Narendra Modi
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Image:Narendramodi.jpg Narendra Damodardas Modi (नरेंद्र दामोदरदास मोदी in Devanagari) 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.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.narendramodi.org/bio.htm | title = Biography - Narendra Modi | accessdate = April 14 | accessyear = 2006
}}</ref>
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.
A hate figure among Muslims and a popular personality among some right wing Hindus, the state leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, came back to power in 2002. He won re-election as chief minister with 126 seats in the 182-member assembly.<ref>{{cite web
| year = 2005 | url = http://www.gujaratindia.com/Government/govt2.htm | title = Chief Minister of Gujarat | publisher = Official Portal of the Government of Gujarat | accessdate = April 14 | accessyear = 2006
}}</ref>
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Biography
In 1974, he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, and was involved in an anti-corruption movement - the Navnirmaan Andolan.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.narendramodi.org/bio.htm | title = Biography Narendra Modi | accessdate = April 15 | accessyear = 2006
}}</ref> 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. The 52 year leader is believed to be the favorite protege of Lal Krishna Advani, who is a senior leader of the Bhartiya Janata Party himself.
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.
There are unconfirmed 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 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.<ref>{{cite web
| year = 2005 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1958555.stm | title = Profile: Narendra Modi | publisher = BBC News | accessdate = April 15 | accessyear = 2006
}}</ref>
Gujarat riots of 2002
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. An official estimate states that 259 Hindus and 790 Muslims were killed, with 223 more missing. Many human rights groups put the figure of total killed at beyond 2,000.<ref>{{cite web
| year = 2005 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4536199.stm | title = Gujarat riot death toll revealed | publisher = BBC News | accessdate = April 15 | accessyear = 2006
}}</ref> The mobs formed and attacked in retaliation of the carnage in Godhra, when a train was lynched and attacked by another mob and 58 people were burned alive.<ref>{{cite web
| year = 2005 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4577031.stm | title = No conspiracy in Godhra attack | publisher = BBC News | accessdate = April 15 | accessyear = 2006
}}</ref>
Subsequent reports from several independent human rights organisations have claimed that Modi and his ministers instructed Gujarat's police officers not to obstruct the mobs. The National Human Rights Commission criticised the government, pointing to "a comprehensive failure on the part of the State Government of Gujarat to control persistent violations of rights".<ref>{{cite web
| year= 2005 | url=http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:aJT22kdr1KYJ:www.coalitionagainstgenocide.org/reports/2005/cag.02mar2005.modi.pdf+narendra+modi&hl=en&gl=in&ct=clnk&cd=12 | title= Genocide in Gujarat - The Sangh Parivar, Narendra Modi and the Government | publisher= Coalitions against Genocide | accessdate = April 15 | accessyear = 2006
}}</ref>
These claims have been rejected by Modi, and the BJP and its supporters have attacked the reports as being politically motivated. 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 "as yet" to implicate either Modi or his administration in the riots.<ref>{{cite web
| year = 2003 | url = http://www.hinduonnet.com/2003/05/19/stories/2003051901471300.htm | title = Gujarat Riots - No evidence against administration | publisher = The Hindu | accessdate = April 15 | accessyear = 2006
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| year = 2006 | url = http://www.hindu.com/2006/01/22/stories/2006012216171000.htm | title = No proof against Modi - as yet | publisher = The Hindu | accessdate = April 15 | accessyear = 2006
}}</ref>
Despite the allegations against him, Modi won the elections to the State Legislature by a huge margin, which were conducted soon after the violence.
Visa controversy
Narendra Modi applied for a diplomatic visa to visit United States of America, to attend meetings organised by the Indian-American Hotel Owner's Association on March 20, 2005. The visit was not official, but a private one at the request of the association.
The Bush administration declined to grant a visa as refused a United States visa in 2005 for alleged violations of religious freedom under the US Immigration and Nationality Act and the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. The matter brought a protest to the United States from the central government in Delhi.<ref>{{cite web
| year = 2006 | url = http://www.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=43432 | title = America denies visa to Narendra Modi | publisher = Indian Express | accessdate = April 15 | accessyear = 2006
}}</ref>
Modi said that the US had "insulted" India by revoking his visa, and asked the federal government to take up the matter with the US authorities.<ref>{{cite web
| year = 2005 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4360259.stm | title = India condemns US decision | publisher = BBC News | accessdate = April 15 | accessyear = 2006
}}</ref>
References
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