Narendra Modi

The Honourable

Narendra Modi
नरेंद्र मोदी
Official portrait, 2025
14th Prime Minister of India
Assumed office
26 May 2014
President
Preceded byManmohan Singh
Additional ministries
Assumed office
26 May 2014
Ministry and DepartmentsPersonnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Space, Department of Atomic Energy
Preceded byManmohan Singh
Leader of the House, Lok Sabha
Assumed office
26 May 2014
Preceded bySushilkumar Shinde
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Assumed office
5 June 2014
Preceded byMurli Manohar Joshi
ConstituencyVaranasi
14th Chief Minister of Gujarat
In office
7 October 2001 – 22 May 2014
Governor
Preceded byKeshubhai Patel
Succeeded byAnandiben Patel
Member of Gujarat Legislative Assembly
In office
15 December 2002 – 16 May 2014
Preceded byKamlesh Patel
Succeeded bySuresh Patel
ConstituencyManinagar
In office
24 February 2002 – 19 July 2002
Preceded byVajubhai Vala
Succeeded byVajubhai Vala
ConstituencyRajkot II
Personal details
Born
Narendra Damodardas Modi

(1950-09-17) 17 September 1950 (age 76)
Vadnagar, Bombay State, Republic of India (present-day Gujarat)
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party (1985–present)
Other political
affiliations		National Democratic Alliance
Spouse(s)Jashodaben Modi (m. 1968; estranged)
Parents
  • Damodardas Mulchand Modi (Father)
  • Hiraben Modi (Mother)
Residence7, Lok Kalyan Marg, New Delhi, Delhi, India
Alma materUniversity of Delhi (BA)
Gujarat University (MA)
AwardsList of state honours[broken anchor]
Signature
WebsiteOfficial website
Government website
Nickname(s)see article

Narendra Damodardas Modi (born: 17 September, 1950) is an Indian politician who is the 14th and current Prime Minister of the Republic of India since 2014. He was previously the Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014. He was later elected as the prime minister in May 2014. He is a member of the right-wing-Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the first Indian prime minister to be born after the country's independence from the British Empire in 1947.

Early life

Narendra Modi was born into a Gujarati family in Vadnagar. As a child, he used to help his father, who ran a tea stall at Vadnagar railway station. Later, he and his brother ran a tea stall of their own at a bus terminus.

In 1978, Modi received a B.A. degree in political science from School of Open Learning at the University of Delhi, graduating with a third class. Five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University, as an external distance learning student.

However his degree has been a subject of controversy. Many people claimed the degree as false, but no proof was given by him or his party to prove his degree.

Political carrer

Modi led the BJP in the 2014 Indian general election which gave the party a majority in the Indian lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha, the first time for any single party since 1984. He soon became Prime Minister of India.

PM Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign investment in the Indian economy and cut spending on healthcare and social welfare programmes. The Modi government has made amendments to existing environmental and labour laws.

Following his party's victory in the 2019 Indian general election, the Citizenship Amendment Act was introduced, which resulted in widespread protests across the country.

In 2020, his government introduced new farming bills, which resulted in widespread protests accross the country, according to a report 700 farmers died in the protest. However, the government took back the bill after almost 2 years of protests, just before the 2022 UP elections.

Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration oversaw the 2002 Gujarat riots, and he was criticized for how he handled them, which was his starting career as a chief minister .There have been multiple investigations into the Gujarat riots, including a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT), which cleared Modi of any wrongdoing.

As a Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has had high approval ratings. In early 2017, a survey from Pew Research Center showed Modi to be the most popular figure in Indian politics.

Personal life

In 1968, he married Jashodaben. He was 18 while she was 17 at that time. However, the couple has been separated but never actually divorced. The marriage was not in the memory of people for decades till 2014. A Modi biographer wrote that Modi kept the marriage a secret because he would not have been able to become a prachaarak in the RSS, for which celibacy had once been a requirement. Modi had a close relationship with his mother, Hiraben (who died in 2022). He is a vegetarian.

According to Modi, during his childhood, he occasionally assisted in his father's tea business on the platform of Vadnagar railway station.

Notes

  1. ↑ gu listenⓘ; Narendra Modi was born Narendrabhai Damodardas Modi on 17 September 1950. He uses Damodardas as his middle name—Gujaratis have a tradition of using the names of their fathers as their middle names—but he is widely known as Narendra Modi.

References

  1. ↑ "Jashodaben, named by Narendra Modi as his wife, prays for him to become PM". NDTV. Press Trust of India. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  2. ↑ Marino 2014, pp. 4–5.
  3. ↑ "BJP banking on Modi effect". The Hindu - Blog. 27 April 2009. Archived from the original on 21 April 2014. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  4. ↑ "Modi wins India's election with a landslide, early results show". Reuters. 16 May 2014. Archived from the original on 16 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  5. ↑ ""India Not Neutral, On Side Of Peace": PM Modi On Historic Ukraine Visit". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  6. ↑ Peri, Dinakar (2024-08-23). "If India changes its attitude towards Russia, the war will end: Zelensky". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  7. ↑ "Opinion: Opinion | The Realism We Are Missing In Modi's Ukraine Trip". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  8. ↑ Padmanabhan, Keshav (2024-08-27). "Modi & Putin 'exchange perspectives' on Russia-Ukraine conflict a day after PM's call with Biden". ThePrint. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
  9. ↑ "Narendra Modi appointed Prime Minister, swearing in on May 26". The Times of India. 20 May 2014. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  10. ↑ "Know the PM". PMIndia.gov. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  11. ↑ "'I have a special association with tea', Modi tells Lankan Tamils". www.oneindia.com. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  12. ↑ Sinha, N. C. (19 January 2021). High School Essays. Prabhat Prakashan. p. 20. ISBN 978-93-5186-604-6.
  13. ↑ "Tale of two hugs and PM Modi's 'Bharat first' policy amid Russia-Ukraine war". The Times of India. 2024-08-23. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  14. ↑ "Narendra Modi degree row: DU college says it has no data of students passing out in 1978". India Today. Archived from the original on 17 March 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  15. ↑ "Narendra Modi's degree 'authentic': Delhi University Registrar Tarun Das". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  16. ↑ Avasthi, Yogesh (10 May 2016). "Globetrotting PM Modi was weakest in 'International Relations'". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  17. ↑ "Modi proves to be an astute strategist". Hindustan Times. 23 December 2007. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  18. ↑ "Degree row- PM Modi MA with first class: Gujarat University". The Indian Express. May 2016. Archived from the original on 29 July 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  19. ↑ "'Diplomatic tightrope': How foreign media covered PM Modi's visit to Ukraine". India Today. 2024-08-24. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  20. ↑ "Narendra Modi will be removed 'by other methods' unless...: Subramanian Swamy's warning to PM". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  21. ↑ Bhattacharya, Tathagata (2018-06-16). "The curious case of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's degree". National Herald. Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  22. ↑ "Election results 2014: India places its faith in Moditva - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2021-11-14.
  23. ↑ "Eight farmer protestors killed by union minister's son's vehicle during a peaceful protest". hrdaindia.org. Archived from the original on 2025-10-14. Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  24. ↑ "India: The price of protest must not be death". Amnesty International. 2024-02-22. Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  25. ↑ Rajalakshmi, T. K. (2025-01-11). "Farmers' Protest | Jagjit Dallewal's Fast-Unto-Death and Protesters' Suicides Unite Farmers". Frontline. Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  26. ↑ Team, N. L. (2024-02-23). "Farmers' protest: 4 farmers dead, 46 admitted to hospital, 18 with 'gunshot' injuries". Newslaundry. Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  27. ↑ "'Modi's arrogance killed 700 farmers last time, it has again become their enemy': Rahul on farmer's death". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  28. ↑ Menon, Kalyani Devaki (2012). Everyday Nationalism: Women of the Hindu Right in India. The University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-8122-2234-0. Yet, months after this violent pogrom against Muslims, the Hindu nationalist chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, went to the polls and won a resounding victory
  29. ↑ Mishra, Pankaj (April 2011). Visweswaran, Kamala (ed.). Perspectives on Modern South Asia: A Reader in Culture, History, and Representation. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-4051-0062-5. The chief minister of Gujarat, a young up-and-coming leader of the Hindu nationalists called Narendra Modi, quoted Isaac Newton to explain the killings of Muslims. "Every action", he said, "has an equal and opposite reaction."
  30. ↑ Robinson, Simon (11 December 2007). "India's Voters Torn Over Politician". Time Magazine. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  31. ↑ Burke, Jason (28 March 2010). "Gujarat leader Narendra Modi grilled for 10 hours at massacre inquiry". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 September 2013. Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  32. ↑ "Narendra Modi 'allowed' Gujarat 2002 anti-Muslim riots". BBC News. 2011-04-22. Retrieved 2025-12-24.
  33. ↑ Zainulbhai, Hani (17 September 2015). "Indians adore Modi". Pew Research. Archived from the original on 14 November 2016. Retrieved 17 February 2017.
  34. ↑ "PM Narendra Modi 'By Far' Most Popular Figure in Indian Politics: Pew Survey". NDTV. 16 November 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  35. ↑ https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/morning-brief-how-spg-thwarted-possible-threat-to-modi-in-kyiv-bangladesh-guards-stop-india-from-building-fence-more-101724467977281.html
  36. ↑ "Narendra Modi's 'wife' Jashodaben finally speaks, 'I like to read about him (Modi) ... I know he will become PM'". The Financial Express. 1 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2 January 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2014.
  37. ↑ "Heeraben Modi: Indian PM Modi's mother dies aged 99". BBC Home. 2022-12-30. Retrieved 2025-11-09.
  38. ↑ "PM Narendra Modi takes blessings from mother Hiraba on his 66th birthday". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  39. ↑ "10 facts to know about Prime Minister Narendra Modi". 23 October 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  40. ↑ https://www.livemint.com/news/world/pakistan-needs-a-leader-like-narendra-modi-nationalism-has-worked-well-for-india-pak-politician-11724588320598.html
  41. ↑ "Narendra Modi: Childhood tales that foretold the coming of a remarkable leader". Economic Times. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.

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