The present Prime Minister of India, Mr. Modi is someone with a lot of layers in his trajectory which many people don’t know.
In 2014, 2015, and 2017, he was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World.
Below are ten BIG facts about Narendra Modi:
1. Nation is above politics for him
You must have read in the news recently about 2 prominent Congress leaders’ statements while they were on Pakistani soil.
Salman Khurshid who has been the Minister of External Affairs called Nawaz Sharif a ‘messenger of peace’ while criticizing the Indian PM Narendra Modi.
Manishankar Aiyar a sitting MP of Congress in the Rajya Sabha told Pakistani media: ‘Unhe hataiye, hume laiye’.
Translation: Remove them(BJP), bring us in power.
When Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif called Dr.Manmohan Singh, the then Indian PM a ‘dehati aurat’ village woman, this is what Narendra Modi replied.
‘Hindustan me apne Pradhan Mantri se hum ladhenge, nitiyo par jhagda karenge. Lekin vo 125 crore logon ke desh ke Pradhan Mantri hai. Nawaz Sharif ye aapki kaunsi aukaat hai aap unko dehat aurat kahe.’
Translation: We shall fight our PM in our country. We will fight over policies. But he is the PM of 1.25 billion people. Nawaz Sharif, how dare you call him a village woman.
Narendra Modi gave this statement when the election campaigning was in full swing and political bitterness was at an all time high, Prasad Fadke recalled.
But when it came to national pride, he put all his rivalry aside and reprimanded Nawaz Sharif.
This is the difference between Modi and any other politician.
What is more shocking is the kind of response Congress gave to this gesture of Modi.
Instead of appreciating the fact that Modi defended the PM despite being in opposition, this is what Congress said.
‘India lives in villages. So what is wrong in Nawaz calling Dr. Singh a ‘Dehati Aurat’. It seems like Mr. Modi doesn’t like dehati aurats.’
Ironically this was said by Salman Khurshid himself who was the MEA then.
So basically he defended an insult of the Indian PM of his own party by a Pakistani PM just to criticize Modi. On top of all this called Mr. Modi a ‘parrot’.
2. Narendra Modi is ambidextrous
He uses his left hand to eat with a spoon and writes with his right hand. Though he was born a left-handed person his zeal to use his right hand has transformed into an ambidextrous who can equally use both his hands
3. US government had rejected Modi’s visa for 9 years until he became PM
It might appear as a shock but because the US government thought Modi was linked to Gujrat riots, they rejected his visa for over 9 years. After he became PM, things changed.
After becoming PM, he was invited over to the United States.
4. He has a passion for photography
You must think that being a global personality Modi only likes to get clicked, but it’s the exact opposite. He loves to click pictures and has a passion for photography. The photographs that he has clicked so far have helped him earn an exhibition.
5. He does not believe in Handshake
Modi mainly believe in Hugs not Handshake.
6. Sleeps for 5 hours
In many interviews, he has stated that he doesn’t sleep much. He only sleeps for 5 hours a day. Irrespective of the time when he hits the bed, he is always up by 5:30!
He didn’t miss his morning yoga even when he was in the US.
7. He is a talented Gujarati poet
He has been into writing since his young days. To date, he has written numerous books and poems.
At 36, he wrote a book called ‘Sakshibhaav’ which was a compilation of his conversation with Jagad Janni Maa.
His famous poems include- Tahuke Vasant, Gay Ano Garbo, etc.
8. He is so brave
Modi hoisted the Tricolor (Indian flag) in Lal Chowk Srinagar with Mr. Murli Manohar Joshi in 1992.
Hoisting of Indian flag on top of the clock tower at the Lal Chowk, Srinagar was prohibited and the militant organizations dared any Indians to hoist the Indian flag there.
Mr. Modi accepted the challenge went there unprotected hoisted the tricolor and came back.
Former PM Mr. M.M. Singh referred to the hoisting of tricolor as ‘divisive’. ‘…Score political points, embarrass state and local administrations…or to promote divisive agendas.’
9. Empathy
Darshan Nayak recalled his story of empathy and patience like no other:
This happened in 2004 when Mr. Modi was just a CM of Gujarat.My Brother-in-Law lost his passport in Australia. He had to file a complaint in Indian Embassy.
In order to issue a new passport, he submitted all the documents, however, Indian Embassy was delaying it for some reasons.
He submitted all the documents, tried bribing Indian Officials in Australia, Tried all his networks in India. His father tried to bribe an MLA in Bhavnagar just to get a passport. He tried everything to get his passport done but failed nonetheless.
One fine day he called at CMO office of Gujarat. Someone from CMO picked the call up and asked him to hold the line for a few minutes. He was not expecting Mr. Modi would turn up for such a matter.
After few minutes of holding, Mr. Modi came to line and out of anger, he was scolding the then CM like anything.
Mr. Modi listened to 21 year old boy very patiently and once he was done with his long complaint, Mr. Modi said, ‘Bhai, thanda thai jao and ek glass thandu pani pi lejo, gusso utari jase’ (Calm down, have a glass of water).
He was quite surprised that Mr. Modi listened to him but did not give any assurance on the passport and few hours later he went to bed for a good sleep.
Next day his Father called him and he was quite surprised to know that someone from the Passport office contacted him back home in Bhavnagar and took all the details.
Within few hours he got a call from passport office that he can collect his passport in next 4 days.
Just one call from my Brother in law from Australia and this man did everything he could for just one complaint.
That day, he won at least 5 votes from his family member.
The good work is clear: Imagine yourself in foreign country with no passport for almost 8-9 months. You don’t have any identity to prove for almost 9 months and you would end up in jail for no reason.
10. He never disrespect a woman by entering into personal space
Modi will never disrespect a woman by entering into personal space. He offers them to step forward first, this gesture shows respect.
