Connecting over 25 millions NRIs worldwide
Most trusted Name in the NRI media
NRI PEOPLE- OUR NETWORK
 
Narendra Modi : Born on Sep. 17, 1950 at Vadnagar, Mehsana, Gujarat

UPDATED 2010

Biography

Narendra Modi holds a masters degree in political science. He grew up in a culture that instilled in him the values of generosity, benevolence and social service. He is rich insight into human psychology and excellent organizational capability. He was elected as the student leader of Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (All India Students’ Council) and played a prominent role in various socio-political movements in Gujarat. He has been always a fighter, a true soldier and put a step forward he never looked back. He refused to drop out or be defeated.

  • As a young boy, he volunteered to serve the soldiers in transit at railway stations during the Indo-Pak war
  • . In 1967, he served the flood affected people of Gujarat.
  • He started with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a socio-cultural organization with a focus on social and cultural development of India.
  • 1975-1977: He played several important roles on various occasions including anti-corruption agitation and the harrowing 19-month long ‘emergency’ when the fundamental rights of Indian citizens were strangled.

In 1998, Narendra Modi was chosen by L. K. Advani, the leader of the BJP, to direct the election campaign in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh

  • In 1987-95, he joined the BJP and within a year, he became General Secretary of the Gujarat unit. A reputation for being a highly efficient organizer, he took up the challenging task of energizing the party cadres in right earnest. The party started gaining political mileage and formed a coalition government at the centre in April 1990. This partnership fell apart within a few months, but the BJP came to power with a two-thirds majority on its own in Gujarat in 1995. Since then, the BJP has been governing Gujarat. He had successfully gained the necessary groundwork for making the Gujarat BJP the ruling party of the state. He was entrusted with the responsibility of organizing two crucial national events, the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra (a very long march) of Shri L.K. Advani and a similar march from Kanyakumari (the southernmost part of India) to Kashmir in the North. He was appointed the National Secretary of the party and given the charge of five major states in India – a rare distinction for a young leader.
  • In 1998, he was promoted as the General Secretary (Organization), a post he held until October 2001, when he was chosen to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat, one of the most prosperous and progressive states of India. The ascent of the BJP to power at New Delhi in 1998 has been attributed to these two highly successful events, substantially handled by Shri Modi. He was given the responsibility to oversee the affairs of several state level units, including the sensitive and crucial state of Jammu and Kashmir. At at the national level, Shri Narendra Modi emerged as an important spokesman for the party. He travelled extensively across the world and interacted with eminent leaders of several countries. These experiences not only helped him develop a global perspective

As the Chief Minster, biggest challenge for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the areas affected by the massive earthquake of January 2001:

  • October 2001: Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Chief Minster of Gujarat when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of BJP in the by-elections.
  • Bhuj was a city of rubble and thousands of people were living in temporary shelters without any basic infrastructure. Today Bhuj is proof of how Shri Narendra Modi has turned adversity into an opportunity for holistic development.
  • He had always focused on industrial growth and decided to correct the imbalance by focusing appropriately on social sectors for an integrated socio-economic growth. He conceived the Panchamrit Yojana – a five-pronged strategy for an integrated development of the state.Gujarat is witnessing massive transformation in several sectors including education, agriculture, healthcare and several others.
  • He launched policy-driven reform programmes, reoriented government’s administrative structure and successfully put Gujarat on the road to prosperity. His intentions and capacity were noticed within the first 100 days of his coming to power.
  • December 2002: Modi government was voted back to power with a massive majority of 128 seats in a house of 182. The ceremony had to be held in an open-air stadium because of the sheer number of people who wanted to watch and hear the leader they had so overwhelmingly elected.

Fighting against all odds:

  • He ensured that the Narmada dam reached 121.9m. Height – He even observed a fast to counteract those obstructing the construction.
  • “Sujalam Sufalam” – a scheme to create a grid of water resources in Gujarat is yet another innovative step towards water conservation and its appropriate utilization.
  • Introduction of Soil Health Cards, Roaming Ration Cards and Roaming School Cards show his concern for the most common man of the state.
  • He'd supported the programs such as- Krishi Mahotsav, Chiranjeevi Yojana, Matru Vandana, Beti Bachao campaign (save the girl child), Jyotigram Yojana, and Karmayogi Abhiyan etc. aim at multi-dimensional development of Gujarat.

Modi has successfully communicated his vision to the 50 million people of Gujarat by:

  • Respecting spiritual leaders who has helped to build bridges across religions.
  • His outstanding memory of addressing lacs of people, even common men, by their first name has made him the darling of the masses.
  • earning the love of people from villages and cities alike. His following encompasses people belonging to every faith and religion and every economic section of society.
  • Getting several awards and accolades from all over the world, including UN Sasakawa Award for disaster reduction, Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) award for innovations in governance, UNESCO award, CSI award for e-Governance etc.
  • Ranking as the number one Chief Minister by the public for three consecutive years speaks volumes for his achievements.
  • Putting Gujarat on the global map with ongoing campaign called the Vibrant Gujarat that truly transforms Gujarat into one of the most preferred investment destinations.
  • Registering double digit growth rates for the past several years.

By looking his ideas and ideals of leadership, Gujarat will proudly stand among developed economies of the world.