Narendra Damodardas Modi: Greatest political phenomenon of India

Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi’s biggest achievement is convincing the world of India's rise to a superpower. Only a powerful ruler could pull that feat, and Modi did it with ease.

Narendra Damodardas Modi, who completed twelve years as Prime Minister, is the greatest political phenomenon India has ever seen. There has never been another leader in India who became the Chief Minister on his first win as MLA, and the Prime Minister when he first became a Member of Parliament. Moreover, PM Modi remained in both positions unrivalled for many years; it is unlikely that there will be another such politician like him.

Modi was born three years after India's independence and is the first person born after independence to become the Prime Minister of India. Modi broke the record of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, who remained Prime Minister for the longest period of time.

Narendra Damodardas Modi was born into an ordinary family. His mother used to work in neighbouring houses. His father ran a tea stall. At a young age, Modi also worked as a helper in the tea stall. It was Swami Vivekananda's books that instilled in Modi the idea of selfless service to the country. He left home at the age of seventeen and wandered around the Himalaya for two years, inspired into an ascetic form of life. This might be the period where Modi tested his endurance in the mighty Himalayas, so unwelcoming a place for novices to make a living. Life could turn hell for people unaware of the weather pattern and not acclimatised to the bone-chilling cold. However, Modi survived the test and returned to the mainland only to become a full-time activist of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Even during the early 90s, Modi was a seldom-known politician who was not part of discourses in Indian homes. He was not a scion of a political family nor had any high-ranking leaders by his side. It was his sole efforts and his unwavering commitment to the people that helped him rise among people. Becoming a servant of the people was always Modi's top priority. Modi's was entrusted with the duty of helping BJP, (RSS's political wing) to power for the first time in the municipal elections in Ahmedabad. It was his first political assignment, and Modi, as he always does, worked meticulously and succeeded. This win made BJP's national leadership take note of Modi's organisational skills. Even Vajpayee and Advani were impressed with how he helped BJP storm to power in the former Congress fortress of Ahmedabad.

Results continued to follow, and Modi soon became the national general secretary of the BJP, in charge of its organisation and later the Gujarat Chief Minister. However, the Godhra train burning and the subsequent Hindu-Muslim riots that marred Gujarat earned him notoriety in 2001. However, the people of Gujarat stood with him. It was his ability to overcome that crisis, which no political leader would normally survive, that elevated Modi to a national leader status.

Although Vajpayee, who was also the Prime Minister, demanded that Modi be removed from the post of Gujarat Chief Minister, Advani's strong support helped Modi survive the scare. It was Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray who persuaded Advani to do so, saying that if Modi is removed, BJP will never come to power in Gujarat. The state then elected Modi for the third time as chief minister, and the nation was curious to know why. It was at this stage that the famed Gujarat Model development started spreading across India.

After taking the reins of the country in 2014, PM Modi set his focus on development, diplomacy and defence. It was during Modi's tenure that our neighbours and the world realised that India is a country that, if attacked, will retaliate tenfold in the next second. The confidence and sense of security that it gave to the people of the nation is inexplicable.

Doubling India's economy from $2 trillion to $4.3 trillion in twelve years is one of the greatest achievements of the administration. The Atmanirbhar Bharat envisioned by Modi is going to make India self-sufficient in manufacturing and also a top-tier country in earning foreign exchange through exports. The Modi government even successfully implemented the GST reform, which the UPA government conceived but could not implement.

India's ability to confront China's diplomatic challenge, strengthen its friendship with Russia, and maintain good relations with the Gulf countries, the United States, and even Israel made the world recognise the crucial world power nestled in the subcontinent.

On the other side, the Modi government is currently facing many challenges, including rising fuel prices, rising cooking gas prices, rising prices of essential commodities, and rising unemployment, due to the crisis in the Middle East. For a leader who has surpassed many such crises, Modi may overcome this too through public welfare schemes.

Political strategist Prashant Kishor, who worked extensively with PM Modi during the 2014 campaign, was once asked in an interview to reveal the strengths of India’s prime minister that make him undefeatable.

“PM Modi is a patient listener. He can frustrate you with questions. Whatever we say, he will listen. It is not his oratory skills but his ability to listen to others that makes him stronger,” said Kishore, a former ally and now political foe of the BJP.