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Narendra Modi (born September 17, 1950) is the chief minister of the state of Gujarat in India since October 7, 2001.
Comong from a very modest background, he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat when Keshubhai Patel resigned from office following the loss of 2 Assembly bypolls and 1 Lok Sabha seat. Modi is regarded as a clean, energetic leader with focus on Gujarat's future. He has championed the common-man's cause. Modi is the only CM in the country that donates all his personal gifts for auctions, the money from which goes to girls education.
Godhra Incident
Modi's tenure was marred by the Gujarat Massacre in which around at least 1000 people, the vast majority of them Muslims, lost their lives. The riots were in response to the death of 57 Hindus in the town of Godhra, which was either due to being set fire to my local Muslims or due to a stove fire in the train itself, as indicated by subsequent forensic investigations. Secular activists have alleged police complicity and participation in the subsequent rioting which saw violence by both Muslims and Hindus, a point reinforced by the fact that Hindu mobs were able to quickly identify Muslim owned businesses which had Hindu names. Over 110,000 Muslims were housed in refugee camps after they were forced out of rural villages in Gujarat. Despite the widespread carnage not a single person has yet been convicted for the massacre, an indication of the excruciatingly slow judicial process in India. The Supreme Court of India intervened in a few high-profile cases such as the Best Bakery incident where the accused were acquitted for lack of evidence after eye-witnesses turned hostile in court.
Assasination attempts
On June 15, 2004, four people who the police allege were plotting to kill Modi, were killed in an encounter with the Ahmedabad police.
Challenges
Many political parties in India have asked him to resign following his inability to stop the Gujarat Massacre. But Modi has stood firm and challenged his opposers, and continues to hold power in Gujarat. In state-wide elections held recently, Narendra Modi won a landslide victory, much to the chagrin of his detractors, most of whom are self-proclaimed human-rights activists who have actively championed the cause of terrorists.