractive investment destination. Modi started financial and
technology parks in the state. During the 2007 Vibrant Gujarat summit, real estate investment deals worth ₹6.6 trillion were signed in
Gujarat.
In July 2007, Modi completed 2,063
consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving
holder of that post.
2007 election
On July 18, 2006, Modi criticized the then Prime
Minister, Manmohan Singh by saying that he is reluctant to revive anti-terror
legislations. He frequently demanded strict actions against terrorists and
terrorism. He demanded to invoke
tougher laws in states following the 2006 Mumbai blasts. Time to time he finds
issues to attack central government. In the wake of the November 2008 Mumbai
attacks, Modi brought up the issue of security along Gujarat's 1,600 km long coastline.
The UPA government acted upon this immediately and sanctioned construction of
30 high-speed surveillance boats.
Despite the troubled waters, Modi managed to win the 2007 election,
bagging 122 of the 182 seats.
Third term (Dec 23, 2007–Dec 20, 2012)
Development projects
Successive
BJP governments supported the creation of infrastructure projects for
conservation of groundwater.
By
December 2008, many serious projects were taken into consideration that helped
to regain groundwater level by 2010 at a time when it was falling in all other
Indian states.
As
a result, production of genetically-modified Bt cotton, which could now be irrigated using tube wells, increased to become the largest in India.
The boom in cotton production and utilization of semi–arid land leads the
agriculture growth rate of Gujarat to 10.97% in the period 2001–2010, the
highest among all Indian states.
The
Narendra Modi government also succeeded in bringing electricity to every
village in Gujarat.
In
his third term, progress was made on the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City project, considered as one of Modi's
pet projects.
Debate on
Gujarat's development under Modi
Modi's government has worked to brand Gujarat as a
state of dynamic development, economic growth and prosperity, using the slogan "Vibrant
Gujarat".
The economists Arvind Panagariya and Jagdish Bhagwati state that Gujarat's social indicator
improved from a much lower baseline than other Indian states. They state that
Gujarat's performance in raising literacy rates has been superior to other
states in India, and the "rapid" improvement of health indicators in
Gujarat as evidence that "its progress has not been poor by any means.”
In
2011, the Supreme Court complimented Gujarat Government for its land
acquisition policy as there were "no complaints of any forcible
acquisition."
Election
commission's cautioning
In 2007, Modi was cautioned by the Election Commission
of India for his speech
at Mangrol, in which he justified the extrajudicial
killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The Commission considered the speech
to be "indulging in an activity that might aggravate existing differences
between different communities."Modi had made this speech in response to Sonia Gandhi's speech calling him a "merchant of
death", referring to Sohrabuddin's killing. Amit Shah, a close aid of Modi's, was accused of being
involved in the killing.
Sadbhavana
mission and fasts
During late 2011 and early 2012, Modi
undertook a series of fasts as part of a Sadbhavna Mission (Goodwill Mission), meant to reach
out to the Muslim community in Gujarat. According to him, his fast would
"further strengthen Gujarat’s environment of peace, unity and
harmony."
The mission started on 17 September
2011 in Ahmedabad with a three-day fast. He subsequently observed 36 fasts in
26 districts and eight cities. However, these fasts were not well received by
all Muslims. For example
-
When Modi was offered to wear a skull
cap by a Muslim cleric( named Sayed Imam Shahi Saiyed of a Dargah in Piranawas), he refused
to wear it.
-
Another
example occurred when Modi was fasting in Godhra( the place where a train was
burnt that sparked the 2002 riots), a number of activists were detained for
allegedly planning rallies against Modi.
Press and public
relations
In 2011, on
banning Gujrati TV channel TV9 by Indian National Congress party, Modi
criticized it by saying that Journalists who speak against Congress are
blocked.
He was quick to realize the
potential of Twitter and Google + hangouts, and has been using these
effectively.On August 31, 2012, Modi interacted with netizens
on Google+
which was also broadcast live on YouTube. The event made Modi the first Indian
politician to interact with netizens through live chat on the internet.
Fourth
term (Dec 20, 2012–May 21, 2014)
In the 2012
Gujarat legislative assembly elections, Modi led BJP won 115 of the 182 seats,
continuing the majority that the party has had throughout Modi's tenure. On
compleation of his tenure as Chief Minister in Gujrat he completed his 4609
days.
He left this post
forAnandi Ben as he was chose the Prime Minister of the naton.
Central
politics
Path
to candidacy for Prime Minister
On March 31,
2013, Modi was appointed to the BJP Parliamentary Board, the highest
decision-making body of the party.
On June 9, 2013, Modi was appointed
Chairman of the BJP's Central Election Campaign Committee for the 2014 general
election. The party's senior leader and founding member Lal Krishna Advani
opposed this decision of the party and resigned from all his posts. However,
next day, he withdrew his resignation at the urge of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat.
He
focused his speeches on jobs, development, poverty and scams. He complained of
"illegal migrants" from Bangladesh, who he warned should "pack
their bags" once the BJP came to power.
In September 2013, BJP announced Modi
as their prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
2014
General Election Campaign
Narendra Modi
contested the election from two constituencies: Varanasi
and Vadodara.
His candidacy was supported by
spiritual leaders Ramdev and Morari Bapu, and by economists Jagdish Bhagwati and
Arvind Panagariya
Election
victory
On
May 16, 2014, with the announcement of results of 2014 Lok Sabha elections,
Narendra Modi emerged as an indisputable champion by delivering the party's
best results ever and in which the ruling Indian National Congress suffered its
worst ever defeat. His 282 seats of the 543 seats in lok Sabha for the
Bharatiya Janata Party mean that he's entirely independent of the allies.
Modi won from both seats he contested; defeating Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, in Varanasi and Madhusudhan Mistry of the Indian National Congress in Vadodara (by a margin of 5,70,128 votes, the second highest ever.
Modi won from both seats he contested; defeating Arvind Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party, in Varanasi and Madhusudhan Mistry of the Indian National Congress in Vadodara (by a margin of 5,70,128 votes, the second highest ever.
He will now serve
the nation as the Prime Minister, with the goal of implementing the Gujarat
model of development throughout the nation.
Modi is the first prime minister of India born
after the country's independence.
International diplomacy
To attract
foreign investment in Gujarat during his time as Chief Minister, Modi made
visits to countries such as China, Singapore and Japan.
He visited China
in November 2006 to study the Special Economic Zones that were
about to be implemented in Gujarat. He again visited in September 2007 and
later in November 2011. A month after his visit of 2011, the Chinese Government
released 13 diamond traders from India who had been jailed by the Shenzhen
Customs, which Modi attributed to his diplomatic efforts and statesmanship
Because
of the riots in Gujrat, as a international response US denied the
Hindu nationalist a visa.
In addition, the B-1/B-2 visa that had previously been granted to
him was also revoked.
In
2011, the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, impressed with the development of
Gujarat, invited Modi to visit Pakistan and address prominent business leaders.
They also asked him to consider a flight between Karachi and Ahmedabad, on
account of the historical cultural and economic relations between the two
regions of Gujarat and Sindh. Modi wanted to help Pakistan out of its power
crisis, especially in Sindh, suggesting Pakistan can follow the 'Gujarat Model'
in two ways — Gujarat Solar Park and Kalpasar Project.
Personality
and image
Modi is a
vegetarian. He has a frugal lifestyle with a personal staff of three. Narendra
Modi has come from a humble background and is known for his simple lifestyle.
He has a reputation of being a workaholic and introvert. He writes poems in Gujarati. As a speaker, he
is known as a crowd-puller. His 2-year long escapade into the Himalayas
and co-mingling with the yogic sadhus gave him a fair understanding of
Hinduism. That partly explains why people listen to him in rapt attention when
he talks of ideologies.
People of India want Narendra Modi as the
next PM because they seek a strong leadership that has a clear roadmap and
actionable plans ready for execution. According to empirical evidences, Gujarat
has been able to position itself as a lucrative destination for investment.
Under his era of leadership the level of corruption receded and technology
parks have been increased. His iconic call for "Minimum Government and
Maximum Governance" has frequently struck the chord with the masses.
Modi has tried to change his image from that of a Hindu Nationalist politician to that of a sincere administrator.
Modi has tried to change his image from that of a Hindu Nationalist politician to that of a sincere administrator.
In
August 2013, financial analyst Chris Wood, chief strategist of CLSA,
wrote in his weekly Greed & Fear that "the Indian stock
market's greatest hope is the emergence of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi
as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate".
Awards and recognitions
- Gujarat Ratna, conferred by Shri Poona Gujarati Bandhu Samaj
- e-Ratna award by the Computer Society of India
- Best Chief Minister, according to a 2006 India Todaysurvey
- Personality of the Year Award (Asia) for 2009 by the fDi magazine
- Featured on the cover of Time magazine (Asia) in March 2012