1. Narendra Damodardas Modi
born 17 September 1950) is the current chief minister of
the Indian state of Gujarat.
he was the third of six children born to Damodardas
Mulchand Modi and his wife Heeraben. He has been a
member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
since childhood, having an interest in politics since
adolescence. He holds a master's degree in political
science. In 1998, he was chosen by L. K. Advani, the
leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to direct the
election campaign in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
He became the chief minister of Gujarat in October 2001,
promoted to the office at a time when his predecessor
Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of BJP
in the by-elections. His tenure as chief minister began on
7 October 2001.[3] In July 2007, he became the longest
serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history when he had
been in power for 2063 days continuously.[4] He was
elected again for a third term[5] on 23 December 2007 in
the state elections, which he had cast as a "referendum on
his rule".[6][7] Under his leadership Bhartiya Janata Party
won 2012 State Assembly Elections and he was chosen to
serve for this full term as Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Modi is a controversial figure both within India and
internationally.His administration received heated

2. criticism surrounding the 2002 Gujarat violence.
However, he enjoys considerable support in his home
state and is credited with the high economic growth in
Gujarat under his government.[16]
Modi was born on 17 September 1950[1] to a middle-
class family in Vadnagar in Mehsana district of what
was then Bombay State, IndiaDuring the Indo-Pak
war in the mid sixties, even as a young boy, he
volunteered to serve the soldiers in transit at railway
stations.[19] As a young man, he joined the Akhil
Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a student organisation
and was involved in the anti-corruption Nav Nirman
Movement. After working as a full-time organiser
for the organisation, he was later nominated as its
representative in the Bharatiya Janata Party.[20] As a
teenager Modi used to run a tea stall with his
brother.[21] Modi completed his schooling in
Vadnagar. He earned a masters degree in political
science from Gujarat University.[22] Modi is known
for leading a frugal lifestyle. He has a personal staff
of three. He is known to be a workaholic and an
introvert.[23] He ordered the demolition of many
illegal Hindu temples that were built without proper
government sanction which earned him the ire of
VHP

3. Early activism and politics
Modi was a pracharak (full-timer) in the RSS during
his university years.[22][25] He took up the
challenging task of energising the party cadres in
right earnest. In partnership with Shankersinh
Vaghela, Modi set about creating a strong cadre base
in Gujarat. In the initial period, Vaghela was seen as
a mass leader, while Modi was recognised as a
master strategist.
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. During
this period, Modi was entrusted with the
responsibility of organising two crucial national
events, the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra (a
political rally through India on a converted Toyota
van) of L.K. Advani and a similar march from
Kanyakumari (the southernmost part of mainland
India, southernmost point of India being Indira point
of Andaman and Nicobar islands) to Kashmir in the
North. After the exit of Shankarsingh Vaghela from
the BJP, Keshubhai Patel was made Chief Minister

4. while Narendra Modi was sent to New Delhi as a
General Secretary of the Party.[citation needed]
In 1995, Modi was appointed the National Secretary
of the party and given the charge of five major states
in India. In 1998, he was promoted as the General
Secretary (Organization), a post he held until
October 2001.[citation needed]
Tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat
Narendra Modi in an election campaign in Jamnagar
in 2012
In 2001, Narendra Modi was chosen by the party to
be the Chief Minister of Gujarat to succeed
Keshubhai Patel.
2002 Election

5. Main article: Gujarat legislative assembly election,
2002
As an aftermath of the riots, there were calls for
Modi to resign from his position as chief minister of
Gujarat. The opposition parties stalled the national
parliament over the issue and the Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (DMK) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP),
allies of the BJP, also asked for Modi's
resignation.[26][27] Modi submitted his resignation
and the state Assembly was dissolved.[28] In the
resultant elections the BJP, led by Modi, won 127
seats in the 182-member assembly.[citation needed]
2007 Elections
Main article: Gujarat legislative assembly election,
2007
Modi made a speech at Mangrol in which he
justified the encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh,
during the election campaign in response to Sonia
Gandhi's speech calling him a "merchant of
death",[29] and referred to Sohrabuddin's killing. For
this speech the Election Commission of India, a
constitutional body governing election proceedings
in India, cautioned Modi as it considered it as

6. indulging in an activity which may aggravate
existing differences between different
communities.[30] Modi won the election and
continued his post as the Chief Minister of Gujarat,
he won with majority of votes of 122 seats out of
182 total assembly seats.[31]
Sadbhavna Mission
In the late 2011-early 2012 Narandra Modi
underwent a series of fasts as part of the Sadbhavna
Mission. The mission started on 17 September 2011
in Ahmedabad with 3-day fast with a view to
strengthen the atmosphere of peace, unity and
harmony in the state. He observed total 36 fasts in
26 districts, 8 cities including Ahmedabad.[32]
2012 Elections
Main article: Gujarat legislative assembly election,
2012
The BJP secured a majority in these elections.[33]
Narendra Modi won in his constituency Maninagar
by a margin of 86,373 votes against Shweta Bhatt
(wife of Sanjiv Bhatt) of the Indian National

7. Congress.[34] The BJP has been the ruling party in
Gujarat since 1995.[35]
Use of social networking technologies
Modi interacted with netizens on Google+ on 31
August 2012.[36] The chat session was also live
broadcast on YouTube, and Modi took part in it
through Ahmedabad.[36] The chat was schedule to
start at 20:00 IST, but began 45 minutes late because
of the reported crash of Google+ due to the
response.[37] The questions were to be submitted
before the chat, and were mostly based on issues
about education, youth empowerment, rural
development and causes of urbanisation.[37]
Modi became the first Indian politician to interact
with netizens through live chat on Internet after the
hangout.[38] Google+'s Hangout feature allows ten
people to group chat at a single time.[38] The same
day the hangout was organized, the Gujarat High
Court gave its statement on the Naroda Patiya
massacre.[36] ModiHangout became the most
trending term in India at Twitter on the day of the
session, whereas .VoteOutModi, used by Modi's
opponents, became the third most trending term in

8. the country.[36] A day before the session, Modi
tweeted, "Friends, I am looking forward to
exchanging ideas with you on G+ Hangout
tomorrow on 'Realising Swami Vivekananda's vision
of Strong India'!" The chat session was also shown
on Modi's YouTube channel in real time.[36] The chat
was hosted by Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn, who
was shooting for his upcoming film Himmatwala in
Hyderabad.[39]
Modi answered 18 questions in two sessions.[39] The
session didn't include many Gujarati people, with
more people from other states and NRIs.[40] Modi
received one lakh questions.[40] When asked about
his definition of the word secular, he said, "Think
that our nation must be on top in all respects. That is
secularism, according to me," adding,"The word
secular has been used and abused for votebank
politics. Take the example of the microminority of
Parsis who are a happy community living in Gujarat
today."[37]
Views and opinions
Modi's position on terrorism

9. On 18 July 2006 Modi delivered a speech criticising
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "for his
reluctance to revive anti-terror legislations" like the
Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the Centre to
empower states to invoke tougher laws in the wake
of the blasts in Mumbai.[41] Quoting Modi:
Terrorism is worse than a war. A terrorist has no
rules. A terrorist decides when, how, where and
whom to kill. India has lost more people in terror
attacks than in its wars.[41]
Narendra Modi has frequently commented that if the
BJP came to power at the Centre, they will honour
the 2004 Supreme Court judgement to hang Afzal
Guru.[42] Afzal was convicted of terrorism in the
2001 Indian Parliament attack in 2004 by the
Supreme Court of India and is in Tihar Jail.[43]
On account of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks,
on Thursday 27 November, Narendra Modi held a
meeting to discuss waterfront security along the
coastline.[44] The meeting decided to ask the Central
government to urgently sanction the following:
Increase the number of police stations along the
coast to 50 (from 10).

10. Increase the number of police to 1500 from 250.
30 modern high-speed surveillance boats.
The 30 coastal boats, under construction at Goa's
shipbuilding yard, will have the capacity to run at
the speed of 25 nautical miles per hour. These are
being manufactured under the Centre's Rs 58-crore
grant for coastal security.[44]
Views on criticism of Modi's governance
In 2003, when Narendra Modi was asked about the
conflict of his dreams for Gujarat's future with
international criticism of his past activities, Modi
said,[45]
Yet, no one has asked this question to the USA after
9/11. Delhi is developing fast – no one has asked
this question to Delhi after 1984. If it does not
matter to Delhi and USA, why should it matter to
Gujarat?
Modi's decision to link Gujarat's violence with the
9/11 terrorist attacks on the US drew criticism from
some[who?] observers, who contrasted it with the then
Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani's unpleasant
apology for Gujarat in London a year ago.[45] Modi

11. responded to this criticism by The Guardian, saying
"I have not read and I would not like to read. But
thank you people for spending time on me."[45]
Gutka ban in Gujarat
Narendra Modi announced a comprehensive ban on
gutka, which causes cancer, from 11 September
2012. He said in his Independence Day speech that
"I have to save the youths of Gujarat from the
dreaded evil of cancer and that's why a decision to
impose a complete ban on gutka has been taken."[46]
Congress ban of TV channel
Gujarat state Congress banned a television channel
TV 9 from covering its events, and prohibited access
to its press conferences and other events. A
communication in this regard was sent to all district
units of the party.[47] Narendra Modi criticised this
muzzling of the freedom of press by saying,
Journalists on Twitter who spoke against Congress,
were blocked. Here they banned a TV channel. Their
crime is that they exposed cracks in the ghar nu
ghar (own your home) scheme of the Congress. Yet
this party talks about democracy.[48]

12. Criticisms and controversies
Gujarat violence
Main article: 2002 Gujarat violence
On 27 February 2002, a train burning in the town of
Godhra lead to 59 deaths, most of them Hindu
pilgrims and religious workers returning from the
holy city of Ayodhya.[49] Local Muslim leaders have
been found guilty of burning the train[50] Riots broke
out in the state as the act was caused by Muslims[50]
in which 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were
ultimately killed.[51] The Modi administration was
accused of insufficient action over the riots and
suspected of encouraging them.[24] However,
Narendra Modi had promptly issued shoot at sight
orders and called for Army to prevent the riots from
worsening, but given the massive reaction to Godhra
carnage, the combined strength of Indian army and
State Police too proved insufficient, as confirmed by
the media reports on 1 March.[52] Modi
administration promptly imposed an indefinite
curfew in 26 sensitive cities to ensure that riots do
not spread, as reported by The Hindu on 1 March.[53]
Years later, a sting operation by an investigative

13. journalist showed videos of many prominent Hindu
leaders and politicians boasting of their involvement
in the killings and the complicity of Narenda Modi
in the riots.[54] However there were several
inaccuracies in the statements that questioned the
sting operation. Babu Bajrani and Suresh Richard in
the statements said that Narendra Modi visited
Naroda Patiya one day after the massacre to thank
them while official record showed that Naredra
Modi didn't visit Naroda Patiya. VHP activist,
Ramesh Dave told Tehelka reporter that S.K.Gadhvi,
one of the divisional superintendents of Police killed
five Muslims in Dariapur area as promised to him.
But the official records show that Gadhvi was only
posted in Dariapur one month after the riots. During
his tenure no such incident took place in
Dariapur.[55] On 29 August 2012, an Indian court
found the legislature guilty of the crime.[dubious –
discuss][56]
On the eve of this decision, Modi refused to
apologise and rejected renewed calls for his
resignation.[57]
In April 2009, the Supreme Court of India appointed
a special team of investigators to look into the role
Modi had played in the alleged anti-Muslim
conspiracy.[24] The team was appointed in response

14. to the complaint of Zakia Jafri, the widow of ex-
Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was murdered in the
riots.[58] In December 2010, a Supreme Court-
appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in its
report to the Supreme Court seeking answers
pertaining to the Ehsan Jafri case, submitted that
they had found no evidence against Narendra
Modi.[59]
However in February 2011, the Times of India
reported that a confidential report from the SIT
indicted Modi on several counts of alleged
complicity in the Gujarat riots of 2002.[60] Most
other sources have noted that the SIT report does not
indict Modi for the riots due to lack of
evidence.[61][62] The Indian Express too said the
report did not find any Modi involvement in the
violence, though it did accuse him of watering down
the seriousness of the situation.[63] According to The
Hindu, the report not only found that Modi tried to
water down the seriousness of the situation, but
Modi also implicitly justified the killings of
Muslims, and failed to condemn the attacks on
them.[64]

15. The Bharatiya Janata Party demanded an
investigation into the publication of the report,
claiming the leak was politically motivated.[65]
The apex court refused to pass any order on the case
and referred it to the Ahmedabad magistrate for a
decision.[66] In April 2012, a Special Investigation
Team absolved Modi of any involvement in the
Gulberg massacre, arguably the worst episode of the
riots.[67] On 7 May 2012, the Supreme Court-
appointed amicus curiae, Raju Ramachandran
observed that Modi can be prosecuted under sections
153 A (1) (a) & (b), 153 B (1), 166 and 505 (2) of
the Indian Penal Code for promoting enmity among
different groups during the 2002 Gujarat riots. His
main contention was that the evidence be judged by
a court of law and not the SIT, the SIT was required
to investigate and not judge[68] However the amicus
report has been criticised by the Special
Investigation Team for relying heavily on the
testimony of Sanjiv Bhatt.[69]
In an interview on 26 July 2012 to Shahid Siddiqui,
editor of an Urdu weekly, Nai Duniya and an MP of
Samajwadi Party told that if he is found guilty of

16. collusion in the 2002 riots, should be hanged, other-
wise insinuations against him should cease.[70]
Conflicts with Governor Kamla Beniwal
On 25 August 2011 Gujarat Governor Kamla
Beniwal appointed Justice R A Mehta to the post of
Lokyukta of Gujarat, a critical anti-corruption post
that had been lying vacant since 2003. Justice R A
Mehta was recommended for the post by the Chief
Justice of the Gujarat High Court in June. Governor
Beniwal had made this decision without consulting
and getting the approval of the chief minister and his
council of ministers.[71]
This marked the beginning of a strained relationship
between Modi and the Governor. On 25 September
2011, Narendra Modi accused the Governor of
running a parallel government in the state supported
by the Congress party. He demanded that she be
recalled.[72] He also later accused her of delaying the
progress of bills by not passing them.[citation needed]
The decision of the governor in the appointment of
R A Mehta was challenged in the high court by the
Modi government. The two member high court
bench gave a split verdict on 10 October 2011.

17. Later, a third member upheld the governor's decision
in January 2012.[73]
Foreign visits
As the Chief Minister of the Gujarat State, to attract
foreign investment in the state, Narendra Modi has
made visits to foreign countries, including China,
Singapore and Japan.[74]
Narendra Modi made his first China visit in 2007 to
invite investors Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor
Summit,[75] and second visit in November 2011. One
month after the second visit to China, the Chinese
Government released 13 diamond traders from India
jailed by the Shenzhen Customs, which the Chief
Minister described as the consequence of his
diplomatic efforts and statesmanship.[76][77]
In 2005 Narendra Modi was denied diplomatic visa
to the United States, in addition to this visa denial,
his already granted B-1/B-2 visa was also revoked,
under a section of the Immigration and Nationality
Act which makes any foreign government official
who was responsible or "directly carried out, at any
time, particularly severe violations of religious
freedom" ineligible for the visa.[78]

18. For ten years after the 2002 riots, the United
Kingdom refused to deal with Narendra Modi, but
the UK changed this policy in October 2012.[79]
Awards and recognitions
Gujarat Ratna by Shri Poona Gujarati Bandhu
Samaj at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch on
celebration of centenary year.[80]
e-Ratna award by the Computer Society of
India[81]
Best Chief Minister – In a nationwide survey
conducted in 2006 by India Today magazine,
Narendra Modi was declared the Best Chief
Minister in the country.[82]
Asian Winner of the fDi Personality of the Year
Award for 2009 by fDi Magazine.[83]
The rising of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi
in the BJP and his emergence as a challenger to
Congress heir apparent Rahul Gandhi in 2014 has
forced the party to factor NaMo in its political
strategy ahead of the next Lok Sabha polls.
Till a few months ago, many in the All India

19. Congress Committee(AICC) had dismissed Modi as
a leader of no consequence for UPA. However, the
rising stature coupled with a strong endorsement of
Brand Modi by India Inc is something that the
Congress strategists cannot brush under the carpet.
Even as party insiders claimed that Modi's rise does
not worry the Congress, sources said the party's
chintan shivir at Jaipur on January 18 and 19 will
discuss the Modi phenomena.
The brainstorming conclave, followed by an AICC
session on January 20, has shortlisted five topics for
discussion- emerging political challenges, emerging
socio-economic
challenges, India and the
world, organisational
strength and empowerment
of women.
Lurking fear
The discussion on political
challenges will factor in
Modi's politics, both
negative and positive,

20. apart from the need to forge new alliances and
strengthen the existing ones.
Sources said as of now the overwhelming view in
the party is that the emergence of a "divisive"
Gujarat CM on the centre stage may undermine
BJP's bid to expand the National Democratic
Alliance beyond the Shiv Sena, Akalis, AIADMK
and a few fringe parties.
However, a lurking fear in the Congress is that the
BJP which hitherto received election funds from
sundry industrialists and small-time traders may be
flushed with money to pose a challenge to the Grand
Old Party.
However, Manish Tewari, senior Congress leader
and Union minister for information and
broadcasting, said the party is not worried about any
challenger.
"We don't bother who our adversaries are. In 2004,
we fought against Atal Bihari Vajpayee(and won). In
2009, it was L.K. Advani. Whosoever is BJP's
leader, we will take it as it comes. We go to the

21. people based on our policies and programmes,"
Tewari told Mail Today.
A day earlier in Mumbai, Tewari tried to draw a
parallel between India Inc's "liking" for Modi with
the German corporate sector's fascination for Adolph
Hitler in 1930s.
"The German corporate sector had a similar
fascination with a gentleman. The implications for
the world at large were disastrous," Tewari said.
However, his party colleague and AICC
spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit downplayed the
corporate push to the Gujarat CM.
In response to questions on whether Modi's
acceptability was increasing in the light of big
industrialists such as Ambanis and Ratan Tata
praising him, Dikshit said, "Vibrant Gujarat is an
investment summit where all industrialists are
invited to invest in the state... Almost every CM is
glorified when such an event takes place."
On the other hand, AICC secretary Praveen Davar,

22. condemned industrialist Anil Ambani for putting
Modi in the league of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar
Patel, saying it was an insult to the memory of the
two nationalists and Gujarat icons.
"It is highly deplorable that Anil Ambani has
compared Modi with Gandhiji and Sardar Patel,"
Davar said.
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Anil Ambani puts Narendra Modi on the same
pedestal as Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel at the Vibrant Gujarat
Summit
Tags: N

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India Inc's love for Narendra Modi is no secret and
Vibrant Gujarat Summit is the platform where it has
always found expression in the most flattering terms.
At the 6th edition of the biennial summit that kicked
off in Gandhinagar on Friday, the glorification of
Modi was taken to a new level, with Anil Ambani
putting him on the same pedestal as Mahatma
Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Ambani went on to liken the Gujarat chief minister
to legendary warrior Arjun of the Mahabharat. Other
industry and business leaders, too, praised in one
voice his "leadership qualities" and "vision". Many
of them pledged massive investments.
This resounding endorsement from industry captains

24. came as another shot in the arm for Modi after his
third consecutive electoral victory even as there has
been increasing criticism of Gujarat's poor
performance on social and human development
fronts.
Anil Ambani, chairman of ADAG group with
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at Vibrant
Gujarat Summit in Gandhinagar.
Global praise

25. The CM, on his part, used the showpiece event to
once again woo investors and to stress how the
'Gujarat model of development' had proved to be a
success while the rest of the world grappled with
economic slowdown. Another reason for Modi to
celebrate was that even diplomats and business
leaders from across the world sang his paeans,
giving a fillip to his national and global ambition.
The presence of the heads of the diplomatic missions
of Canada, Japan and Britain on the Vibrant Gujarat
stage came as a big boost for Modi's image and
ambition.
While Canada and Japan are partners in the summit,
Britain is attending the event for the first time after
ending Modi's decade-long boycott.
The UK High Commissioner to India James Bevan
said: "Britain is back. Gujarat is great and so is
Britain. Let us work together."
However, it was Anil Ambani's lavish praise of
Modi that was the highlight of the inaugural day of
the summit.

26. "Narendrabhai has the Arjunalike clarity of vision,"
he said. Going into the literal meaning of the word
Narendra, Ambani called Modi "a leader among
leaders and a king among kings".
Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani and
Narendra Modi at Vibrant Gujarat Summit.
More support

27. Going a step further, the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani
Group chairman placed the CM among the "four
illustrious sons of Gujarat - Mohandas Karamchand
Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dhirubhai
Ambani."
His elder brother and Reliance Industries Ltd
chairman Mukesh Ambani too hailed the CM as a
leader with "grand vision and determination to
translate that vision into reality". He announced that
the RIL would invest Rs.1,00,000 crore in Gujarat
over the next four years.
Speaking on the occasion, Ratan Tata, Anand
Mahindra, Chanda Kochhar of ICICI Bank, R.C.
Bhargava of Maruti and CII chief Adi Godrej, too,
lauded Modi for his effective industry friendly
governance. In his address, Modi said that in just a
decade the summit had taken a shape of a global
event and called it "India's biggest global trade
show".
Dressed to impress
The encomiums showered on Narendra Modi at the

28. Vibrant Gujarat summit were hardly surprising as it
has become almost a ritual at the biennial
congregation.
Ratan Tata greets Narendra Modi at Vibrant Gujarat
Summit.
What came as a surprise was the Gujarat CM's
sartorial taste. On Thursday, he chose to dress in
western attire. But on Friday, the CM was back in
his standard outfit.
He wore an off-white long-sleeved kurta with a navy

29. blue sleeveless Nehru-collar waistcoat in raw silk.
He gave the ensemble a finishing touch with a red-
print silk pocket square.
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Modi lays stress on „Made in Gujarat‟ brand
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times
Ahmedabad, January 13, 2013
Email to Author
First Published: 00:32 IST(13/1/2013)
Last Updated: 00:33 IST(13/1/2013)
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Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi on Saturday
exhorted the people to shed their “anti-industry
mindset” which, according to him, was preventing
the country from developing. Industrial

30. development, he said, could lead to inclusive growth
and the “real” development of people. Addressing
the valedictory session of the two-day Vibrant
Gujarat Investors Summit, Modi stressed on creating
the „Made in Gujarat‟ brand. “Gujarat is emerging as
India‟s manufacturing hub, with new units being set
up in every field of industrial activity. We should
aim for zero defect manufacturing and the „Made in
Gujarat‟ tag to gain global acceptance,” he said,
adding that small and medium enterprises have a
pivotal role to play in the state‟s development.
Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry was present at
the concluding session of the event.
The Gujarat government received as many as 17,710
intentions of investment (IoIs) in the sixth edition of
the summit. “We have received largest number of
IoIs from small and medium enterprises, most of
them in the affordable housing sector,” said Gujarat
principal secretary (industry) Maheshwar Sahu.
He claimed that around 3.75 lakh jobs would be
created in the state through these investment
proposals.

31. Meanwhile, Thailand‟s ambassador to India Pisan
Manawapat announced at the summit that the Thai
Airways International would launch the first direct
flight from Ahmedabad to Bangkok on April 1 this
year.
The Canadian government has also invited Modi to
the country. Canada and Japan were the partner
countries at the Vibrant Gujarat summit
A supporter wearing a mask of Narendra Modi,
Gujarat's chief minister, holds a placard during the
leader's swearing-in ceremony in Ahmedabad.
Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

32. Narendra Modi, the recently re-elected chief
minister of India's western state of Gujarat is a
hardline Hindu nationalist. For his legions of fans,
including many in big business, the corporate media
and expat communities, he is a man with a vision –
and the best possible future prime minister of the
country. To his detractors, he is man who presided
over an anti-Muslim pogrom in 2002 (a claim Modi
denies) and shows a scant regard for democratic
principles of inclusivity. His party did not field a
single Muslim candidate this year despite them
being the largest minority in the state, constituting
one-tenth of its population.
A growing section of India's mainstream media is
presenting the election as a shift away from identity
politics and towards a politics of development. They
point to the fact that unlike 2002, when Gujarat went
to polls after an orgy of anti-Muslim riots
characterised by Modi as a spontaneous reaction of
an awakened Hindu nation, 2012 saw Modi
concentrate on his record as a pro-growth leader and
an efficient administrator. Foreign governments,
including the UK's, that had avoided Modi are now
wooing him. As the Congress-led government in
Delhi faces one crisis after another, and the

33. opposition rightwing BJP flexes its muscles, the
prospect of Modi as a future prime minister is real.
The image makeover from "Butcher of Gujarat" to
"Mr Growth" appears complete.
What the debate ignores is that development is not
an abstract practice immune from identity.
Economic reforms are being used in parts of India to
depoliticise development and crack down on the
marginalised. For instance, tribal peoples and those
from lower castes are the biggest victims of forced
eviction by the state for its development projects.
Impressive economic figures from Gujarat belie the
fact that on the human development index the state
remains far behind. Gujarat, which once had a robust
trade union movement, has witnessed a decline in
working-class organisation, the marginalisation of
Muslim workers and the assimilation of Hindu
workers into Hindu nationalism.
Democratic reality requires compromises and
negotiations, including with those one sees as the
underclass However, this makes some of the middle
class uncomfortable and prone to majoritarian and
authoritarian politics. Brand Modi is a manifestation
of such a politics. Modi provides an alternative –

34. where minorities, Dalits and tribals are made to feel
that their safety and survival depends on their
silence. Instead of protesting as citizens, the
marginalised groups have to appeal to Modi and the
BJP for favours. Civil society organisations deemed
troublesome face severe restrictions and are labelled
pseudo-secularists.
Admiration for Modi among many reflects an
authoritarian fantasy nurtured by the beneficiaries of
economic growth, but democracy must not be traded
for development. Security is derived from the virtue
of citizenship and cannot be dependent on political
gratitude and quietude. In Gujarat, the "lesson" of
the 2002 violence seems to have been that
democracy is based on majority rule with no genuine
commitment to minority rights. The lesson was that
majority Hindus will remain silent or even reward
those who intimidate and brutalise minorities, and
other political parties will pay no more than lip
service to them. That some Muslims vote for Modi
is not a sign of his acceptance by minorities. It is a
function of fear politics and the lack of any
progressive alternative. The Gujarati pride Modi
harps on about remains completely Hindu.

35. Gujarat – where progressive political forces
including trade unions have been decimated,
minorities crushed, and tribals and Dalits largely
Hinduised – is a fantasy land that many upper- and
middle-caste well-off Hindus in the country look
longingly towards. Will Modi succeed in
transplanting the Gujarat model of disenfranchised
minorities, capitalist growth, and a media-obsessed
personality cult on the rest of India? Or will the
impoverished poor who constitute the majority of
the electorate see through this propaganda and save
Indian democracy? That will be the most pertinent
question for India in the coming years.