Who is Narendra Modi?

First published:
Tuesday 18 November 2014 10:51AM
Annabelle Quince and Alex McClintock

The story of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rise is almost unbelievable. How did a boy who sold tea at a railway station become the leader of the world’s largest democracy? Is he an economic reformer or a divisive ultra-nationalist? Annabelle Quince and Alex McClintock investigate.

Today's parliamentary speech by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi marks the first time in 28 years an Indian leader has visited Australia.

It was in many ways a transformative election because Modi is not someone who is very willing to compromise.

Rohit Pradhan, writer

Mr Modi is a controversial figure in India, loved and hated in equal measure. Those who love him claim he stands for good governance and economic growth. Others argue that he is an ultra-Hindu nationalist who has fanned the flames of sectarian violence and favoured the rich.

In contrast to most of his predecessors, Mr Modi is not from a privileged background. Born to a poor family in a small village in Gujarat in 1950, Mr Modi helped his father at his railway station tea stall from a very young age. Despite their limited means, his family valued education and Mr Modi and his siblings all went to school.

His parents arranged a marriage for him while he was still a child, but by the time his betrothed was old enough for the ceremony, he had decided he wanted to renounce his possessions and become a sanyasi, or Hindu mendicant.

‘He left home at 17 and for about three years he wandered in the Himalayas,’ says Madhu Kishwar, author of Modi, Muslims and Media. ‘Nobody in his family knew where he was, he just carried a light bag, one set of extra clothes and that's it, and he just vanished.’

‘There was no money, so he virtually lived like a sanyasi and made do with whatever he got on the way. That search led him to a firmer conviction that he wasn't meant for routine, humdrum, marital bliss, family life.’

Mr Modi returned home briefly and joined the RSS, or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (National Volunteer Organisation), a voluntary ultra-nationalist organisation. Formed in the 1920s, the group emphasises service to the nation but rejects the idea of India as a secular state.

The PM’s introduction to life in the RSS was harsh. He started out doing dishes, cleaning floors and washing other members’ clothes. He was encouraged not to neglect his education, though, and completed his BA and a master’s in political science. He began to travel around the country doing organisational work.

‘He has actually stayed in 7,000 to 8,000 villages in India,’ says Ms Kishwar. ‘Not many people have had that kind of deep exposure to ordinary people's lives at such an intimate level, because RSS apparatchiks go and stay in people's homes, they don't go and stay in hotels, they actually have to go and mingle with people, stay in people's homes, eat what is fed to them.’

It was only once Mr Modi returned to Gujarat that his organisational skills began to be recognised. The RSS claims it is not a political organisation, but it does have very close connections with the BJP—the Bharatiya Janata Party, which was established in 1980.

The RSS has a tradition of lending some of its able organisers to the BJP and that’s exactly what happened to the young Mr Modi. He was loaned to the BJP and tasked with the job of building a party organisation in Gujarat.

With his common touch and keen understanding of politics, Mr Modi was able to build a formidable organisational framework, and the BJP took power in Gujarat. He was so successful, in fact, that many within the party saw him as a threat, and he was banished to New Delhi for a number of years in the mid-1990s.

When a massive earthquake struck Gujarat in 2001, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Mr Modi, who was still in exile. Then Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel was seen to be ineffective in dealing with the crisis and the BJP began to fear it would lose Gujarat in the next election. Mr Modi was parachuted into the position of chief minister by the BJP hierarchy, despite never having held political office.

‘He had zero experience,’ says Ms Kishwar. ‘He had never stepped into a chief minister's office before, even as a visitor, and suddenly he has the top job at the worst time in the history of Gujarat.’

Related: Did the G20 achieve anything?

Just months after Mr Modi became chief minister, religious riots broke out across the state. In four days of intense rioting roughly 1,000 people were killed, the majority of them Muslims. Mr Modi’s response to those riots continues to dog him to this day.

‘A lot of people believe that the Gujarat government did not react that strongly,’ says Rohit Pradhan, an independent writer and political observer. ‘Some of [the rioters] were BJP members, some of them were involved with other offshoots of the RSS. His critics believe that these riots could have been put down much earlier than they would have been if there had been no discrimination against Muslims or the police had acted with greater vigour.’

Others, such as Ms Kishwar, defend Mr Modi’s reaction and blame ‘jihadi elements’ in the Muslim community. India’s Supreme Court examined whether Mr Modi was culpable and found that there was not enough evidence to mount a prosecution. That has not stopped the criticism, though.

‘You cannot say that Modi was responsible for the riots,’ says Kingshuk Nag, the author of a biography of Mr Modi titled The NAMO Story: A Political Life. ‘But what I said was that his administrative skills were tested and his administration then was not good. I mean, he was unable to control the riots.’

Despite the questions over his handling of the riots, Mr Modi remained chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014. During that period Mr Modi focused on the state’s economy and Gujarat experienced rapid growth.

The BJP policy platform was based on law and order and infrastructure, and during his tenure the agricultural sector grew by 10 per cent per annum thanks to improved irrigation and electricity. Red tape was cut, foreign and domestic investment expanded, and Mr Modi’s image began to be rehabilitated.

Mr Modi’s critics, however, point out that under his rule, Gujarat’s economic success was not passed on to those who need it most: the state’s poor.

‘Growth is just a means to an end, and the end is development, and development means improving the quality of life for a vast majority of people,’ says Ashok Kotwal, professor of economics at the University of British Columbia. ‘That just means simple things, like bringing running water, sanitation, roads, improving the quality of schooling, public delivery systems, et cetera. And when you look at all that, Gujarat's performance is quite lacklustre.’

In key policy areas, including those touted by Mr Modi as successes, Gujarat has gone backwards relative to other Indian states. It ranks in the bottom third of states when it comes to educational outcomes, and between 2001 and 2011 slipped from sixth to 10th for access to electricity and from 10th to 14th for access to telephones.

Ashok Kotwal, a professor of economics at the University of British Columbia, argues that one of the reasons why Gujarat had such a rapid growth rate was because Mr Modi cut a lot of red tape.

Nevertheless, during the 2014 national election Mr Modi campaigned hard on his economic credentials, arguing that he had revitalised Gujarat’s economy and would do the same for the Indian economy as a whole. He also campaigned on an anti-corruption platform, blaming 50 years of Nehruvian policies for India’s systematic problems.

In May this year he led the BJP to a landslide victory in the general election, winning 282 of the 543 directly elected seats in India's lower house. With existing allies, the total number of parliamentarians in the current BJP-led coalition rose to more than 340. No party has won by such a margin in an Indian election since 1984.

‘It's a very significant change,’ says Rohit Pradhan. ‘It was in many ways a transformative election because Modi is not someone who is very willing to compromise. I think the biggest thing about the 2014 elections was that Modi won the election on his own terms and conditions.’

‘He moderated his language somewhat and talked about more inclusive politics and things like that, but he never even apologised for the Gujarat riots, he just said, “If I'm guilty I should be hanged but why should I apologise?”’

  • India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi

    Sunday 16 November 2014

    Find out more about Narendra Modi by listening to the full episode of Rear Vision.


    This [series episode segment] has image, and transcript

Statements like that have made Mr Modi a deeply divisive figure that India’s Muslim minority—which makes up 14 per cent of the population—fears. The noticeable absence of Muslims in positions of power in Mr Modi’s government hasn’t helped either.

After a campaign based on hope, however, expectations among BJP voters are sky high. After nearly 60 years of rule by the Congress Party, it seems certain that India is in for some big changes.

‘We are expecting massive overhaul of farm policy, industrial policy, infrastructure policy. I also see the likelihood of massive investment in education,’ says Madhu Kishwar.

‘If he succeeds, in 10 years India will be transformed. And he better not fail because we can't afford one more failure.’


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Comments (16)

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  • Achutha S :

    18 Nov 2014 1:29:41pm

    It is actually offensive to say "sanyasi" means "Hindu beggar". A sanyasi is someone who has rejected life's pleasures. Budha was a sanyasi. The final stage of life as defined by tradition in India is "sanyasatva", where both men and women are expected to become ascetics by rejecting all life's pleasures and focus on "moksha" or "nirvana". I assume it is an innocent/ignorant mistake.

      • Sunil :

        21 Nov 2014 12:54:49am

        Do we expect the ABC to actually understand this basic fact? After all when has the ABC or the Australian government ever been sympathetic to India? It is only due to a strong leader like Modi things are changing and our growing $2 trillion economy. In the next 15 to 20 years, India may surpass China, that is why there is a warm welcome. The ABC needs to stop insulting us but old habits are hard to die.

  • Andy :

    18 Nov 2014 4:58:39pm

    One addition to the information:
    riots in Gujrat started after a Muslim mob burned down a train wagon, around 59 Hindu pilgrims burned to death.

      • j. :

        19 Nov 2014 1:31:43pm

        That is absolutely not confirmed and is refuted by numerous investigations, which found the train wagon fire to be an accident.

      • Prahalad :

        20 Nov 2014 6:03:30am

        Correct! Most western media forget to mention it.

      • Sunil :

        21 Nov 2014 1:00:42am

        J: your assertions that this was an accident do not accord with the official investigations. The Supreme Court of India, also found Modi not guilty. Don't forget that the Congress Party was in power when the findings were handed down. In fact when the riots took place Modi asked for help from the center and adjoining states for more para-military help. He was refused, those states were Congress states and the Central government was Congress. ABC like the rest of the media is hell bent on telling half truths. But it makes no difference, we all know Modi was and is targeted because he can change India for the better. It makes no difference to Indians what you or anyone else thinks.

  • JET LEE :

    18 Nov 2014 7:08:53pm

    simply: "HE IS THE MAN OF WORDS".

  • Saz :

    18 Nov 2014 7:57:05pm

    There are some critical areas which authors have forgot to mention in this article.
    1. His opponents inside and outside india are mostly from muslim community and his political corrupt opponents
    2. The riots which are said to be a blot on him, was in in fact uncontrollable as a big muslim mob torched train carrying hindu pilgrims killing 62 of them including 6 months old babies and mothers, this caused retaliation and situation was virtually uncontrollable.
    3. Gujrat is the only two states in india exporting extra electricity.
    4. Ground level development has really taken place,visit any gujrat village and then please find out.

  • Thodasa :

    18 Nov 2014 10:45:35pm

    It is a good idea for these Authors to do some homework. Quoting other Authors, who are Critics and admirers of Narendra Modi is a quick way to create an article.

    What Narendra Modi has done is touched lives of millions of people as he has experienced the pain and suffering of people.

    You have written that in providing electricity to population, Gujarat has slipped in rankings. Gujarat is the only State which provided electricity and water to every village in 1000 days after he took over.

    You fail to mention that the 2002 Riots were started by burning 59 Hindus alive by a Muslim mob, where the local mosque was guiding the rioters to kill all the Hindus. The press in India did not say a word against Muslims, so the masses in every part of Village of Gujarat rose up and the riot started. One should know that out of 1000 people died in these riots, one third were Hindus, who were killed by Police's bullets.

    After this incident, Gujarat is the only State, where no Hindu-Muslim riots took place, in spite of Pakistani infiltrators killed many innocent Hindus in Akshardham temple of Ahmedabad.

    You saw what happened on 26th November in Mumbai, where the Pakistani terrorists killed hundreds of people in Mumbai hotels and even today, whole world denies this massacre.

    With such strong leadership of Narendra Modi, India is going to outshine itself and will shine like a Sun, where these detractors of Modi and detractors of India will know who is correct and who is incorrect.

    Jai Ho,

  • crosseyedone :

    18 Nov 2014 10:57:00pm

    What about the 100's of Christians that have been brutally killed under his "watch". No mention of them.

      • anon :

        20 Nov 2014 3:05:51pm

        That is not true. All communities coexist quite happily in India. Truth be told, it is the Muslim community which has friction with the Hindu community as well as the Christian community.

  • rutvik shukla :

    18 Nov 2014 11:13:04pm

    Modi is great man,I as Gujarati know how he handle all situation fearlessly with all bolder decisions..he changed Gujarat and I am sure he will change india ..we believe him

  • Maurya :

    19 Nov 2014 3:38:31am

    You forgot one tiny bit of information there. How the Gujarat Riots started in the first Place ?? It started when Jihadi Muslim elements torched a train full of women and children massacring 68 people most of them women and children. This was the cause of the riots. Modi was able to contain it in 2 or 3 cities. Such was the anger among the Hindus due to this cowardly act if he had not contained it the muslim death would have run into the thousands. In the riot actually 740 Muslims and around 340 Hindus died. If it was a progrom there would have been only Muslim deaths. Both sides lost. So it was not pre planned. Thats why Supreme Court gave him a clean chit.

  • Atreyu :

    19 Nov 2014 11:52:01am

    ''If I'm guilty I should be hanged but why should I apologise''

    Corrention, he said why should an apology matter if someone is guilty, if someone is guilty then they should be punished, and IF im guilty of these crimes you accuse me of, why should you settle with an apology, why wouldnt you want justice.

    Modi's state has the seen the largest drop in poverty for the muslim Indian community. The largest in all of India.

  • anon :

    20 Nov 2014 3:17:23pm

    Apart from being cleared by the Supreme court of India and multiple cases that were unable to find evidence against him, another final report is out now, once again stating that despite all the allegations, there is no proof of his involvement in it.

    Many believe that the allegations and media-maligning of Modi was part of an organized effort to keep him out of office, as he posed a potential threat to those in power (and almost all media are biased towards the previously ruling party). Fast forward twelve years, he has almost decimated those very people, to a point of not even having enough seats to serve as the 'official' opposition in parliament. There's no way to know whether or not Modi was or was not involved. But if we respect law and the judicial system, then we must assume that he is innocent, since every accusation that was made was never supported by any evidence....it just didn't hold up.

  • SK :

    20 Nov 2014 8:19:58pm

    It is sad to see the author is poorly informed about RSS when it says that the RSS rejects the idea of India as a secular state. The RSS actually is the most secular party - very clearly stating that while India, on account of its Hindu majority (85% Hindus) is a HINDU NATION. At the same time all religions are respected. If the RSS claims we are a Hindu nation, it does not necessarily mean it is not secular. The worst disaster in most muslim dominated areas, including J&K, RSS has been in the forefront of rescuing everyone and especially muslims.