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Revision as of 23:38, 12 October 2006

Narendra Modi
Chief Minister of Gujarat
ConstituencyManinagar
Personal details
BornSeptember 17, 1950
Vadnagar, Mehsana district
Political partyBharatiya Janata Party
Residence(s)Gandhinagar, Gujarat
As of June 18, 2006Source: Government of Gujarat

Narendra Dāmodardās Modī (Gujarātī: નરેંદ્ર દામોદરદાસ મોદી) was born on September 17, 1950, Gujarat, India. He became the Chief Minister of Gujarat on October 7, 2001.

He was born in Vadnagar, a town in the northern Mehsana district of Gujarat, to a middle-class Hindu family. As a young man, he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He became a fulltime worker and organiser for it, and was later nominated by it to be a representative on the Bharatiya Janata Party.

He participated in the rise to political dominance of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Gujarat as its elections organiser in the early 1990s, a period which led to its election in 1995. He became Gujarat's Chief Minister in 2001, promoted to that office when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel resigned, following the defeat of the BJP in by-elections.

He won re-election in December 2002 as chief minister with 126 seats in the 182-member assembly . Despite his popularity with the wider Gujarati electorate, he remains a controversial figure and the Muslim community and international organisations blame him for the genocide of more than 2000 Muslims . and Muslims vote en-bloc against him. His popularity has reduced in some other parts of the country .

Biography

He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in the year 1974 and was involved in the anti-corruption New Beginning Movement (નવનિર્માણ આંદોલન Navnirmāṇ Āndolan). He joined the Bhartiya Janta Party in the early 1980s. He helped maintain the relations between the RSS and the BJP. In the year 1988 he became the General Sectretary of the State BJP unit. He is believed to be the favorite protege of Lal Krishna Advani, who is a senior leader of the Bhartiya Janata Party himself. Advani has praised Modi on numerous occasions, referring to him as "a leader who, after being subjected to a malicious and prolonged campaign of vilification, has been able to impress even his critics with his determination, single-minded focus, integrity and a wide array of achievements in a relatively short time".

He was believed to be a back-room operator for the political party in the beginning, but during the elections he potrayed himself as a pro-Hindu leader and campaigned on a platform of Hindutva.

In 1995 he was made the National Secretary of the party, in charge of five major states in India.

In October 2001, he was asked by the party to head the government in Gujarat. In 2001, Gujarat was facing problems because of several natural calamities having struck in the preceding years, including the massive Gujarat Earthquake in January 2001. Modi re-organised the government’s administrative structure and embarked upon a massive cost-cutting exercise in order to compensate for economic losses. During his administration, Gujarat registered a GDP grwowth rate of over 10%, the highest growth rate among all the states in India. However, Opposition parties, notably the Congress, accused Modi's Government of failing to ensure that the quake-affected get timely relief and rehabilitation measures.

The Gujarat government credits Modi with reducing the fiscal deficit of the state exchequer by fifty percent and reducing the losses of the Gujarat Electricity Board. He has increased the availability of Electricity in many parts of rural Gujarat. Perhaps the most important achievement of his government has been successful raising of the height of the Narmada Dam from 95 to 110.64 metres, which resulted in waters finally flowing to many parts of the state and increased use of hydroelectric power .

There are reports that he married a woman working as a teacher in a poor Muslim area about 100 kilometres from Ahmedabad. This is not mentioned in his official biography. His critics say that this omission is because of the ideals of the RSS members of leading a life of celibacy – allowing in their view true dedication of work as a RSS leader.

Gujarat violence

Main article: 2002 Gujarat violence

In February 2002, when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, violence took place in the state claiming hundreds of lives. While some refer to the violence as riots others refer to it as an Anti-Muslim pogrom by disgruntled masses . An official estimate states that 254 Hindus and 790 Muslims were killed, with 223 more missing. The riots followed the Godhra incident, where 58 Hindus were burnt alive on a train.

Subsequent reports from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch and political opponents have claimed that Modi and his ministers instructed Gujarat's police officers not to obstruct the attacking mobs.

These claims have been rejected by Modi, and the BJPand its supporters have criticized the reports as being politically motivated, due to the fact they came out at the time of an election. A judicial commission constituted to examine allegations of Gujarat state administration's involvement in the riots of 2002 has twice so far said that there was no evidence to implicate either Modi or his administration in the riots. As an aftermath to the riots, there were calls for Modi to resign as chief minister of Gujarat. The opposition parties stalled the national parliament over the issue. Even allies of the BJP like DMK and TDP were asking for Modi's resignation. Modi submitted his resignation to the Governor, Mr. Sundar Singh Bhandari, only after three months and recommended the dissolution of the 10th Gujarat Legislative Assembly. In the subsequent elections, the BJP, led by Modi, won the elections by a huge margin.

In 2006, a chargesheet was filed against Modi by the widow of the slain ex-MP Ahsan Jafri for complicity in the Gujarat riots. .

Visa controversy

Narendra Modi applied for a diplomatic visa to visit the United States of America, to attend meetings organised by the Asian-American Hotel Owner's Association (AAHOA) on March 20, 2005. The visit was not official, but a private one at the request of the association. A campaign against the visit was launched by some US Congressmen prompted by the lobbying and campaigning of several organizations such as the Friends of South Asia, a controversial group mired in accusations of being an anti-Hindu group. The United States Government declined to grant him a visa, mainly because of the alleged violations of religious freedom, under the US Immigration and Nationality Act and the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998..In the resulting decision not even his request for Visa denied, his long term tourist visa too was revoked.Modi said that the US had "insulted" India by revoking his visa , and asked the Indian government to take up the matter with the US authorities. The matter brought a protest to the United States from the Indian government in Delhi who condemned the decision.

Preceded byKeshubhai S. Patel Chief Minister of Gujarat
6 October 2001 – 		Succeeded byCurrent Incumbent

References

  1. "Biography - Narendra Modi". Retrieved April 14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. "Chief Minister of Gujarat". Official Portal of the Government of Gujarat. 2005. Retrieved April 14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. http://www.guardian.co.uk/india/story/0,,1020835,00.html
  4. The Hindu
  5. BBC
  6. "Biography Narendra Modi". Retrieved April 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. "Profile: Narendra Modi". BBC News. 2005. Retrieved April 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. "Gujarat riot death toll revealed". BBC News. 2005. Retrieved April 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. "No conspiracy in Godhra attack". BBC News. 2005. Retrieved April 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. "Gujarat Riots - No evidence against administration". The Hindu. 2003. Retrieved April 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. "No proof against Modi - as yet". The Hindu. 2006. Retrieved April 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  12. "Gujarat Cabinet puts off decision on elections". The Tribune. 2002. Retrieved May 9. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  13. "Modi resigns; seeks Assembly dissolution". The Hindu. 2002. Retrieved May 9. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  14. "Taking on Modi". The Hindu. 2006. Retrieved Oct 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  15. "Issue of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's Visa Status". US State Department. 2005. Retrieved Oct 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  16. "India condemns US decision". BBC News. 2005. Retrieved April 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  17. "America denies visa to Narendra Modi". Indian Express. 2006. Retrieved April 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

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