Narendra Modi is the 14th Prime Minister of India, holding office since May 2014. He is the first prime minister born after India’s independence and a prominent leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Prior to becoming the nation’s prime minister, Modi served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014, where he gained national prominence. He represents the Varanasi constituency in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha, a seat he has held since 2014.
Narendra Modi joined the RSS, the BJP’s ideological parent, in the 1970s and joined the BJP in 1987. The following year he was chosen as the party’s general secretary for Gujarat. Modi took oath as Gujarat CM in 2001, after replacing Keshubhai Patel, who was held responsible for the government’s poor response to the Bhuj earthquake. Modi contested his first-ever election in 2002, shortly after which the Gujarat riots fueled controversy over his leadership. The Supreme Court in 2022 gave a clean chit to Modi and 63 others in a plea exploring a larger conspiracy behind the riots.
Known for his extensive foreign tours, Modi has been credited with raising India’s global profile. Events like “Howdy Modi” in the U.S. and his visits to countries such as Israel, Japan, and the UAE have underscored his foreign policy successes. He is said to have developed strong relations with top world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
However, Modi’s leadership has been marked by several controversial statements, especially leading up to the 2024 elections. These include remarks on national security, religion, and political opposition, which have ignited debates.
All I would say is
आङ्ग्लभाषायाः अध्ययनं न समस्या, आङ्ग्लभाषायां चिन्तनमेव समस्या।
We would not have got the sciences and engineering without exposure to western education. Modi is as usual selling his propaganda based on half truths.
Promoting Hindi or Bharatiya languages over English alone won’t suffice.
What we must do is reintroduce Bharatiya education.
IKS is a welcome step but actually a reinforcement of the same ‘captive mindset’, for we teach everything by default still with the western paradigms, and IKS as a separate subject.
It should be the other way around, IKS should be the default in every discipline, and WKS (Western Knowledge Systems) an additional subject for global exposure.
Also while we are at it, it felt sad to hear the key ideas expressed with a dash of Urdu (ghulami, azadi, etc.), as if a last desperate attempt to get those on board who we know were never and will never be on board with Bharat and Bharatiyata unless it is diluted with qaumiyat.
Disappointing to see the author conflate learning English as a language (which should never be a problem… Speaking for myself, that honour should only be reserved for the قومی زبان which promises none of the benefits and all of the brainwashing) and English as the medium of instruction.
Learning the language opens up all the claimed benefits. Replacing the medium creates an entry barrier that stops the vast majority of people from success, turning language into the new caste.
Also it should be borne in mind that teaching, for instance, the sciences and the social sciences in English = Smuggling in Eurocentric paradigms, frameworks, and philosophy. Once again, not intrinsically a bad idea to study how different parts of the world think, but problematic when taught as the only truth, almost like an exclusivist religion.