Who is Narendra Modi? Well, it depends on who you ask. India's Prime Minister makes the impossible, possible. He is very conscious of his image in history. He has completely seduced the Hindi - Hindu belt. Some view him as the most effective prime minister in the history of India. He's passionately worshiped by millions and hailed as one of the world's
most popular leaders, with approval ratings surpassing 70%. Democracy delivers and democracy empowers. On the other hand, critics see him as an autocratic Hindu
nationalist who marginalizes minorities and undermines democratic norms. Down with dictatorship! Down with dictatorship! The idea that India is a democracy, this is a lie. He's a champion to the poor and friend of billionaires. He's lifted millions out of extreme poverty, even as the country's inequality
continues to widen. So, who is Narendra Modi? Former colleagues, bureaucrats and historians
give us an insight view of the man who runs one of the world's
most dynamic economies, to understand how exactly he got here and why he's so polarizing. Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on September 17, 1950 in the town of Vadnagar, situated in the Western Indian state of Gujarat. I have known the prime minister
since childhood. Narendra bhai was always a very sharp
and clever student since childhood. Narendra bhai sold tea, and we helped him. As a child, inside trains,
I used to sell tea. And today, I stand before you. When we were in school, an astrologer from Bihar visited. We gave him one rupee. He looked at my palm lines
with 4 to 5 of my friends, “Listen to me,” he said. “This boy will become a
great ascetic and a great leader.” Modi experienced a typical upbringing
in a small rural town marked by relative poverty
and an arranged marriage during his teenage years. Soon after marriage, he left the house,
left the marriage and went away. Around one
and a half year to two years, he was roaming around like a vagabond. He got a unique understanding of poverty, not as the academic subject,
but the actual thing. He came to Ahmedabad and eventually joined the RSS and his life changed. The RSS stands for the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the largest and most powerful Hindu group
in the country, advocating pro Hindu causes. Modi quickly rose through the ranks. But the RSS has a dark history. The group was banned for a year
after one of its members assassinated Mahatma Gandhi,
a preacher of non-violence and one of the most famous
figures of the 20th century. I used to meet Narendra bhai at
special functions of the Sangh or at senior level meetings. It was always evident that
he was very ambitious. One of his genius qualities is that
he's an excellent orator, with good comprehension and excellent presentation skills. Because of this, wherever he went,
he would grab attention. Modi's knack for storytelling
and captivating audiences emerged as a talent
that propelled his political rise. People are not going to vote to elect, or vote to defeat. People will now vote to punish. He is thinking the way masses think, the way Indian people would normally think. Modi used his ability to connect
with large audiences to preach the RSS philosophy of ‘Hindutva,’ a hardline form of Hindu nationalism that effectively equates
being Indian with being Hindu. While the RSS itself doesn't
stand for elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party
or the BJP serves as its political arm. Among the first lot of people who were deputed by the RSS
to work in the BJP, it included Narendra Modi in Gujarat. That is how Mr. Modi came in to the BJP. When he joined the BJP, Modi held administrative responsibilities
managing events, marches and rallies. He rose to prominence
by helping to organize a movement to build a Hindu temple on a site
where a mosque had stood for 500 years. The RSS and the BJP claimed the site in the city of Ayodhya was the original birthplace of Hindu god Ram. And that Muslim invaders
had built the mosque where a temple once stood. The “Hindus” within quotes wanted that site back in order to build a suitable temple for Ram. And finally, in 1992, this resulted in the physical destruction
of the mosque by what you can only call a mob, which was mobilized by the political powers. The destruction of the mosque in 1992
would redefine Indian politics and set up Modi
to eventually become the chief minister of Gujarat,
one of India's wealthiest states, a decade later. But just months after taking office, on February 27th, 2002, a deadly incident in Gujarat would scar Modi's image
for decades to come. Nearly 60 men, women and children,
all Hindus, were killed in a train fire. Riots broke out across the state. Hundreds of people, mostly Muslims, were killed. Modi was accused of not doing enough
to stop the violence, and the US would deny him a visa. Years later, India's Supreme Court cleared Modi of any wrongdoing in the riots. The Gujarat High Court would convict 31 Muslims
for burning the train. Certainly what happened in Gujarat
in 2002, the riots or the pogrom,
as many people call it, did give Prime Minister Modi that image as somebody
who represented that particular strident form of what is what we now call Hindutva. In the wake of the riots, Modi
was under pressure from the opposition and even his own party. But he called a fresh election
and went on to run a defined re-election campaign
as chief minister of Gujarat. Hindus would rally behind Modi, leading to a landslide win. So that is how Mr Modi suddenly became
from the leader of a government and the party, which was not very sure
whether they will win the elections, to somebody who became the Hindu ‘Vidya Samrat’: the emperor of Hindu hearts. Modi was poised to ascend onto the national stage. But first, he had plenty of work to do in rehabilitating the
image of Gujarat and himself. For the first time in the
history of independent India, a sitting chief minister,
Narendra Modi, has been questioned on the role of his government
in mass murders in connection with the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat. The riots in Gujarat had created a very serious situation for Gujarat. People were shying away
from fresh investment because things did not look normal. As chief minister of Gujarat, Modi quickly
started implementing policies aimed at increasing economic productivity,
hoping to turn around the fortunes of the state
and his own brand. He decided the only way the image of Gujarat
can be improved at that point, if we go back to 2002, is by projecting the image
of a very peaceful state. Simultaneously, Mr Modi also realized that it is important to bring in investment. So there was, considerable pressure on us
to do something which would re-establish Gujarat
as the best destination for investment. And “Vibrant Gujarat” was basically an investors meeting. Mr Modi personally talked to most of them and assured them
that his government will extend all the necessary support for them to do the business quickly. India's top businessman,
including Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata and Gautam Adani, started
flocking to the annual business summit. I would like to commend Mr Modi and the entire government for making Gujarat as vibrant, as attractive
and as conducive to investment as it is. India's super rich got behind Modi and saw their wealth
increase dramatically. They came to dominate domestic industries
such as the transportation, telecommunications and energy. So he became both, the development man who had not left his Hindu heart behind. Modi's outreach to wealthy industrialists
spawned what became to be known as the “Gujarat Model,” a plan to cut
red tape in a bid to attract investment. At the same time, he focused on delivering
tangible benefits to the poor. He was able to greatly correct the power shortage issue in Gujarat. In the rural areas, he decided to separate the grid for the domestic consumption
and for the every agricultural consumption. Quite a revolutionary idea
that the people became very happy that we do not have
any power cuts in our residences. While Gujarat's industrial development
didn't trickle down to everyone, in the 12 years
he was in charge, the state's economy grew at an average of 10% each year, higher than the national growth average. And Modi rode that to power. When Narendra Modi became
the chief minister here, the slogan of development that he gave became a model for the entire country. That record made Modi
the BJP's best candidate to oust the opposition, which was hit hard by corruption allegations. Modi promised to fix the economy, generate jobs, and lower inflation, keeping Hindu issues on the backburner. He does want to replicate
the Gujarat success story, as he puts it, at the National level, because Gujarat has turned out
to be one of India's richest states. Investors just love it. And after that, actually there was no stopping him to become the leader of the BJP, and ran an extraordinary campaign
for the 2014 parliamentary elections. We are calling the election. Modi will be the next prime minister. On May 26th, 2014,
Narendra Modi, became prime minister with BJP securing India's biggest election win in 30 years. Narendra Modi has won a landslide victory
in India's election. Modi rose to the top as the next ruler of India. After taking power in Delhi, he immediately focused on the country's
development challenges. In 2014, the country, the economy especially was in a big mess. The inflation was almost uncontrollable,
the banks losses were mounting and all these things
had to be sorted out. If you ask people to rank
what they voted on, most of these were economic dimensions, it was infrastructure, roads, inflation,
development, governance. Infrastructure spending rose significantly under Modi
with large construction projects for highways and airports
leading the charge. Fellow Gujarati Gautam Adani
was central to this infrastructure push, building companies spanning ports
to power plants to airports and more. Adani's empire is integral to India's economy, putting his ties
to Modi under a spotlight. The billionaire says he aligns
his business strategies with government policy, and denies he has benefited from his ties to the prime minister. There is more infrastructure today, more roads, more rail network, but that's a natural process of growth. Modi also pushed through reforms,
many of which were initiated during the previous administration,
including a national identity card, an inflation target and a goods-and-services tax that unified India as a single market
for the first time. But in 2019, Modi would face one of his biggest domestic challenges in the form
of a devastating act of terror. Tensions escalate between India
and Pakistan over a car bombing. The attack killed dozens of Indian paramilitary police
in the disputed region of Kashmir. Modi ordered the bombing
of alleged terrorist camps in Pakistan. His popularity ratings soared, putting him
well ahead in the race that had been much closer. Back in 2014, it was about creating jobs. It was about fighting corruption. This time around, it was different.
It was not about economics. It was about nationalistic sentiment
within the country. After Modi secured a renewed mandate,
he moved quickly to fulfill some of the biggest long-standing
wishes of India's Hindu right. That also spurred protest and discontent from his opponents. First, his government
scrapped the autonomous status of India's only Muslim
majority state of Jammu and Kashmir. Second, he passed a citizenship law
that openly discriminates against Muslim migrants. And third, he ramped up the push to build the Ram Temple in Ayodhya. Those moves further consolidated Modi's
support among Hindus, who make up about
80% of India's population. Yet they marginalized minorities
and those who believe in India's pluralistic roots. He has completely seduced the in the Hindi - Hindu belt. We are headed towards a polarized, divided society. The prime minister took
an oath to protect the nation. I don’t see him respecting his oath, because of the way people are
being cornered or suppressed. Those who are being turned into
second-class citizens. Democracy's in peril. Economic inequalities have widened. Despite the number of people in extreme poverty
declining during Modi's tenure, India's economic disparity is staggering. A recent study showed inequality
at the highest levels since at least the 1950s. The Modi government
focused on economic growth above all else and tried to build national champions,
rewarding big businesses. But, much of this has yet to trickle down to workers. India's opposition parties have long accused
the Modi government of crony capitalism and favouring certain businesses
in government contracts. That comes as India falls in press freedom rankings and democracy indices because of growing concerns
over moves to silence Modi's critics. On January 22nd, 2024, Modi finally inaugurated the Ram Temple
with blessings of the Supreme Court. A range of dignitaries
and celebrities were present. Hindus celebrated across the country. But for many Indians, it marked the death knell of a secular India. It is no longer a plural democracy. As far as minorities are concerned, especially the Muslims and the Dalits are concerned, there is overt discrimination, overt neglect. Others hang on to hope that India can remain
a secular society for its more than 1.4 billion people. There's too much diversity
in this country. Even within Hinduism. The Indian state is much bigger
than the prime minister, then even the government of the day. So to say that secularism is dead,
I wouldn’t agree. India is now the fastest-growing major economy
in the world, with an increasingly influential global
voice. International investors are captivated by India's growth story,
driven by a demographic surge, a young consumer audience
and favourable geopolitics. I think the optimism about India
is actually completely justified. Everyone in the world says, "India is the future.” For Modi though,
the transformation of India into a Hindu economic powerhouse
isn't just a dream. It is happening now and it is the future, he is building. Even a thousand years from now, people will discuss this date, this moment. This is India’s time, and India
is now going to move forward.
