Modi was born and raised inVadnagar in northeasternGujarat, where he completed his secondary education. He was introduced to the RSS at the age of eight. At the age of 18, he was married toJashodaben Modi, whom he abandoned soon after, only publicly acknowledging her four decades later when legally required to do so. Modi became a full-time worker for the RSS in Gujarat in 1971. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he rose through the party hierarchy, becoming general secretary in 1998.[c] In 2001, Modi was appointed chief minister of Gujarat and elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration is considered complicit in the2002 Gujarat riots,[d] and has been criticised for its management of the crisis. According to official records, a little over 1,000 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim; independent sources estimated 2,000 deaths, mostly Muslim.[13] A Special Investigation Team appointed by theSupreme Court of India in 2012 found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against him.[e] While his policies as chief minister were credited for encouraging economic growth, his administration was criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state.[f]
Modi had infrequently worked as a child in his father's tea business on theVadnagar railway station platform, according to Modi and his neighbours.[49][50][51]
Modi completed hishigher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967; his teachers described him as an average student and a keen, gifted debater with an interest in theatre.[52] He preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image.[53][54]
When Modi was eight years old, he was introduced to theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its localshakhas (training sessions). There, he metLakshmanrao Inamdar, who inducted Modi as abalswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor.[55] While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda,Bharatiya Jana Sangh leaders who in 1980 helped found the BJP's Gujarat unit.[56] As a teenager, he was enrolled in theNational Cadet Corps.[57]
In a custom traditional to Narendra Modi's caste, his family arranged a betrothal toJashodaben Chimanlal Modi, leading to their marriage when she was 17 and he was 18.[58][59] Soon afterwards, he abandoned his wife,[60] and left home. The couple never divorced but the marriage was not in his public pronouncements for many decades.[59] In April 2014, shortly before the national election in which he gained power, Modi publicly affirmed he was married and that his spouse was Jashodaben.[61] A Modi biographer wrote that Modi kept the marriage a secret because he would not have been able to become apracharak in the RSS, for which celibacy had once been a requirement.[62][63]
Modi spent the following two years travelling across northern and north-eastern India.[64] In interviews, he has described visiting Hindu ashrams founded bySwami Vivekananda: theBelur Math nearKolkata, theAdvaita Ashrama inAlmora and theRamakrishna Mission inRajkot. His stays at each ashram were brief because he lacked the required college education.[65] Vivekananda has had a large influence in Modi's life.[66]
In Ahmedabad, Modi renewed his acquaintance with Inamdar, who was based at the Hedgewar Bhavan (RSS headquarters) in the city.[70][71][72] Modi's first-known political activity as an adult was in 1971 when he joined aJana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led byAtal Bihari Vajpayee to enlist to fight in theBangladesh Liberation War.[73][74] TheIndira Gandhi-led central government prohibited open support for theMukti Bahini; according to Modi, he was briefly held inTihar Jail.[75][76][77] After theIndo-Pakistani War of 1971, Modi left his uncle's employment and became a full-timepracharak (campaigner) for the RSS,[78] working under Inamdar.[79] Shortly before the war, Modi took part in a non-violent protest in New Delhi against the Indian government, for which he was arrested; because of this arrest, Inamdar decided to mentor Modi.[79] According to Modi, he was part of a Satyagraha that led to a political war.[76][i]
In June 1975, Prime MinisterIndira Gandhi declared astate of emergency in India that lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "the Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned.[92][93] Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee coordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned.[94] Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest, once dressing as a monk and once as aSikh.[95] He became involved in the printing of pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations.[96][97] He was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals who were wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists.[98] During this period, Modi wrote aGujarati-language book titledSangharsh Ma Gujarat (In the Struggles of Gujarat), which describes events during the Emergency.[99][100] While in this role, Modi met trade unionist and socialist activistGeorge Fernandes and several other national political figures.[101]
Modi became an RSSsambhag pracharak (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing activities inSurat andVadodara, and in 1979, he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he researched and wrote the RSS's history of the Emergency. Shortly after, he returned to Gujarat and in 1985, the RSS assigned him to the BJP. In 1987, Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the party won comfortably; according to biographers, Modi's planning was responsible for the win.[102][103] AfterL. K. Advani became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the party; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role. Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987.[104]
Modi rose within the party and was named a member of its National Election Committee in 1990, helping organise Advani'sRam Rath Yatra in 1990 andMurli Manohar Joshi's 1991–1992Ekta Yatra (Journey for Unity).[52][105][106] Modi took a brief break from politics in 1992 to establish a school in Ahmedabad, and due to friction withShankersinh Vaghela, a BJP MP from Gujarat.[106] Modi returned to electoral politics in 1994, partly at the insistence of Advani; as party secretary, Modi's electoral strategy was considered central to the BJP victory in the1995 state assembly election.[107][108] In November of that year, Modi was appointed BJP national secretary and transferred to New Delhi, where he assumed responsibility for party activities inHaryana andHimachal Pradesh.[109] The following year, Shankersinh Vaghela, a prominent BJP leader from Gujarat, defected to theIndian National Congress[k] after losing his parliamentary seat in the Lok Sabha election.[52] Modi, who was on the selection committee for the1998 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election, favoured supporters of BJP leaderKeshubhai Patel over those supporting Vaghela to end factional division in the party. His strategy was credited as central to the BJP winning an overall majority in the 1998 election,[110] and Modi was promoted to BJP general secretary (organisation) in May of that year.[111]
In 2001,Keshubhai Patel's health was failing, and the BJP lost a few state assembly seats inby-elections. Allegations of abuse of power, corruption and poor administration were made, and Patel's standing had been damaged by his administration's handling of theearthquake in Bhuj in 2001.[110][112][113] The BJP national leadership sought a new candidate for the chief ministership, and Modi, who had expressed misgivings about Patel's administration, was chosen as a replacement.[52] Advani did not want to ostracise Patel and was concerned about Modi's lack of experience in government. Modi declined an offer to become Patel'sdeputy chief minister, telling Advani andAtal Bihari Vajpayee he was "going to be fully responsible for Gujarat or not at all". On 3 October 2001, Modi replaced Patel as Chief Minister of Gujarat with the responsibility of preparing the BJP for the upcoming December 2002 election.[114] On 7 October, Modi was sworn in[115] and he entered the Gujarat state legislature on 24 February 2002 after winning a by-election inRajkot II constituency, defeating Ashwin Mehta of the INC.[116]
On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengersburned near Godhra, killing approximately 60 people.[l][119] The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims who were returning fromAyodhya after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolishedBabri Masjid.[120][121] In a public statement, Modi said local Muslims were responsible for the incident.[10][120][122] The next day, theVishwa Hindu Parishad called for abandh (general strike) across the state.[123][124] Riots began during thebandh andanti-Muslim violence spread through Gujarat.[120][123][124] The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence.[120][125] The state government later stated 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed during the riots;[121] independent sources put the death toll at over 2,000,[120][119][126] the vast majority of them Muslims.[119] Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps.[127] Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilation of women.[9][128]
Scholars consider theGovernment of Gujarat to have been complicit in the riots,[10][129] and it has received much criticism for its handling of the situation;[130] some scholars explicitly blame Modi.[9][131][132] The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets; these measures failed to prevent the violence from escalating.[123][124] The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for thebandh despite such actions being illegal at the time.[10] State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, which were often unable to meet the needs of those living there.[133] Muslim victims of the riots were subjected to further discrimination when the state government announced their compensation would be half that offered to Hindu victims; this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court.[134] During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able.[9][122][135] Several scholars have described the violence as apogrom and others have called it an example ofstate terrorism.[136][137][138] According toMartha Nussbaum, "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law".[9]
Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, he said, "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction".[9] Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode.[139] In March 2008, theSupreme Court of India reopened several cases related to the riots, including that of theGulbarg Society massacre, and established aSpecial Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue.[130][140][141] In response to a petition fromZakia Jafri, the widow ofEhsan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre, in April 2009, the court also asked the SIT to investigate Modi's complicity in the killings.[140] The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him.[140][142] In July 2011, the court-appointedamicus curiaeRaju Ramachandran submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, Ramachandran said Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence.[143][144] The Supreme Court sent the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013, the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding there was no evidence against Modi.[145] In 2022, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition by Zakia Jafri in which she challenged the clean chit given to Modi in the riots by the SIT, and upheld previous rulings that no evidence against him was found.[146][147][148]
Following the violence, calls for Modi to resign as chief minister were made from politicians within and outside the state, including leaders ofDravida Munnetra Kazhagam and theTelugu Desam Party—partners in the BJP-ledNational Democratic Alliance coalition—and opposition parties stalled Parliament over the issue.[149] Modi submitted his resignation at the April 2002 BJP national executive meeting in Goa but it was not accepted.[150] Despite opposition from the election commissioner, who said a number of voters were still displaced, Modi succeeded in advancing the election to December 2002.[151] In the election, the BJP won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly.[152] Modi made significant use ofanti-Muslim rhetoric during his campaign,[153][154][155][156] and the BJP profited from religious polarisation among voters.[151] Modi framed the criticism of his government for human rights violations as an attack upon Gujarati pride,[8][153] a strategy that led to the BJP winning 127 of the 182[152] seats—a two-thirds majority—in the state assembly.[8][153] He wonManinagar constituency, defeating Congress candidate Yatin Oza.[157] On 22 December 2002, Modi was sworn in for a second term.[158]
During Modi's second term, the government's rhetoric shifted fromHindutva to Gujarat's economic development.[112][8][153] He curtailed the influence ofSangh Parivar organisations such asBharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) andVishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).[159] When the BKS staged a farmers' demonstration, Modi ordered the BKS's eviction from state-provided houses, and his decision to demolish 200 illegal temples inGandhinagar deepened the rift with the VHP.[159][160] Modi retained connections with some Hindu nationalists. He wrote a foreword to a 2014 textbook byDinanath Batra, which made the unscientific claim that ancient India possessed technologies includingtest-tube babies.[161][162]
Modi's relationship with Muslims continued to attract criticism. Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee distanced himself, reaching out to North Indian Muslims before the2004 Indian general election, following which, Vajpayee called the violence in Gujarat a reason for the BJP's electoral defeat and said it had been a mistake to leave Modi in office after the riots.[163][164] Western nations also raised questions about Modi's relationship with Muslims: the USState Department barred him from entering the United States in accordance with the recommendations of that country'sCommission on International Religious Freedom,[165][166] the only person to bedenied a US visa under this law.[165] The UK and theEuropean Union (EU) refused to admit Modi because of what they saw as his role in the riots. As Modi rose to prominence in India, the UK[167] and the EU[168] lifted their bans in October 2012 and March 2013, respectively, and after his election as prime minister in 2014, the US lifted its ban and invited him toWashington, D.C.[169][170]
During the run-up to the2007 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election and the2009 Indian general election, the BJP intensified its rhetoric on terrorism.[171] Modi criticised Prime MinisterManmohan Singh "for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislation" such as the 2002Prevention of Terrorism Act.[172] In 2007, Modi wroteKarmayog, a 101-page booklet discussing manual scavenging. In it, he said scavenging is a "spiritual experience" forValmiks, a sub-caste ofDalits.[173][174] The book was not circulated at that time because of theelection code of conduct.[175] After the November2008 Mumbai attacks, the Gujarat government authorised the deployment of 30 high-speed boats for coastal surveillance.[176] In July 2007, Modi completed 2,063 consecutive days as chief minister of Gujarat, making him the longest-serving holder of that post.[177] The BJP won 122 of 182 state-assembly seats in that year's election.[178]
Despite the BJP's shift away from explicit Hindutva, Modi's campaigns in2007 and2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly elections contained elements of Hindu nationalism. He attended only Hindu religious ceremonies and had prominent associations with Hindu religious leaders. During his 2012 campaign, Modi twice refused to wearskullcap gifted by Muslim leaders.[153] He did, however, maintain relations withDawoodi Bohra.[153] Modi's 2012 campaign included references to issues known to cause religious polarisation, includingAfzal Guru and thedeath of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. The BJP did not nominate any Muslim candidates for the 2012 assembly election.[153] During the 2012 campaign, Modi attempted to identify himself with the state of Gujarat, a strategy similar to that used by Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, and projected himself as protecting Gujarat against persecution by the rest of India.[153] While campaigning for the 2012 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election, Modi made extensive use of holograms and other technologies, allowing him to reach a large number of people,[151] something he repeated in the 2014 general election. Modi won the constituency of Maninagar, defeating Shweta Bhatt of the INC.[179] The BJP won 115 of the 182 seats, continuing its majority during his tenure.[180] Afterhis election as Prime Minister of India, Modi resigned as the Gujarat chief minister and as MLA for Maninagar.Anandiben Patel succeeded Modi as chief minister.[181]
As chief minister, Modi favoured privatisation andsmall government, which was at odds with the philosophy of the RSS, which is usually described as anti-privatisation and anti-globalisation. Modi's policies during his second term have been credited with reducing corruption in Gujarat. He established financial and technology parks in the state and during the 2007Vibrant Gujarat summit, real-estate investment deals worth₹6.6 trillion (equivalent to₹20 trillion or US$230 billion in 2023) were signed.[112]
The governments led by Patel and Modi supported NGOs and communities in the creation of groundwater-conservation projects. By December 2008, 500,000 structures had been built, of which 113,738 werecheck dams, which helped recharge the aquifers beneath them.[182] Sixty of the 112tehsils which had depleted thewater table in 2004 had regained their normal groundwater levels by 2010.[183] As a result, the state's production ofgenetically modified cotton increased to become the largest in India.[182] The boom in cotton production and its semi-arid land use[184] led to Gujarat's agricultural sector growing at an average rate of 9.6 per cent from 2001 to 2007.[185] Public irrigation measures in central and southern Gujarat, such as theSardar Sarovar Dam, were less successful. The Sardar Sarovar project irrigated only 4–6% of the area intended.[182] In 2008, Modi offered land in Gujarat toTata Motors to set up a plant manufacturing theNano car after popular agitation had forced thecompany to move out of West Bengal. Following Tata, several other companies relocated to Gujarat.[186]
The Modi government finished the process of taking electricity to every village in Gujarat its predecessor had almost completed.[187] Modi significantly changed the state's system of power distribution, greatly impacting farmers. Gujarat expanded theJyotigram Yojana scheme, in which agricultural electricity was separated from other rural electricity; the agricultural electricity was rationed to fit scheduled irrigation demands, reducing its cost. Early protests by farmers ended when those who benefitted found their electricity supply had stabilised[182] but, according to an assessment study, corporations and large farmers benefited from the policy at the expense of small farmers and labourers.[188]
A contentious debate surrounds the assessment of Gujarat's economic development during Modi's tenure as chief minister.[189] The state'sGross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate averaged 10% during his tenure, a rate similar to those of other highly industrialised states, and above that of India as a whole.[186] Gujarat also had a high rate of economic growth in the 1990s, before Modi took office; some scholars have stated growth did not much accelerate during his tenure.[190] Under Modi, Gujarat topped theWorld Bank's "ease of doing business" rankings among Indian states for two consecutive years.[191] In 2013, a report measuring governance, growth, citizens' rights, and labour and business regulation among the country's 20 largest states, ranked Gujarat first among Indian states for "economic freedom".[186][192] In the later years of Modi's government, Gujarat's economic growth was frequently used as an argument to counter allegations of communalism.[8] Tax breaks and land for businesses were easier to obtain in Gujarat than in other states. Modi's policies of making Gujarat attractive for investment included the creation ofSpecial Economic Zones in which labour laws were greatly weakened.[153]
Despite its growth rate, Gujarat had a relatively poor record on human development, poverty relief, nutrition and education during Modi's tenure. In 2013, Gujarat ranked 13th in India with respect to rates of poverty, and 21st in education. Nearly 45 per cent of children under five were underweight and 23 per cent were undernourished, putting the state in the "alarming" category on theIndia State Hunger Index.[193][194] A study byUNICEF and the Indian government found Gujarat under Modi had a poor record inimmunisation of children.[195]
From 2001 to 2011, Gujarat did not change its position relative to the rest of the country with respect to poverty and female literacy, remaining near the median of the 29 Indian states.[134] It showed a marginal improvement in rates of infant mortality and its position with respect to individual consumption declined.[134] The quality of education in government schools in Gujarat ranked below that of many Indian states.[134] The state government's social policies generally did not benefit Muslims,Dalits andAdivasis, and generally increased social inequalities.[134] Development in Gujarat was generally limited to the urban middle class, and citizens in rural areas and those from lower castes were increasingly marginalised. In 2013, the state ranked 10th of 21 Indian states in theHuman Development Index.[12] Under Modi, the state government spent less than the national average on education and healthcare.[134]
During its raids in 2013 and 2014, theCBI seized some diaries from two big Indian companies,Sahara Group andAditya Birla Group. These diaries contained references of alleged payments made to leaders belonging to as many as 18 political parties including BJP, Congress, JDU, BJD etc.[196][197] Among these were some entries mentioning "Gujarat CM" and "Ahmadabad Modiji".[198][199][197] Citing these entries, on 21 December 2016, the opposition leaderRahul Gandhi alleged that Modi received cash bribes worth₹65 crore (US$7.6 million) from Sahara Group and Aditya Birla Group when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.[200][201] In November 2016, advocatePrashant Bhushan filed a plea in theSupreme Court of India asking for investigation of the alleged bribe payments made to senior public servants including Modi.[202][203] A Supreme Court bench headed by JusticeArun Kumar Mishra dismissed the plea in January 2017 stating that the evidence provided was insufficient.[204][205] Later on, Justice Mishra was criticised by a section of advocates and activists for siding with the Modi government in multiple judgements during his tenure at the Supreme Court.[206][207]The Wire questioned the manner in which the Supreme Court buried the Sahara-Birla diaries' investigation.[208]
In September 2013, Modi wasnamed the BJP's candidate for prime minister ahead of the2014 Lok Sabha election.[209][210] Several BJP leaders,[211] including BJP founding member L. K. Advani who cited concern with leaders who were "concerned with their personal agendas", expressed opposition to Modi's candidature.[212] Modi played a dominant role in the BJP's 2009 general election campaign.[213][214] Several people who voted for the BJP stated they would have voted for another party if Modi had not been the prime-ministerial candidate.[209][215][216] The focus on Modi as an individual was unusual for a BJP election campaign.[211][217] The election was described as a referendum on Narendra Modi.[189]
During the campaign, Modi focused on corruption scandals under the previous Congress government, and played on his image as a politician who had created a high rate of GDP growth in Gujarat.[211] He projected himself as a person who could bring about "development" without focusing on specific policies.[211] His message found support among young and middle-class people. The BJP under Modi was able to downplay concerns about the protection of religious minorities and Modi's commitment to secularism, areas in which he had previously received criticism.[214] Prior to the election, Modi's media image had centred around his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots but during the campaign, the BJP focused on Modi'sneoliberal ideology and the Gujarat model of development.[214] The BJP sought to identify itself with political leaders who publicly opposedHindu nationalism, includingB. R. Ambedkar,Subhas Chandra Bose andRam Manohar Lohia.[162] Hindutva remained a part of the campaign; BJP leaders used Hindutva-based rhetoric in several states.[218][211][215][41] Communal tensions were played upon, especially in Uttar Pradesh andNortheast India.[218] A proposal for the controversialUniform Civil Code was a part of the BJP's election manifesto.[41]The BJP's campaign was assisted by its wide influence in the media.[194] Modi's campaign blitz cost around₹50 billion (US$580 million)[189] and the BJP received extensive financial support from corporate donors.[219] In addition to more-conventional campaign methods, Modi made extensive use of social media[189][211] and addressed more than 1,000 rallies via hologram appearances.[41]
The BJP won 31 per cent of the vote,[40] and more-than-doubled its number of seats in the Lok Sabha to 282, becoming the first party to win a majority of seats on its own since1984.[214][215] Voter dissatisfaction with the Congress and with regional parties in North India, and support from the RSS were reasons for the BJP's success.[215][211] In states such as Uttar Pradesh, where the BJP performed well, it drew exceptionally high support from upper-caste Hindus, and its Muslim vote increased to 10 per cent. The BJP performed particularly well in parts of the country that had recently experienced violence between Hindus and Muslims.[215] The magnitude of the BJP's victory led many commentators to say the election constituted a political realignment away fromprogressive parties towards the right-wing.[41][189][215][220][221] Modi's tweet announcing his victory was described as being emblematic of the political realignment away from a secular, socialist state towards capitalism and Hindu cultural nationalism.[222]
Modi was a candidate for the Lok Sabha constituenciesVaranasi andVadodara.[223] He won in both constituencies, defeatingAam Aadmi Party leaderArvind Kejriwal in Varanasi by 371,784 votes andMadhusudan Mistry of the Congress in Vadodara by 570,128 votes.[224] India's president appointed Modi, who was unanimously elected leader of the BJP, Prime Minister of India.[225][226] To comply with the law prohibiting MPs from representing more than one constituency, he vacated the Vadodara seat.[227]
On 13 October 2018, Modi was named the BJP candidate for prime minister in the2019 general election.[228] The BJP's chief campaigner was its presidentAmit Shah. Modi launched the party'sMain Bhi Chowkidar ("I too am a watchman") campaign ahead of the general election, against the INC's campaign sloganChowkidar Chor Hai ("The watchman is a thief").[229] In 2018, theTelugu Desam Party split from the NDA over the campaign for special status forAndhra Pradesh.[230]
Modi contested the Lok Sabha election as a candidate forVaranasi; he won the seat by a margin of 479,505 votes, defeating Shalini Yadav of theSamajwadi Party (SP), who stood as a candidate for the SP-BSP alliance.[234][235] Modi was unanimously appointed prime minister for a second time by theNational Democratic Alliance[236] after the alliance won the election for the second time with 353 seats in the Lok Sabha; the BJP alone won 303 seats.[237][238]
In November 2023, Modi was named the BJP candidate for prime minister in the2024 general election.[239] The BJP's chief campaigner was its home ministerAmit Shah and PresidentJ. P. Nadda.[240] Modi launched the party's "Modi Ki Guarantee" ("Modi's assurance")[241] campaign ahead of the general election, against the INC's guarantees campaigns, that led to the party's enormous victories in the assembly elections ofKarnataka andTelangana.[242]
Modi contested the Lok Sabha election as a candidate forVaranasi for the third consecutive time; he won the seat by a margin of 152,513 votes, defeatingAjay Rai of the INC, who contested as a candidate for the SP-INC alliance. His victory margin was the second lowest ever (in percentage points) for a sitting Prime Minister in India.[243][244] TheNational Democratic Alliance secured a total of 292 seats, 20 seats ahead of simple majority, and the BJP solely winning 240 seats.[245] Modi thanked the voters for reposing faith in his government for the 3rd consecutive time.[246]
Modi addressing the Nation on the occasion of 74th Independence Day from the ramparts ofRed Fort, inDelhi on 15 August 2020.
Modi's first year as PM saw significant centralisation of power.[162][249] Modi, who initially lacked a majority in theRajya Sabha, the upper house of Indian Parliament, passed a number of ordinances to enact his policies, leading to further centralisation of power.[250] His administration enacted a bill to increase its control over the appointment of judges and reducing that of thejudiciary.[40] In December 2014, he abolished thePlanning Commission, replacing it with theNational Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog),[251][252] concentrating the power previously with the planning commission in the person of the PM.[250][253][254] The Planning Commission had in previous years been criticised for creating inefficiency in the government and of not fulfilling its role of improving social welfare but since theeconomic liberalisation of the 1990s, it had been the major government body responsible for measures related to social justice.[252][255]In its first year of administration, the Modi government launched investigations through theIntelligence Bureau into numerous civil society organisations and foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on the grounds these organisations were slowing economic growth. The investigations were criticised as awitch hunt. International humanitarian aid organisationMedecins Sans Frontieres, and environmental nonprofit organisationSierra Club andAvaaz were among the groups that were investigated.[162][253] Cases of sedition and terrorism laws were filed against individuals who criticised the government.[162][256] This led to discontent within the BJP about his style of functioning and drew comparisons to the governing style of Indira Gandhi.[162][250]
Modi repealed 1,200 obsolete laws in first three years as prime minister; 1,301 such laws had been repealed by previous governments in the previous 64 years.[257][258][259] Modi launched theDigital India programme with the goal of ensuring government services are available electronically, build infrastructure to provide high-speed Internet access to rural areas, boost manufacturing of electronic goods in the country, and promotedigital literacy.[260][261]
In 2019, a law to reserve 10 per cent of educational admission and government jobs for economically disadvantaged individuals was passed.[262][263] In 2016, Modi's administration launched theUjjwala scheme to provide freeliquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections to rural households. The scheme led to an additional 24% of Indian households having access to LPG in 2019 as compared to 2014.[264] In 2022, the government eliminated LPG subsidies for all citizens except those covered by the Ujjwala program.[265]
In 2023, the Modi administration issued a notification constituting a high-level committee onOne Nation, One Election, a proposal aimed to synchronise all elections in the country either on a single day or within a specific time frame.[266] In September 2024, the bill for One Nation, One Election was approved by the Modi Cabinet.[267][268][269]
Since May 2023, ethnic tensions between some groups have resulted inviolent clashes inManipur. After 1 month of the violence, nearly 100 were killed and more than 36,000 people were displaced.[270] Modi has been criticised for his lack of reaction towards the violence.[271]
Links between the BJP and theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) grew stronger under Modi. The RSS provided organisational support to the BJP's electoral campaigns while the Modi administration appointed RSS-affiliated individuals to prominent government positions.[284] In 2014,Yellapragada Sudershan Rao, who had previously been associated with the RSS, became the chairperson of theIndian Council of Historical Research (ICHR).[41] Historians and former members of the ICHR, including those sympathetic to the BJP, questioned Rao's credentials as a historian and stated the appointment was part of an agenda of cultural nationalism.[41][285][286] During its first term, the Modi administration appointed other RSS members to lead universities and research institutions, and recruitment of faculty members favouring the RSS increased. According to scholarsNandini Sundar and Kiran Bhatty, many of these appointees did not possess the qualifications for their positions.[287] The Modi administration also made numerous changes in government-approved history textbooks that de-emphasised the role ofJawaharlal Nehru and glorified that of Modi while also portraying Indian society as harmonious, and without conflict and inequity.[287][288]
In 2019, the Modi administration passed acitizenship law that provides a route to Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis or Christians,[289][290] but does not grant eligibility to Muslims.[291][292][293] This was first time religion had been overtly used as a criterion for citizenship under Indian law; it attracted global criticism and prompted widespreadprotests that were halted by theCOVID-19 pandemic.[287][293][294] Counter-demonstrations against the protests developed into the2020 Delhi riots, caused chiefly by Hindu mobs attacking Muslims.[295][296] Fifty-three people were killed in the protests, two-thirds of whom were Muslim.[297][298][299][300][301] On 5 August 2020, Modi visitedAyodhya after theSupreme Court in 2019 orderedcontested land in Ayodhya to be handed to a trust to build a Hindu temple and ordered the government to give alternative 5 acres (2.0 ha) of land to theSunni Waqf Board for the purpose of building a mosque.[302] Modi became the first PM to visit temples atRam Janmabhoomi andHanuman Garhi.[303]
Soon after Modi returned to power in 2019, he took three actions the RSS had long called for.[287] The practice ofTriple Talaq was made illegal and became a punishable act from 1 August 2019.[304][305][306] The administration repealedArticle 370 of the Indian constitution that granted autonomy toJammu and Kashmir, and alsoabrogated its statehood, reorganising it into theunion territoriesJammu and Kashmir, andLadakh.[287][307] The region was placed undera lockdown and internet services were suspended and were not completely restored until February 2021.[308] Thousands of people, including hundreds of political leaders, were detained.[309][310][311][312] The Supreme Court of India did not hear constitutional challenges to the reorganisation or the Citizenship Amendment Act. According to Bhatty and Sundar, this is an example of the subversion of the Supreme Court and other major institutions, which were filled with appointees favouring the BJP.[287]
During his campaign for2024 Indian general election, Modi referred toMuslims as infiltrators with many children who would take India's wealth, if his political opponents gained power.[313][314] In a later interview, Modi said that regardless of the social class, there are more children in neighbourhoods plagued by poverty. He said he made no mention of Muslim or Hindu in his campaign speech.[315][316] However, factcheckers have refuted this claim of Modi and found numerous instances across his election campaign where he communally targeted the Muslims.[317][318]
The Modi government's economic policies focused on privatisation and liberalisation of the economy, and were based on aneoliberal framework.[253][319] Modi liberalised India'sforeign direct investment policies, allowing more foreign investment in several industries, including defence and railways.[253][320][321] Other proposed reforms included making the forming of unions more difficult for workers, and making recruitment and dismissal easier for employers;[319] some of these proposals were abandoned after protests.[322] The reforms drew strong opposition from unions: on 2 September 2015, eleven of the country's largest unions—including one affiliated with the BJP—struck.[319] TheBharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (Indian Workers Union), a constituent of theSangh Parivar (Family of the RSS), stated the underlying motivation of labour reforms favoured corporations over labourers.[253]
The funds dedicated to poverty-reduction programmes and social welfare measures were greatly reduced by Modi's administration.[162] The money spent on social programmes declined from 14.6 per cent of GDP during the previous Congress government to 12.6 per cent during Modi's first year in office, and spending on health and family welfare declined by 15 per cent.[253] The government lowered corporate taxes, abolished thewealth tax, increased sales taxes, and reduced customs duties on gold and jewellery.[253] In October 2014, the Modi government deregulated diesel prices.[323] During Modi's first term, his government reduced spending on education as share of the budget: over five years, education spending dropped from 0.7 per cent of GDP to 0.5 per cent.[324][325][326] The percentage of the budget spent on children's nutrition, education, health, and associated programmes was almost halved between 2014 and 2022.[327] Capital expenditure on transport infrastructure significantly rose, increasing from less than 0.4 per cent of GDP in 2014 to 1.7 per cent in 2023.[328]
In September 2014, Modi introduced theMake in India initiative to encourage foreign companies to manufacture products in India with the goal of turning the country into a global manufacturing hub.[253][329] Supporters of economic liberalisation supported the initiative but critics said it would allow foreign corporations to capture a greater share of the Indian market.[253] Modi's administration passed a land-reform bill that allowed it to acquire private agricultural land without conducting a social impact assessment, and without the consent of the farmers who owned it.[330] The bill was passed via an executive order after it faced opposition in Parliament but was eventually allowed to lapse.[250] Modi's government passed theGoods and Services Tax, the biggest tax reform in the country since independence, subsuming around 17 taxes and became effective on 1 July 2017.[331]
In his first cabinet decision, Modi set up a team to investigateblack money.[332] On 9 November 2016, the governmentdemonetised ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes with the intention of curbing corruption, black money, terrorism and the use of counterfeit currency.[333] The move led to severe cash shortages,[334][335][336] and a steep decline in the Indian stock indicesBSE SENSEX andNIFTY 50,[337] and sparked widespread protests throughout the country.[338] It is estimated 1.5 million jobs were lost and that one per cent of the country's GDP was wiped out.[339] Several deaths were linked to the rush to exchange cash.[340][341] In the subsequent year, the number of income tax returns filed for individuals rose by 25 per cent and the number of digital transactions steeply increased.[342][343]
Modi's administration has observed a decline in GDP growth and increasing joblessness compared to the previous administration underManmohan Singh.[344] During the first eight years of Modi's premiership, India's GDP grew at an average rate of 5.5 per cent compared to the rate of 7.03 per cent under the previous government.[345] Income inequality increased.[346] An internal government report said in 2017, unemployment increased to its highest level in 45 years. The loss of jobs was attributed to the 2016 banknote demonetisation, and the effects of theGoods and Services Tax.[347][348] GDP growth was 6.12 per cent in the 2018–19financial year, with an inflation rate of 3.4 per cent.[349] In the year 2019–20, theGDP growth rate slowed to 4.18 per cent, while inflation increased to 4.7 per cent.[350] The Indian economy shrunk by 6.6 per cent during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–21, and was estimated to grow at 8.2 per cent the following financial year.[351]
In his first year as prime minister, Modi reduced the central government's healthcare spending.[195] In January 2015, the Modi government launched its New Health Policy (NHP), which did not increase the government's spending on healthcare but emphasised the role of private healthcare organisations. This represented a shift away from the policy of the previous Congress government, which had supported programmes to assist public health goals, including a reduction in child and maternal mortality rates.[352] TheNational Health Mission, which included public health programmes targeted at these indices, received nearly 20 per cent less funding[353][354] in 2015 than in the previous year. The Modi administration reduced the healthcare budget by a further 15% in its second year.[355] The healthcare budget for the following year rose by 19%; private insurance providers positively viewed the budget but public health experts criticised its emphasis on the role of private healthcare providers and said it represented a shift away from public health facilities.[356] The healthcare budget rose by 11.5% in 2018; the change included an allocation of₹20 billion (US$230 million) for agovernment-funded health insurance program and a decrease in the budget of theNational Health Mission.[357]
Modi discussing theCOVID-19 pandemic with Chief Ministers via videoconferencing in June 2020
Modi emphasised his government's efforts at sanitation as a means of ensuring good health.[352] On 2 October 2014, Modi launched theSwachh Bharat Mission ("Clean India") campaign. The campaign's stated goals included the elimination ofopen defecation andmanual scavenging within five years.[358][359] As part of the programme, the Indian government began constructing millions of toilets in rural areas and encouraging people to use them.[360][361][362] The government also announced plans to build new sewage treatment plants,[363] and planned to construct 60 million toilets by 2019. The construction projects faced allegations of corruption and severe difficulty in getting people to use the newly constructed toilets.[359][360][361] Sanitation cover in India increased from 38.7% in October 2014 to 84.1% in May 2018 but use of the new sanitary facilities was lower than the government's targets.[364] In 2018, theWorld Health Organization (WHO) stated at least 180,000 diarrhoeal deaths in rural India were averted after the launch of the sanitation effort.[365]
In March 2020, in response to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the Modi administration invoked theEpidemic Diseases Act, 1897 andDisaster Management Act, 2005.[366][367] The same month, all commercial domestic and international flights were suspended.[368] Modi announced a 14-hour curfew on 22 March,[369] and followed with a three-week "total lockdown" two days later.[370][371] Restrictions were gradually lifted beginning in April, and were completely revoked in November 2020.[368][372][373] A second wave of the pandemic that began in March 2021 was significantly more devastating than the first; some parts of India experienced shortages of vaccines, hospital beds,oxygen cylinders and other medical supplies.[374] In late April India reported over 400,000 cases in a 24-hour period, the first country to do so.[375] India began itsvaccination programme in January 2021;[376][377] in January 2022, India announced it had administered about 1.7 billion doses of vaccines and that more than 720 million people were fully vaccinated.[378] In May 2022, the WHO estimated 4.7 million people had died of COVID-19 in India, mostly during the second wave in mid 2021—almost 10 times the Indian government's estimate. The Modi administration rejected the WHO's estimate.[25][26]
Foreign policy played a small role in Modi's election campaign and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto.[379] Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding Congress government, focused on improving economic ties, security and regional relations.[379] Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment".[379] The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "Make in India" and "Digital India". The government also tried to improve relations withIslamic nations in the Middle East, such asBahrain,Iran,Saudi Arabia and theUnited Arab Emirates, as well as withIsrael.[m]
India's relationship with the United States improved after Narendra Modi became PM.[381] During the run-up to the general election, there was wide-ranging scepticism about future of the strategic bilateral relationship under Modi's premiership; in 2005, whileChief Minister of Gujarat, Modi was denied a US visa during thepresidency of George W. Bush for his poor human-rights record.[165][166] Sensing Modi's victory well before the election,US Ambassador to IndiaNancy Powell contacted Modi as part of greaterrapprochement from the West. Following Modi's 2014 appointment as India's PM,President Obama congratulated him over the telephone and invited Modi to visit the US.[382] The Modi government enjoyed a positive relationship with the US during the presidencies of Barack Obama and his successorDonald Trump.[383][384]
Modi and Russian PresidentVladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia, 9 July 2024
During the first few months after his appointment as PM, Modi visited a number of countries in support of his policy, and attended theBRICS,ASEAN andG20 summits.[379] One of Modi's first visits as PM was to Nepal, during which he promised one billion US dollars in aid.[385] Modi also made several visits to the US;[386] this was described as an unexpected development because of the US's earlier denial of a US travel visa to Modi over his role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. The visits were expected to strengthen diplomatic and trade relations between the two countries.[386]
In 2015, the Indian parliament ratified a land-exchange deal with Bangladesh in theIndia–Bangladesh enclaves, which the government of Manmohan Singh had initiated.[250] Modi's administration brought renewed attention to India's "Look East Policy", which was instituted in 1991. The policy, which was renamed the "Act East Policy", involved directing Indian foreign policy towards East Asia andSoutheast Asia.[387] The government signed agreements to improve land connectivity withMyanmar through the Indian state ofManipur; this represented a break with India's historic engagement with Myanmar, which prioritised border security over trade.[387]China–India relations rapidly deteriorated following the2020 China–India skirmishes.[388] Modi pledged aid of $900 million to Afghanistan, which he visited twice and was honoured with Afghanistan's highest civilian honour in 2016.[389][390] In September 2022, Modi appeared to have developed a strong personal relationship with Russia's PresidentVladimir Putin.[391][392][393]
G20 Presidency
India hosted the2023 G20 New Delhi summit, during which theAfrican Union joined the G20 as a permanent member.[394] In an interview on 26 August 2023, Prime Minister Modi expressed optimism about the G20 countries' evolving agenda under India's presidency, shifting toward a human-centric development approach that aligns with the concerns of theGlobal South, including addressingclimate change,debt restructuring through the G20's Common Framework for Debt, and a strategy for regulation of globalcryptocurrencies.[395][396][397] Modi's government faced scrutiny in the lead-up to the G20 meeting as multiple news sources reported that Indian authorities demolishedslum neighbourhoods inNew Delhi, displacing marginalised residents.[398][399][400]
India's nominal military spending steadily increased under Modi.[401] During Modi's tenure, the military budget declined, both as a fraction of GDP and when adjusted for inflation.[402][403] A substantial portion of the military budget was devoted to personnel costs commentators wrote the budget was constraining Indian military modernisation.[402][404][403]
Under Modi, India launched military modernisation initiative aimed at strengthening defence preparedness and streamlining defence acquisition.[405] Modi launched new policies under the "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" campaign, promoting indigenous defence manufacturing with policies to procure key weapon systems domestically. The government has implemented several of the recommendations from the Shekatkar Committee to streamline defence procurement and rationalise spending. Efforts have been made to establish Integrated Theatre Commands (ITCs) to enhance jointness among the services, although challenges persist in their full operationalisation.[406]
Modi promised to be "tough on Pakistan" during his election campaign and repeatedly called Pakistan anexporter of terrorism.[407][408][409] On 29 September 2016, the Modi administration said Indian Army had conducted asurgical strike on terrorlaunch pads inAzad Kashmir; the Indian media said up to 50 terrorists and Pakistani soldiers had been killed in the strike.[410][411][412] Independent analysts said India's statement about the scope of the strike and the number of casualties had been exaggerated.[413][414][415][416] Pakistan denied any surgical strikes to have taken place.[417] In February 2019, India carried outairstrikes against a supposed terrorist camp in Pakistan; open source satellite imagery suggested no targets of significance were hit.[418][419]Further military skirmishes, including cross-border shelling and the loss of an Indian aircraft, occurred.[420][421][422] Eight months after the incident, the Modi administration admitted that six Indian military personnel had been killed byfriendly fire.[423]
In May 2020, Chinese and Indian troops engaged in aggressive skirmishes along theSino-Indian border, including near the disputedPangong Lake,Ladakh, and theTibet Autonomous Region and near the border betweenSikkim and theTibet Autonomous Region. Additional clashes took place in eastern Ladakh along theLine of Actual Control (LAC).[424] In 2020,skirmishes between the nations led to many border clashes, responses and reactions from both sides.[425] A series of talks between India and China were held, using military and diplomatic means for peace.[426] The first border clash reported in 2021 was on 20 January; this was referred to as a minor border clash in Sikkim.[427] Modi has been criticised for maintaining silence overceding about 2,000 sq km land to China since June 2020.[428][429][430]
In December 2021, Modi signed an agreement with Russian PresidentVladimir Putin to extend military technical cooperation.[431] The Modi government bought theS-400 missile system, an anti-missile striking system, strengthening the relationship between the two nations.[432] India refused to condemn the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and stayed neutral.[431][433] The Indian government'sOperation Ganga initiative sought to return Indians stranded in Ukraine during the war. More than 19,000 Indian nationals were evacuated,[434][435] including some from neighbouring countries.[436]
While naming his cabinet, Modi renamed the Ministry of Environment and Forests the "Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change", and reduced its budget allocation by more than half in his administration's first budget.[437] The new ministry removed or diluted a number of laws related to environmental protection, and others related to industrial activity.[253] The government also tried to reconstitute theNational Board for Wildlife so it would no longer have representatives from NGOs but theSupreme Court of India blocked this move.[438] Other changes included a reduction of ministry oversight on small mining projects and ending the requirement for approval from tribal councils for projects inside forested areas. Modi also lifted a moratorium on new industrial activity in India's most-polluted areas.[438] The changes were welcomed by businesspeople but criticised by environmentalists.[439]
Speaking withAssamese students in 2014, Modi downplayedclimate change, saying, "Climate has not changed. We have changed. Our habits have changed. Our habits have got spoiled. Due to that, we have destroyed our entire environment."[440] Later in his administration, however, he has called forclimate action,[441][442] especially with the proliferation ofclean energy.[443][444] In 2015, Modi proposed theInternational Solar Alliance initiative to encourage investment in solar energy.[445] Holding developed countries responsible,[446] Modi and his government have said India has had a negligible historical role in climate change. At theCOP26 conference, Modi announced India would targetcarbon neutrality by 2070 and expand its renewable energy capacity.[447] Indian environmentalists and economists applauded the decision, describing it as bold climate action.[448] India has become the only major economy to be on track to meet itsParis Agreement goals.[449] It has achieved 10 per cent of ethanol blending five months ahead of schedule.[450]
Under Modi's tenure, India has experienceddemocratic backsliding.[g] According to one study, "The BJP government incrementally but systemically attacked nearly all existing mechanisms that are in place to hold the political executive to account, either by ensuring that these mechanisms became subservient to the political executive or were captured by party loyalists".[32][451] The Modi government has used state power to intimidate and stifle critics in the media and academia, undermining freedom of expression and alternative sources of information.[452][33] His administration has been criticised for using a democratic mandate to undermine democratic processes, including focusing on Hindu-nationalist priorities rather than economic development. Modi's second term as PM, in particular, saw the erosion of civil rights andpress freedom.[453]
Modi is avegetarian andteetotaller,[454][455] who has a frugal lifestyle[citation needed], and is aworkaholic and has been described as anintrovert.[456] On 31 August 2012, he posted onGoogle Hangouts, becoming the first Indian politician to interact with citizens on a live chat.[457][458] Modi has been called a fashion icon for his signature crisply ironed, half-sleevedkurta, and for a suit with his name repeatedly embroidered in the pinstripes, which he wore during a state visit by US PresidentBarack Obama, which drew public and media attention, and criticism.[459][460][461][clarification needed] Scholars and biographers have described Modi's personality as energetic, eccentric, arrogant and charismatic.[40][462]
The nomination of Modi for the prime-ministership drew attention to his reputation as "one of contemporary India's most controversial and divisive politicians".[189][463][464] During the 2014 election campaign, the BJP projected an image of Modi as a strong, masculine leader who would be able to take difficult decisions.[189][209][211][215][216] Campaigns in which he has participated have focused on Modi as an individual, an unusual tactic for the BJP and RSS.[211] Modi has relied upon his reputation as a politician able to bring about economic growth and development.[465] Modi's role in the 2002 Gujarat riots continues to attract criticism and controversy.[11] Modi's hardline Hindutva philosophy and the policies adopted by his government also continue to draw criticism, and have been seen as evidence of a majoritarian and exclusionary social agenda.[11][40][162][211]
Modi interacting with the school children after delivering his address onIndependence Day in New Delhi, 15 August 2017
During his premiership, Modi has received consistently high approval ratings; at the end of his first year in office, he received an overall approval rating of 87% in aPew Research poll, with 68% of respondents rating him "very favourably" and 93% approving of his government.[466] Modi's approval rating remained largely consistent at around 74% during his second year in office, according to a nationwide poll conducted by instaVaani.[467] At the end of his second year in office, an updated Pew Research poll showed Modi continued to receive high overall approval ratings of 81%, with 57% of those polled rating him "very favourably".[468][469] At the end of his third year in office, a further Pew Research poll showed Modi with an overall approval rating of 88%, his highest yet, with 69% of people polled rating him "very favourably".[470] A poll conducted byThe Times of India in May 2017 showed 77% of respondents rated Modi as "very good" and "good".[471] In early 2017, a survey by Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics.[472] In a weekly analysis byMorning Consult called the Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, Modi had the highest net approval rating as of 22 December 2020 of all government leaders in the 13 countries being tracked.[473][474]
Modi Kaka Ka Gaon (Modi uncle's town), a 2017 IndianHindi-language drama film by Tushar Amrish Goel, is the firstbiopic about Modi. It stars Vikas Mahante in the titular role.[475]PM Narendra Modi, a 2019 Hindi-language biographical drama film byOmung Kumar, starsVivek Oberoi in the titular role and covers Modi's rise to the premiership.[476] An Indian web series calledModi: Journey of a Common Man, which is based on the same premise, was released in May 2019 on thevideo streaming platformEros Now withAshish Sharma portraying Modi.[477]
7 RCR (7, Race Course Road), a 2014 Indiandocudrama political television series which charts the political careers of prominent Indian politicians, covered Modi's rise to the PM's office in the episodes "Story of Narendra Modi from 1950 to 2001", "Story of Narendra Modi in Controversial Years from 2001 to 2013", "Truth Behind Brand Modi", "Election Journey of Narendra Modi to 7 RCR", and "Masterplan of Narendra Modi's NDA Govt", with Sangam Rai in the role of Modi.[478]India: The Modi Question, a 2023BBC documentary, examines Modi's role in the 2002 Gujarat riots and his record as Prime Minister of India. The Indian government banned the documentary, drawing widespread criticism.[479][480][481][482]
In July 2024, during a visit to Russia, Modi was awarded theOrder of St. Andrew, Russia's highest civilian award, for his effort in the development of the bilateral ties between India and Russia.[529] Later in November 2024, during a diplomatic visit to Nigeria, Modi was conferred theGrand Commander of the Order of the Niger by the Nigerian President. This is one of the country's highest honours, making him the second foreign dignitary to receive the award, afterQueen Elizabeth II in 1969.[530][531] PresidentBola Tinubu stated that the award was presented in recognition of Nigeria's appreciation for the growing partnership between the two countries.[532] Upon his arrival, Modi was presented with the symbolic "Key to the City" ofAbuja by MinisterNyesom Wike, a gesture symbolising trust and honour from the people of Nigeria.[533][534] In December 2024, Modi was conferred theOrder of Mubarak the Great, the highest national honour ofKuwait.[535][536] On 5 April 2025, Modi was awarded theSri Lanka Mitra Vibhushana, the highest Sri Lankan award to a foreign leader, in Colombo by the Sri Lankan PresidentAnura Kumara Dissanayake.[537]
In 2008, Modi published a Gujarati book titledJyotipunj, which contains profiles of RSS leaders. The longest was ofM. S. Golwalkar, under whose leadership the RSS expanded and whom Modi refers to asPujniya Shri Guruji ("Guru worthy of worship").[545] According toThe Economic Times, Modi's intention was to explain the workings of the RSS to his readers, and to reassure RSS members he remained ideologically aligned with them.
After becoming the Prime Minister he also authored a book calledExam Warriors, a guide for children to commendably face exams. Modi has written eight other books, mostly containing short stories for children.[546] Modi has penned the lyrics of two Gujaratigarba songs;Garbo, sung byDhvani Bhanushali and composed byTanishk Bagchi, andMaadi, sung byDivya Kumar and composed byMeet Bros. The songs were released on the occasion of autumnNavratri in 2023.[547][548]
^abNarendra Modi was bornNarendrabhai Damodardas Modi on 17 September 1950. He usesDamodardas as his middle name—Gujaratis have a tradition ofusing the names of their fathers as their middle names—but he is widely known asNarendra Modi.[3]
^Sources stating that theRSS had a deep impact on the political hierarchy of theBJP, especially in the case of Narendra Modi: [5][6][7]
^Sources describing Modi's administration as complicit in the 2002 violence: [8][9][10][11][12]
^In 2012, a court stated that investigations had found no evidence against Modi.[14][15]
^Sources stating that Modi has failed to improve human development indices in Gujarat: [11][12]
^Applications were filed with thePrime Minister's Office (PMO) under theRTI Act seeking details of his arrest. In reply, the PMO said it maintains official records on Modi only since he became the prime minister in 2014. Despite this claim, the official website of the PMO contains information about Modi from the 1950s.[80][81]
^Replying to an RTI query, the School of Open Learning said it did not have any data of students who received a BA degree in 1978.[82] Jayantibhai Patel, a former political science professor of Gujarat University, said the subjects listed in Modi's MA degree were not offered by the university when Modi was studying there.[89][90] In 2016,Delhi University deemed the BA degree to be authentic.[91]
^The party is commonly referred to simply as 'Congress.'
^The exact number of people killed in the train burning is variously reported. For example, theBBC says it was 59,[117] whileThe Guardian put the figure at 60.[118]
^"The Narendra Modi led government completed two years in power in May 2016 and the prime minister has made his mark on both the domestic and foreign policy fronts. It is important to assess how successful his initiatives have been in the arena of foreign affairs in comparison to his predecessors. In this regard, this paper identifies and examines the key trends and issues in foreign policy under the Modi led administration and the measures needed to translate speeches and policies into action. Modi government has also taken a serious node of relations with middle-east nations, as well as Iran and Israel."[380]
Kinnvall, Catarina (2019), "Populism, ontological insecurity and Hindutva: Modi and the masculinization of Indian politics",Cambridge Review of International Affairs,32 (3):238–302, 295,doi:10.1080/09557571.2019.1588851,ISSN0955-7571,S2CID164991567
^Akhtar, Rais; Kirk, William,Jammu and Kashmir, State, India, Encyclopaedia Britannica,archived from the original on 19 June 2015, retrieved7 August 2019 (subscription required)
^Welzel, Christian; Inglehart, Ronald; Bernhangen, Patrick; Haerpfer, Christian W. (2019),"Introduction", in Welzel, Christian; Inglehart, Ronald; Bernhangen, Patrick; Haerpfer, Christian W. (eds.),Democratization, Oxford University Press, pp. 4, 7,ISBN978-0-19-873228-0
^abKhaitan, Tarunabh (26 May 2020). "Killing a Constitution with a Thousand Cuts: Executive Aggrandizement and Party-state Fusion in India".Law & Ethics of Human Rights.14 (1):49–95.doi:10.1515/lehr-2020-2009 (inactive 16 March 2025).hdl:11343/241852.ISSN2194-6531.S2CID221083830.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of March 2025 (link)
^Chatterji, Angana P.; Hansen, Thomas Blom; Jaffrelot, Christophe (2019),"Introduction", in Chatterji, Angana P.; Hansen, Thomas Blom; Jaffrelot, Christophe (eds.),Majoritarian State: How Hindu Nationalism Is Changing India, Oxford University Press, p. 3,ISBN978-0-19-007817-1
^Marino 2014, pp. 26–29. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMarino2014 (help)
^Guha 2007, pp. 491–492 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFGuha2007 (help);Panda 2016, pp. 96 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFPanda2016 (help);Mahurkar 2017, pp. 7–9 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFMahurkar2017 (help).
^Marino 2014, p. 65 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFMarino2014 (help);Natarajan and Pooja 2019, pp. 98–99 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFNatarajan_and_Pooja2019 (help);Sen 2016, pp. 145–151 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFSen2016 (help);Hall 2016, p. 90 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFHall2016 (help);Mukhopadhyay 2013, pp. 56–57 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFMukhopadhyay2013 (help)
^Marino 2014, pp. 45–48, 54–59. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMarino2014 (help)
^Guha 2007 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFGuha2007 (help);Marino 2014, pp. 56 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFMarino2014 (help);Panda 2016, pp. fontcover sfnm error: no target: CITEREFPanda2016 (help);Rao 2020, pp. 228 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFRao2020 (help).
^Jain & E 2018, pp. 17–21 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFJainE2018 (help);Komireddi 2019, pp. 67–69 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKomireddi2019 (help);Kochanek & Hardgrave 2007, pp. 44–49 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKochanekHardgrave2007 (help);Marino 2014, p. 49 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFMarino2014 (help);Panda 2016, p. 95 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFPanda2016 (help);Kanrad 2018, pp. 87–91 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKanrad2018 (help).
^Marino 2014, pp. 78–79 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFMarino2014 (help);Mukhopadhyay 2013, pp. 78–95 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFMukhopadhyay2013 (help).
^abMurphy, Eamon (2010). "'We have no orders to save you': state terrorism, politics and communal violence in the Indian state of Gujarat, 2002". In Jackson, Richard; Murphy, Eamon Murphy; Poynting, Scott (eds.).Contemporary State Terrorism. New York, New York, US:Routledge. pp. 84–103.ISBN978-0-415-49801-2.
^Campbell, John; Seiple, Chris; Hoover, Dennis R.; et al., eds. (2012).The Routledge Handbook of Religion and Security.Routledge. p. 233.ISBN978-0-415-66744-9.
^Nielsen, Kenneth Bo; Nilsen, Alf Gunvald (30 December 2021), "Hindu nationalist statecraft and Modi's authoritarian populism",Routledge Handbook of Autocratization in South Asia (1 ed.), London: Routledge, pp. 92–100,doi:10.4324/9781003042211-10,ISBN978-1-00-304221-1,S2CID245165294
^Brasted, Howard V. (2005). Lahoud, Nelly; Johns, A. H. (eds.).Islam in World Politics.Routledge. p. 119.ISBN978-0-415-32411-3.
^Corbridge, Stuart; John Harriss, Craig Jeffrey (2012).India Today: Economy, Politics and Society.Polity Press. p. 185.ISBN978-0-7456-6112-4.
^Hardgrave, Robert L. Jr. (2005). "Hindu Nationalism and the BJP: Transforming Religion and Politics in India". In Dossani, Rafiq; Rowen, Henry S. (eds.).Prospects For Peace in South Asia.Stanford University Press. pp. 210–211.ISBN978-0-8047-5085-1.
^abcdefghManor, James (2015). "A Precarious Enterprise? Multiple Antagonisms during Year One of the Modi Government".South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies.38 (4):736–754.doi:10.1080/00856401.2015.1083644.S2CID155472230.
^abSrivastava, Sanjay (April 2015). "Modi-Masculinity: Media, Manhood, and "Traditions" in a Time of Consumerism".Television & New Media.16 (4):331–338.doi:10.1177/1527476415575498.S2CID145367170.
^abcPalshikar, Suhas (2015). "The BJP and Hindu Nationalism: Centrist Politics and Majoritarian Impulses".Journal of South Asian Studies.38 (4):719–735.doi:10.1080/00856401.2015.1089460.S2CID147143160.
^abSengupta, Mitu (2015). "Modi Planning: What the NITI Aayog Suggests about the Aspirations and Practices of the Modi Government".Journal of South Asian Studies.38 (4):791–806.doi:10.1080/00856401.2015.1088609.S2CID156027018.
^Jenkins, Laura Dudley (2019)."Persecution: The Love Jihad Rumor".Religious Freedom and Mass Conversion in India. University of Pennsylvania Press.doi:10.9783/9780812296006-007.ISBN978-0-8122-9600-6.S2CID242173559.Archived from the original on 13 May 2023. Retrieved6 May 2023.The masterplot of love jihad is not just literary imaginings but also a potent brew of Islamophobia and patriarchy that harms Muslims and women. Akin to some of the post-9/11 rhetoric in the United States, contemporary Hindu nationalists propagate "a mythical history of medieval Muslim tyranny and present-day existential threat, demanding mobilization and revenge."
^Sharma, Ajita (1 April 2020). "Afrazul's murder: Law and love jihad".Jindal Global Law Review.11 (1). Springer:77–95.doi:10.1007/s41020-020-00114-5.S2CID220512241.The fake claim by the Hindu right-wing that love jihad forces Hindu women to love and marry a Muslim man and convert to Islam is perpetuating an already existing anti-Muslim narrative in the country. The love jihad phenomenon has thus become a tool of hate and anger towards Muslims. Afrazul's killing by Raigher is an extreme demonstration of this form of hate and anger towards Muslims.
^Upadhyay, Nishant (18 May 2020)."Hindu Nation and its Queers: Caste, Islamophobia, and De/coloniality in India".Interventions.22 (4). Routledge:464–480.doi:10.1080/1369801X.2020.1749709.S2CID218822737.Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved30 March 2021 – via Academia.edu.Heterosexual couples who defy caste and religious structures often face violence, some of which results in death through honor killings and lynching targeting specifically Muslim and Dalit men. For instance, the Hindutva campaign against what it calls the "love jihad" is an attempt to protect Hindu women from Muslim men, as the latter are imagined/blamed to convert Hindu women to Islam through trickery and marriage (Gupta 2018b, 85). Needless to say, these claims are unfounded and Islamophobic imaginations of the Hindu Right.
^Strohl, David James (11 October 2018). "Love jihad in India's moral imaginaries: religion, kinship, and citizenship in late liberalism".Contemporary South Asia.27 (1). Routledge:27–39.doi:10.1080/09584935.2018.1528209.ISSN0958-4935.S2CID149838857.
^Nair, Rashmi; Vollhardt, Johanna Ray (6 May 2019)."Intersectional Consciousness in Collective Victim Beliefs: Perceived Intragroup Differences Among Disadvantaged Groups".Political Psychology.40 (5). Wiley: 2.doi:10.1111/pops.12593.S2CID164693982.Archived from the original on 19 April 2024. Retrieved19 September 2020 – via ResearchGate.Muslims form about 15% of India's population and have suffered severe marginalization in education and employment, since the partition of Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan in 1947 (Alam, 2010). They have since faced recurrent riots (Varshney, 2003). Other hostilities include false accusations of love jihad (a conspiracy theory claiming Muslim men feign love with non-Muslim women to convert them to Islam) and attempts to convert Muslims to Hinduism by Hindu fundamentalist organizations (Gupta, 2009).
^abcdefBhatty, Kiran; Sundar, Nandini (17 September 2020). "Sliding from majoritarianism toward fascism: Educating India under the Modi regime".International Sociology.35 (6). SAGE Publications:632–650.doi:10.1177/0268580920937226.ISSN0268-5809.S2CID224896271.
^Bhatty, Kiran (2019). "School education: Denials and delusions". In Azad, Rohit; Chakraborty, Shouvik; Ramani, Srinivasan; Sinha, Dipa (eds.).A quantum leap in the wrong direction?.ISBN978-93-5287-618-1.OCLC1089418969.
^Hall 2016, pp. 278–281. sfn error: no target: CITEREFHall2016 (help)
^Hall 2020, pp. 283–285 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFHall2020 (help);Gupta 2019, pp. 3–9 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFGupta2019 (help);Madan 2020, pp. 65 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFMadan2020 (help).
^"India admits friendly fire downed Mi-17 helicopter in Kashmir". Washington, DC: The Defense Post. 4 October 2019.The Indian Air Force confirmed for the first time on Friday, October 4 that it shot down one of its own Mi-17 helicopters during clashes with Pakistan in February over Kashmir, killing all six on board.
^Marino 2014, pp. 98 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFMarino2014 (help);Bal Narendra 2014, pp. 67–69 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFBal_Narendra2014 (help).
Hall, Ian.Modi and the reinvention of Indian foreign policy (Bristol University Press, 2019) 221pp.
Jaffrelot, Christophe. "Narendra Modi between Hindutva and subnationalism: the Gujarati asmita of a Hindu Hriday Samrat."India Review 15.2 (2016): 196–217.
Jaffrelot, Christophe.Modi's India: Hindu nationalism and the rise of ethnic democracy (Princeton University Press, 2019)
Kaul, Nitasha. "Rise of the political right in India: Hindutva-development mix, Modi myth, and dualities."Journal of Labor and Society 20.4 (2017): 523-548.online
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