Born on 17th September 1950 and raised in Vadnagar, a small town of Gujarat the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi turns 75 today. With a very humble family background, he completed his higher secondary education in Vadnagar in 1967 and used help his father sell tea at the local railway station. From the childhood he was a keen debater, with interest in theatre. Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influence on his political image. At a very tender age of eight years, Modi was introduced to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and began attending its local shakhas (training sessions). There, Modi met Lakshman Rao Inamdar, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a balswayamsevak (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor thereafter. In 1968.
Narendra Modi at the age of 18, got married, but destiny had written something else and soon after marriage Modi abandoned his parental house to wander in the Himalayas. In fact Modi never wanted to live a married life and travelled around India for two years, visiting a number of religious centers including Hindu ashrams founded by Swami Vivekananda: the Belur Math near Kolkata, Advaita Ashrama in Almora and the Ramakrishna Mission in Rajkot. In 1978 Modi received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the School of Open Learning at the University of Delhi and five years later, in 1983, he received a Master of Arts degree in political science from Gujarat University as an external distance learning student.
Modi’s first known political activity was in 1971 when he joined a Jana Sangh Satyagraha in Delhi led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but the Indira Gandhi government disallowed open support to Mukti Vahini and Modi was put in Tihar Jail for a short period. After the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he returned to Gujarat and became a full-time pracharak (campaigner) for the RSS. During the state of emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi, in 1975, Modi went into hiding (Incognito). In 1985, the RSS assigned him to the BJP and he held several positions within the party hierarchy, rising to the rank of general secretary until 2001 when Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat due to Keshubhai Patel’s failing health. His policies as chief minister, credited with encouraging economic growth, have received praise. For 12 years, winning three elections, he continuously served Gujarat state as Chief Minister. Under his leadership, Gujarat became one of the most prosperous states in the country and he signed deals with a lot of foreign companies and governments. Narendra Modi, as PM, has been successful in replicating the same on a bigger level. His foreign tours have brought in a lot of foreign investments and practically his efforts have paved the way for raise of morale of the Indians.
Modi led the BJP in the 2014 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 and his party again became victorious with a thumping majority in 2019 which too is attributed to Modi. Again in 2024 elections people deposed faith in Modi led NDA.
In 2022, under Project Cheetah, which was world’s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released eight cheetahs that were brought from Namibia in nonstop charted flight and re-introduced and released in the Kuno National Park (KNP), in Madhya Pradesh, on his birthday.
The Prime Minister in 2023 secured the highest approval rating globally among elected leaders as per the latest survey by Morning Consult. 76% of people approved of Modi’s leadership while 18 per cent disapproved. He has constantly topped the survey, with his approval rating mostly hovering in the 70s.
PM Narendra Modi, on his 73rd birthday in 2023 celebrated his birthday by dedicating the ‘YashoBhoomi’ convention center in Dwarka. It is the Convention Center, built across more than 73 thousand square meters of area, comprises 15 convention rooms including the Main Auditorium, the Grand ballroom, and 13 meeting rooms with a total capacity of holding 11,000 delegates.
Modi’s administration has many achievements to its credit which include foreign direct investment, launching of healthcare and social welfare programmes, improved efficiency in the bureaucracy etc. Under Modi’s tenure, India has experienced decisions of far reaching impact like demonetization, implementing GST, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) law, introducing Niti Aayog, revoking the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, introducing the Citizenship Amendment Act, Farm Laws, Triple Talaq Laws, improved International relations.
PM Modi has pulled off a systematic shift of Bharat’s Perception.
“Hai Mujhe Saugandh Bharat, Bhulun Na Eik Kshann Tujhe, Rakt Ki Har Boondi Meri, Hai Mera Arpan Tujhe.” These words resonate in every step taken by Narendra Damodardas Modi during his tenure as Prime Minister of Bharat.
As he turns 75 on September 17, one must acknowledge the staunch patriot in him. A visionary leader who has tirelessly endeavored to set Bharat on the path to Atmanirbharta or self-sufficiency. There are many aspects to PM Modi’s governance model. However, this is an attempt to focus on the systematic shift of Bharat’s perception before 2014 as a soft nation and weak link to a strong, confident, and dependable nation over the last 11 years. From non-aligned and largely submissive to asserting strategic autonomy and an aggressively defensive posture, Bharat under PM Modi has seen a significant psych upgrade.
This hasn’t been easy, and this is far from complete. We have just about embarked on this journey and have a long way to go. Sample this; the total length of India’s land and sea borders is 15,106.7 kilometres of land and 7,516.6 kilometres of coastline. We share our land borders with nine nations of which some are hostile. Nearly 6,000 km of our land borders remain unfenced or not clearly defined. This is a serious security challenge. There is also a perennial two-front challenge on the eastern and western sides of Bharat and in the last 11 years, both sides have seen significant activity.
Bharat under Modi wants peace but will punish those that take its affinity for non-violence as a weakness. The strong, muscular yet benign posture has started taking shape here. And the world took notice.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi turns 75, the BJP unveils grand celebrations, including a spectacular drone show in Pune, a massive sapling planting and a 15-day ‘Sewa Pakhwada’ (Fortnight of Service) from 17 September until 2 October, the birth anniversaries of Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri filled with various social service activities, including blood donation camps, cleanliness drives, and health camps filled with social service activities across the nation.
BJP’s Yuva Morcha (youth wing) will organise ‘Namo Yuva run’ across 75 cities, with more than 10,000 participants in each rally.
Expecting a lot more, in the coming times, for our Nation from a Nationalist leader, he is wished, on his birth anniversary, a long life for serving the interests of the Nation.
