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{{Infobox_Indian_politician
| name = Narendra Modi
| image = Narendramodi.jpg
| birth_date = ], ]
| birth_place = ], ], ], ]
| residence = ], ]
| death_date =
| death_place =
| constituency = ]
| office = ]
| salary =
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor = Incumbent
| party = ]
| spouse =
| children =
| website =
| email = cm@gujaratindia.com
| footnotes =
| date = June 18 |
| year = 2006 |
| source = http://www.gujaratassembly.gov.in/chiefminister.htm Government of Gujarat
}}
'''Narendra Dāmodardās Modī''' (]: નરેંદ્ર દામોદરદાસ મોદી, born ], ]) has been the ] of the ]n state of ] since ], ].
He was born in Vadnagar, a town in the northern ] district of Gujarat, to a middle-class ] family belonging to the "Ghanchi" ] community<ref></ref>. As a young man, he joined the ]. He became a full-time worker and organiser for it, and was later nominated by it to be a representative on the ].<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 ]. He became Gujarat's Chief Minister in October 2001, promoted to that office when his predecessor ] resigned, following the defeat of the BJP in by-elections.

He won re-election in December 2002 as chief minister with 126 seats in the 182-member assembly. He enjoys a wide popularity base among the wider electorate in Gujarat<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>.
<!--the positioning of the web-citing is such as to indicate that the contents of the web endorse the last sentence. If I am mistaken, please remove this.-->

==Biography==
He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in the year ] and was involved in the anti-corruption ''New Beginning Movement''.<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.narendramodi.org/bio.htm
| title = Biography Narendra Modi
| accessdate = April 15
| accessyear = 2006
}}</ref> He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the early ]s. He helped maintain the relations between the ] and the ]. In ] he became the General Secretary of the Gujarat State BJP unit. He is believed to be a protégé of ], who is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party himself. Advani has praised Modi on numerous occasions, referring to him as "a leader who, after being subjected to a malicious and prolonged campaign of vilification, has been able to impress even his critics with his determination, single-minded focus, integrity and a wide array of achievements in a relatively short time".

He was believed to be a back-room operator for the political party in the beginning, but during the elections he portrayed himself as a pro-Hindu leader and campaigned on a platform of ].

In 1995 he was made the National Secretary of the party, in charge of five major states in India.

In October 2001, he was asked by the party to head the government in Gujarat. In 2001, Gujarat was facing problems because of several natural calamities having struck in the preceding years, including the massive ] in January 2001. Modi re-organised the government's administrative structure and embarked upon a massive cost-cutting exercise in order to compensate for economic losses. During his administration, Gujarat registered a GDP growth rate of over 10%, the highest growth rate among all the states in India. However, opposition parties, notably the Congress have accused Modi's Government of failing to ensure that the quake-affected get timely relief and rehabilitation measures.

The Gujarat government credits Modi with reducing the fiscal deficit of the state exchequer by fifty percent and reducing the losses of the ]. He has increased the availability of electricity in many parts of rural Gujarat. One of the most significant achievements of his government has been successful raising of the height of the ] from 95 to 110.64 metres, which resulted in increased irrigation, water supplies and hydroelectric power .

] has awarded him the best chief minister twice in three years. Apart from the controversy that he always generated due to his staunch support of ], he is also regarded as one of the best political administrator that India has ever seen.<ref>Face of Discord, India Today Cover Story, April 29, 2002</ref>

==Gujarat violence==
{{main|2002 Gujarat violence}}

In February 2002, when Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, violence broke out across the state claiming around a thousand lives. While some consider the violence to have been sporadic communal riots, others allege that the violence was directed against Muslim communities. An official estimate states that 254 Hindus and 790 Muslims were killed, with 223 more missing.<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 riots followed the ] incident, where 58 Hindus were burnt alive on a train carriage, which was believed to have been set on fire by a Muslim mob<ref>, Findarticles archive of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel</ref><ref>, The Institute for Counter-terrorism</ref>. A panel set up two and a half years after the incident claimed that the train burning was an accident. However, the panel was declared illegal by the Gujarat High Court<ref>,The Indian Express</ref><ref>,''The Financial Express''</ref><ref>,''Hindustan Times''</ref>.
Subsequent reports from several human rights organisations and political opponents have claimed that Modi and his ministers instructed Gujarat's police officers not to obstruct the attacking Hindu right wing 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://hrw.org/reports/2002/india/India0402-08.htm#P1156_220195
| title= We have no orders to save you
| publisher= Human Rights watch
| accessdate = November 2
| accessyear = 2006
}}</ref>. In turn, several of these human rights groups have been criticized for biased reporting against Hindus and overt generalizations by the right wing Hindu BJP. These claims have thus been rejected by Modi, and the ] and its supporters have attacked the reports as being politically motivated, due to the fact they came out at the time of an election. A judicial commission constituted to examine allegations of ] 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. However, recently the widow of ex-Congress MP Ahsan Jaafri filed a court case against Modi and his government<ref>{{cite web
| year = 2006
| url = http://www.hindu.com/2006/07/09/stories/2006070902600800.htm
| title = Complaint against Modi, others
| publisher = The Hindu
| accessdate = July 9
| accessyear = 2006
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| year = 2006
| url = http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2314/stories/20060728002803400.htm
| title = Taking on Modi
| publisher = Frontline
| accessdate = July 15-28,
| accessyear = 2006
}}</ref> As an aftermath to the riots, there were calls for Modi to resign as chief minister of ].The opposition parties stalled the national ] over the issue. Even allies of the BJP like ] and ] were asking for Modi's resignation<ref>{{cite web
| year = 2002
| url = http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020418/main1.htm
| title = Gujarat Cabinet puts off decision on elections
| publisher = The Tribune
| accessdate = May 9
| accessyear = 2006
}}</ref>. Modi submitted his resignation to the ], Mr. Sundar Singh Bhandari, only after three months and recommended the dissolution of the 10th Gujarat Legislative Assembly<ref>{{cite web
| year = 2002
| url = http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2002/07/20/stories/2002072002640100.htm
| title = Modi resigns; seeks Assembly dissolution
| publisher = The Hindu
| accessdate = May 9
| accessyear = 2006
}}</ref>. In the subsequent elections, the BJP, led by Modi, won the elections by a huge margin.

==Visa controversy==
Narendra Modi applied for a diplomatic visa to visit the ], to attend meetings organised by the Asian-American Hotel Owner's Association (AAHOA) on ], ]. The visit was not official, but a private one at the request of the association. The majority of the Members of AAHOA are from Modi's home state of Gujarat. Following a ] resolution introduced by Congressmen ] and ] criticizing Modi's actions as Chief Minister<ref>{{cite web | year = 2005 | url = http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:h.res.00160: | title = H.RES.160 | publisher = ] (]) | accessdate = October 26 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref>, the ] revoked Modi's tourist visa, citing the provisions of the U.S. ] and the ] that forbid foreign government officials who are "responsible for or directly carried out, at any time, particularly severe violations of religious freedom" from being eligible for a visa. Modi was also denied a diplomatic visa, on the grounds that the purpose of his visit did not qualify for one.<ref>{{cite web | year = 2005 | url = http://www.state.gov/p/sca/rls/rm/2005/43701.htm | title = Issue of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's Visa Status | publisher = ] | accessdate = October 26 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> Modi said that the US had "insulted" India by revoking his visa, and asked the Indian 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>
The matter brought a protest to the United States from the Indian government in Delhi who condemned the decision.<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>. The Prime Minister of India, ], who represents the political opposition to the ] of which Modi is a member, endorsed the protest,unequivocally expressing India's concern at the denial of a visa by the United States to the Gujarat Chief Minister. BJP party member ] expressed his protests, saying "the U.S., by denying him a visa on a baseless ground, had linked him with India's self-respect and pride".<ref>{{cite web
| year = 2005
| url = http://www.hindu.com/2005/03/21/stories/2005032108911200.htm
| title = NDA rally thanks Manmohan for stand on Modi's visa
| publisher = The Hindu
| accessdate = February 8
| accessyear = 2007
}}</ref>

In addition,B. Raman, the Director of the Institute For Topical Studies, ], Distinguished Fellow and Convenor, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), and regulat contributor to the India-based think tank ] has published that the denial of Modi's visa was covertly spearheaded by several evangelical Christian groups, such as the ] and the "Institute on Religion and Democracy" (a alliance of ]s campaigning against ], ], ], ] and other liberal ideas)<ref>[http://www.saag.org/%5Cpapers14%5Cpaper1318.html
DENIAL OF VISA TO MODI: BACKGROUND] by B. Raman, ]</ref>.

==Aborted assassination attempt==
On ],], Gujarat Police engaged four alleged members of the ] terrorist outfit in ] in armed confrontation, shooting them down in the process. Top Gujarat officials said that the terrorists "had come to assassinate the Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi"
<ref>,''rediff.com''</ref>. In his confession to police, Faisal Sheikh, a suspect in the ], admitted to having orchestrated the abortive assassination attempt on Modi. The confession was made on ], ] after Sheikh and his cohorts were arrested on charges of perpetrating the train blasts<ref>,''Hindustan Times''</ref>.This and other such incidents have led the Gujarat government to take firm measures in order to curb the spread of terrorism in the state<ref>,''rediff.com''</ref>.

==Position on terrorism==
On ],], Modi delivered a speech criticizing Indian Prime Minister ] "for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislations" such as the ]. He asked the Centre to empower states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the blasts in Mumbai<ref name="Telegraph India">,''The Telegraph''</ref><ref name="Gcache-Telegraph">,Google Cache of ''The Telegraph''</ref>.Quoting Modi:
{{cquote|Terrorism is worse than a war. A terrorist has no rules. A terrorist decides when, how, where and whom to kill. India has lost more people in terror attacks than in its wars<ref name="Telegraph India"/><ref name="Gcache-Telegraph"/>.}}
He was criticized by Communist Party leaders after making the speech<ref name="Telegraph India"/><ref name="Gcache-Telegraph"/>.

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after=Current Incumbent
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Revision as of 17:18, 1 March 2007