Public image of Narendra Modi

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Narendra Modi

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Prime Minister of India

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Prime Minister of India

Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, has elicited a number of public perceptions regarding his personality and background.

Personal life[edit]

A vegetarian,[1] Modi has a frugal lifestyle and is a workaholic and introvert.[2] Modi is Hindu and as a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Bharatiya Janata Party, he promotes Hindu nationalism and Hindutva.[3]

As a communicator[edit]

Adept at using social media, in September 2014 Modi became the second-most-followed leader in the world with 5 million Twitter subscribers.[4][5] At present no other world leader has more subscribers in social media.[citation needed] Modi's 31 August 2012 post on Google Hangouts made him the first Indian politician to interact with netizens on live chat.[6][7]

Although he has been called a controversial, polarising and divisive figure by media sources,[8][9][10] British economist Jim O'Neill (author of "Building Better Global Economic BRICs") blogged that Modi is "good on economics" – one of the things "India desperately needs in a leader".[11] In August 2013, financial analyst Chris Wood of CLSA wrote in his weekly "Greed & fear" report: "The Indian stock market's greatest hope is the emergence of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate".[11]

Slogans[edit]

Slogans used by Narendra Modi in different occasions such as political meetings, public speeches, in various programs, etc., have become popular. Some of his notable slogans include: "Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat",[12] "Congress Mukt Bharat",[13] "Team India",[14] "Start-up India, Stand-up India",[15][16] "Save water, save energy, save fertilizers",[17] "India first",[18] "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance",[19] "Government has no business to do business",[20] "Make in India"[18][21] "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas[18] "Zero defect, zero effect",[21] "Justice for all, appeasement to none",[22] "3 D's - Democracy, Demographic dividend and Demand"[23] and "5 T's - Talent, Tradition, Tourism, Trade and Technology".[24]

Fashion[edit]

God has gifted me the sense of mixing and matching colours. So I manage everything on my own. Since I’m God gifted I fit well in everything. I have no fashion designer but I’m happy to hear that I dress well.

Narendra Modi, in The Modi Effect by Lance Price[25][26]

Modi has been called a fashion leader in India, and his clothing choices have been discussed internationally.[27][28] Recognition of his style is a major part of his public image.[25]

Modi wearing a suit with his name embroidered in the pinstripes

In January 2015 while receiving United States President Barack Obama in a state visit at the Hyderabad House, Modi wore a suit with his name embroidered repeatedly in the pinstripes.[29] The suit costing ₹10 lakh (US$15,000) was gifted to him.[30] Modi's political opposition criticized his wearing the suit, complaining that he campaigns on an image of coming from a poor background and living without money while at the same time wearing luxury products such as this suit.[31] Other commentators said that in choosing this suit Modi was being a parvenu,[32] at the height of vanity,[31] going to a ridiculous extreme,[33] and political opposition party leader Jairam Ramesh said that he was a megalomaniac.[30] A month later the suit was auctioned for US$695,000.[31] Journalist Siddharth Varadarajan commented on the public support for the auction by saying "the manner in which Mr. Modi's leadership has been projected is extremely unhealthy in any democratic society".[31]

Modi's usual attire is a kurta and vest,[34] and his unusual half-sleeve kurta is known as the Modi Kurta.[35][36][37] The prime minister's clothes are made of silk or cotton,[34] are crisply ironed (in contrast with other Indian politicians)[34] and are handmade in Gujarat.[34] Modi has favored certain brands, wearing a Movado watch and Bulgari glasses.[34] When he was chief minister he wore bold, bright colors, changing to pastels as prime minister.[34] For holidays, Modi wears a traditional turban from wherever he is.[34]

He said in 2012 that his clothing was made by Kanahiya Ji Chouhan, who said he has been making similarly-styled attire for Modi since 1974.[38] Some of his clothing has been created by Bollywood fashion designer Troy Costa.[39][40]

In 2009, Modi's clothing was said to be Bollywoodesque and indicative of Gujarat's modernism.[41] In the same way that the clothing choices of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru were discussed in India and internationally, so also is Modi's fashion continually noted.[42] According to Vogue India editor Priya Tanna in a New York Times blog, "Never before has there been such a strong convergence between what a politician in India stands for and his clothing."[36] Tanna called his clothing choice "100% India": democratic, supportive of Indian industry (separating him from politicians in Western suits), emblematic of his humble birth, clean and hygienic.[36] Responding to Tanna, another commentator said that Modi's fashion choice has no particular meaning and there is no need to interpret it.[43]

Awards and recognitions[edit]

Modi received the Gujarat Ratna award at the Ganesh Kala Krida Manch Shri Poona Gujarati Bandhu Samaj centenary celebration[44] and the e-Ratna Award from the Computer Society of India.[45] He was named Best Chief Minister in a 2007 nationwide survey by India Today,[46] and won the Asian 2009 fDi Personality of the Year award from FDi magazine.[47] In March 2012 Modi appeared on the cover of the Asian edition of Time, one of the few Indian politicians to have done so,[48] and made the 2014 Time 100 list of the world's most influential people.[49] He has become the most followed Asian leader on Twitter,[50] and in 2014 was ranked the 15th-most-powerful person in the world by Forbes.[51] In 2015, Modi was one of Time‍ '​s "30 most influential people on the internet" as the second-most-followed politician on Twitter and Facebook.[52] In 2015, Modi was ranked 5th on Forbes magazine's list of 'World's Greatest Leaders'.[53]

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Harding, Luke (18 August 2013). "Profile: Narendra Modi". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 April 2014. 
  2. ^ "The Hawk in Flight". Outlook India. 24 December 2007. Retrieved 17 April 2014. 
  3. ^ Maccarthy, Julie (26 August 2014). "In India, Hindu Nationalists Feel Their Moment Has Arrived : Parallels : NPR". npr.org. Retrieved 21 April 2015. 
  4. ^ Sharma, Swati (25 June 2014). "White House losing Twitter war to India’s Narendra Modi". Washington Post. Retrieved 28 June 2014. 
  5. ^ "Modi's world second most followed politician on Twitter, Facebook". Times of India. 5 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014. 
  6. ^ "Narendra Modi on Google Hangout, Ajay Devgn to host event". The Times of India. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012. 
  7. ^ "People ask, Narendra Modi answers on Google Plus Hangout". CNN-IBN. 1 September 2012. Retrieved 3 September 2012. 
  8. ^ Ramaseshan, Radhika (2 July 2013). "Boomerang warning in article on 'polarising' Modi". The Telegraph (Kolkata). Retrieved 15 August 2013. 
  9. ^ Malik, Ashok (8 November 2012). "Popular but polarising: can Narendra Modi be PM?". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 15 August 2013. 
  10. ^ Bajaj, Vikas (22 December 2012). "In India, a Dangerous and Divisive Technocrat". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2013. 
  11. ^ a b "NaMo, Ram the new mantra on Dalal Street!". The Economic Times. 15 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013. 
  12. ^ Narendra Modi addresses NRIs, sify.com, 9 January 2014 
  13. ^ Why a ‘Congress-mukt Bharat’ would be bad for BJP, The Indian Express, 7 April 2015 
  14. ^ Team India: Narendra Modi's next big slogan in his India series 
  15. ^ Start-up, Stand up: Narendra Modi’s new slogan 
  16. ^ Start-up, Stand up: Narendra Modi’s new slogan 
  17. ^ Three slogans that PM Modi gave this Independence Day 
  18. ^ a b c Tharoor 2015.
  19. ^ Narendra Modi’s slogan 'minimum government, maximum governance a serious goal? 
  20. ^ Government Has No Business Being in Business, PM Modi Tells US Investors 
  21. ^ a b Narendra Modi's Slogan Spree in Maiden Independence Day Speech, NDTV, 15 August 2014 
  22. ^ Secularism is justice to all. Appeasement to none: Modi, Rediff.com, 12 July 2013 
  23. ^ Narendra Modi gives 3-D formula for India to become a global leader, Daily News and Analysis, 28 September 2014 
  24. ^ Narendra Modi shares his vision of 'brand India' in 5 Ts, NDTV, 20 January 2014 
  25. ^ a b Wall Street Journal Staff (17 March 2015). "Modi Says His Fashion Sense Is a Gift From God". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 15 April 2015. 
  26. ^ Price, Lance (March 24, 2015). The Modi Effect: Inside Narendra Modi's Campaign to Transform India. London: Quercus. ISBN 978-1623659387. 
  27. ^ Bhattacharya, Suryatapa; Seervai, Shanoor (8 August 2014). "Is Modi India’s Best-Dressed Prime Minister Ever?". blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved 24 January 2015. 
  28. ^ Jenkins, P. Nash (6 June 2014). "India’s New Prime Minister Is the Country’s Latest Fashion Icon". time.com. Retrieved 24 January 2015. 
  29. ^ Bhattacharya, Suryatapa (January 26, 2015). "Narendra Modi’s Suit and Its Message to Obama - India Real Time". blogs.wsj.com. Retrieved 17 April 2015. 
  30. ^ a b staff (29 January 2015). "India PM Narendra Modi's '1m-rupee name suit' criticised". bbc.com. Retrieved 17 April 2015. 
  31. ^ a b c d McCarthy, Julie (February 20, 2015). "Modi's Fancy Pinstripe Suit Lands $694,000 At Auction". npr.org. Retrieved 17 April 2015. 
  32. ^ Nandy, Chandan (January 27, 2015). "Modi’s monogrammed suit: Rise of the narcissistic parvenu?". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 17 April 2015. 
  33. ^ Zezima, Katie (26 January 2015). "Prime Minister Modi wore a suit that takes personalization to a ridiculous extreme". The Washington Post (Washington DC: WPC). ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 17 April 2015. 
  34. ^ a b c d e f g Sharma, Swati (6 June 2014). "Here’s what Narendra Modi’s fashion says about his politics – The Washington Post". The Washington Post (Washington DC: WPC). ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 24 January 2015. 
  35. ^ Kidwai, Rasheed; Ramaseshan, Radhika (12 October 2009). "Nothing casual about it". telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 24 January 2015. 
  36. ^ a b c Friedman, Vanessa (3 June 2014). "Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India: A Leader Who Is What He Wears". runway.blogs.nytimes.com. Retrieved 24 January 2015. 
  37. ^ staff (26 September 2014). "Row over ‘Modi kurta’ label ends". indiatimes.com. Retrieved 24 January 2015. 
  38. ^ Swaroop, Vijay (9 April 2014). "Modi uncut: tailor who stitches for BJP leader". hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 24 January 2015. 
  39. ^ Ahuja, Snigdha (1 August 2014). "Troy Costa: Meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi's new designer". hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 24 January 2015. 
  40. ^ Agence France-Presse (27 September 2014). "US gets an eyeful of new India as dapper Modi struts his stuff – The Nation". nationmultimedia.com. Retrieved 24 January 2015. 
  41. ^ "Modi dons denims keeping pace with Gujarat – The Hindu". thehindu.com. 7 December 2009. Retrieved 24 January 2015. 
  42. ^ Kak, Ushi (15 April 2015). "Modish Designs". Outlook. Retrieved 15 April 2015. 
  43. ^ staff (10 June 2014). "Modi is what he wears: NYT's absurd interpretation of the PM's kurta". firstpost.com. Retrieved 24 January 2015. 
  44. ^ "Narendra Modi to be presented 'Gujarat Ratna' today". The Times of India. 18 March 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2012. 
  45. ^ "Twitter's Modi Express steams past 600,000 followers". One India. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 28 August 2012. 
  46. ^ "Making Up For Lost Time". India Today. 12 February 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2007. 
  47. ^ "Modi wins fDi personality of the year award". Sify. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2012. 
  48. ^ "Why Narendra Modi is India's Most Loved and Loathed Politician". Time. 16 March 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2014. 
  49. ^ Zakaria, Fareed (23 April 2014). "The 100 Most Influential People: Narendra Modi". Time (US). Retrieved 25 April 2014. 
  50. ^ "Modi is Asia's most followed leader on Twitter". 11 July 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014. 
  51. ^ "The World's Most Powerful People". Forbes. November 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2014. 
  52. ^ "The 30 Most Influential People on the Internet". Time. 5 March 2015. Retrieved 6 March 2015. 
  53. ^ "Narendra Modi and Kailash Satyarthi are world’s greatest leaders, says Fortune Magazine". Business Insider. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 5 April 2015. 
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