麻豆APP

Top 10 interesting facts about Narendra Modi

Born as Narendra Damodardas Modi on 17th September 1950, Modi is the 14th prime minister of India since assuming office in 2014.

He was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from Varanasi, a constituency in Northern India.

He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), which is a right-wing Hindu nationalist paramilitary volunteer organisation.

He is also the longest-serving prime minister from a non-Congress party.

1. Modi was the first prime minister to be born after India’s independence

Narendra Modi- Author; Government of India- Wikimedia

Narendra Modi is the first prime minister to have been born after India’s independence in 1947.

He was born 3 years after India attained freedom and within months of India becoming a Republic.

He was also the second prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to have won two consecutive majorities in the Lok Sabha, or as commonly known, the lower house of India’s parliament.

2. Was accused of condoning violence

Gujarat riots of 2002- Author; Aksi great-

His role as chief minister during communal riots that engulfed Gujarat in 2002 was questioned a great deal.

He was accused of condoning the violence by mostly doing little to stop the killing of more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims. The violence ensued after dozens of Hindu passengers died when their train was set on fire in the city of .

3. Modi was denied a diplomatic visa

Visa- Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

In 2005, the declined to issue him a diplomatic visa on grounds that he was responsible for the 2002 riots, and the United Kingdom also ended up criticizing his role in 2002.

Although he escaped any indictment or censure (either by the judiciary or by investigative agencies), some of his close associates were found guilty of complicity in the 2002 events and received lengthy jail sentences.

4. Narendra Modi was once accused of being involved in extrajudicial killings.

The administration of Modi was accused of their involvement in extrajudicial killings, variously termed 鈥渆苍肠辞耻苍迟别谤蝉鈥� or 鈥渇ake encounters鈥� by police or other authorities.

A case in point is the 2004 case involving the deaths of a woman and three men. Officials said that they were members of Lashkar-e-Taiba (a Pakistan-based terrorist organization that was involved in the ) and were to have been plotting to assassinate Modi.

5. Mostly sleeps in planes rather than hotel rooms

Photo by Gary Lopater on Unsplash

Reportedly, Modi tries to sleep in his plane rather than in hotel rooms while travelling. Before the pandemic, Modi had jam-packed tours with stops in multiple countries. Times of India quoted a government official saying that the prime minister only spends the night in a hotel if “there is an engagement scheduled the next day.”

He is known to be a workaholic who gets minimal sleep. Once in 2012, someone asked him how many hours he sleeps a day and he answered,  “I sleep very less. Yoga, Pranayama and deep breathing keep me energetic throughout the day!”

6. Oversaw the promotion of economic reforms

Ministry of Culture, India- Author; Swapnil1101- Wikimedia

As prime minister, Modi oversaw the promotion of Hindu and the implementation of economic reforms. The government undertook measures that would broadly appeal to Hindus, for instance, its attempt to ban the sale of cows for slaughter.

The economic reforms included introducing structural changes鈥攁nd temporary disruptions鈥攖hat could be felt nationwide. Among the most far-reaching was the demonetization and replacement of 500- and 1,000-rupee banknotes with only a few hours鈥� notice.

The main purpose of this was to stop 鈥渂lack money鈥濃�攃ash used for illicit activities鈥攂y making it difficult to exchange large sums of cash.

7. Modi’s political success made him indispensable

Narendra Modi- Image by Sambeet D from Pixabay

Narendra Modi鈥檚 repeated political success in Gujarat, made him an indispensable leader within the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hierarchy and led to his reintegration into the political mainstream.

Under his leadership, the BJP made a significant victory in the December 2002 legislative assembly elections, winning 127 of the 182 seats in the chamber (including a seat for Modi).

Projecting a for growth and development in Gujarat, the BJP was again victorious in the 2007 state assembly elections, with a seat total of 117, and the party prevailed again in the 2012 polls, garnering 115 seats. Both times Modi won his contests and returned as chief minister.

8. Narendra Modi came from a very humble background

Poverty in India- Author; Mingma tenzing sherpa-

Modi came from a family that belonged to the marginalized sections of society. They had to struggle to make ends meet. According to his profile in ‘Narendramodi.in,’  the family is said to have lived in a small single storey house, that was approximately 40 feet by 12 feet.

His father sold tea at the local railway station.

9. Went into forced hiding during the 1975 emergency

10. Appeared in Forbes Magazine

Logo of Forbes magazine by Forbes, Inc- Wikimedia

Modi ranked 15th in the 2014 Forbes Magazine list of most powerful people. In the same year, he was also ranked as the Person of the Year by Time magazine.

He has been included in Time magazine鈥檚 100 Most Influential People in the World, in the years 2014, 2015 and 2017.

Serving as India’s prime minister, Modi managed to build a great legacy and influence on India.