JOIN USFrom foggy past to focused future
From assisting his father at a tea stall on Vadnagar railway station to becoming the prime
minister of the world’s largest democracy, Narendra Damodardas Modi has seen a rise more
remarkable than any of his contemporaries in Indian politics. Along the way, he has inspired many, and managed to earn an equal number of detractors.
Coming from a humble background, Modi was one of the braver ones among his siblings, recalls his 94-year-old mother Hiraba.
Stories have it that on a stormy evening Modi swam in the village pond at Vadnagar and brought home a baby alligator, without knowing much about it, and showed his mother. She had to convince him to release it wherever he had found it.
Ambition, coupled with a focused attitude, saw the rise and rise of Modi. Sharp oratory skills, administrative attitude and being a workaholic: Taking full advantage of these traits, Modi has ensured that he is the undisputed leader of his party and the undisputed winner of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
He is a politician who has inspired authors to write about him and compelled television channels to discuss him. Whether it be his controversial decisions or his political acumen, newspapers have dedicated columns to him for more than a decade.
He is also has possibly the largest number of followers on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter.
Modi has ruled Gujarat for 13 years as chief minister, and now wants to implement the Gujarat model – as he calls it – in various parts of the country. The model has been questioned by social scientists and human rights activists, but that has not deterred Modi in any way.
In several interviews on TV during campaigning for the elections, Modi has said those who want to stay on the 2002 issue can continue to do so, but Gujarat and its people have moved on.
He is a leader from birth, many say.
His younger brother Pankaj Modi, who is with the Information Department in Gandhinagar, concurs. “Narendrabhai has been a decision-maker ever since he was a child; having decided once to leave home, he just left home, and at that time my parents say he was just a teenager,” said Pankaj.
Born on September 17, 1950, the 63-year-old has seen a fair share of controversies dogging him, be it regarding the handling of the post-Godhra riots or the fake encounter cases in the state which saw the arrest of several IPS officers and even his aide and former Minister of State for Home Amit Shah, who ended up becoming the architect of BJP’s victory.
But the political climb was not easy for Modi. His career started as an errand-boy for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), who later inducted him as a full-time member.
With the training he received from the RSS, he proved himself capable enough to be given the charge of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the BJP’s student wing.
While heading the ABVP, he simultaneously continued to pursue his post-graduate degree in political science from Gujarat University.
Though not much is known about his childhood and youth except that he used to participate in debates in school and that he was betrothed when quite young, but chose to walk away from the marriage and has remained a bachelor.
It was only recently, when he filed his nomination papers from Vadodara during the LS elections, that he admitted on record his marriage to Jashodaben, now a retired government school teacher who stays in Mehsana, North Gujarat.
After he parted ways with his family, there have been many tales about him, including his two year long escape to the Himalayas and mingling with sadhus, which reportedly gave him a fair understanding of Hinduism.
Political ascension
But it was his hard work and management skills that prompted L K Advani in 2001 to allow him to give direction to the election campaigns in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
Thus began the political rise of Modi. He was elected chief minister of Gujarat on October 7, 2001, and went on to win another two consecutive Assembly elections with almost the same number of seats.
“An image makeover, coupled with his sharp oratory skills, propelled him to a stature he has earned for himself,” says political commentator Vishnu Pandya, who has been seeing Modi since his days of youth.
It now remains to be seen how he delivers all that he has promised to the people of the nation, and silence his critics.