, where he completed his secondary education. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has discussed having to work as a child in his father's tea stall in the Vadnagar railway station, which has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to 

, whom he abandoned soon after. He first publicly acknowledged her as his wife more than four decades later when required to do so by Indian law, but has made no contact with her since. Modi has asserted he had travelled in northern India for two years after leaving his parental home, visiting a number of religious centres, but few details of his travels have emerged. Upon his return to Gujarat in 1971, he became a full-time worker for the RSS. After the 

 in 1975, Modi went into hiding. The RSS assigned him to the BJP in 1985 and he held several positions within the party hierarchy until 2001, rising to the rank of general secretary.

Modi was appointed Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001 due to 

's failing health and poor public image following the 

. Modi was elected to the legislative assembly soon after. His administration has been considered complicit in the 

 in which 1044 people were killed, three-quarters of whom were Muslim,

 or otherwise criticised for its management of the crisis. A Special Investigation Team appointed by the 

 found no evidence to initiate prosecution proceedings against Modi personally.

 While his policies as chief minister—credited with encouraging economic growth—have received praise, his administration was criticised for failing to significantly improve health, poverty and education indices in the state.

, the first time for any single party since 

. Modi's administration has tried to raise foreign direct investment in the Indian economy and reduced spending on healthcare, education, and social welfare programmes. Modi centralised power by abolishing the 

demonetisation of high-denomination banknotes

, and weakened or abolished environmental and labour laws. He oversaw the country's response to the 

Under Modi's tenure, India has experienced democratic backsliding.

revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir

 across the country, resulting in a formal 

 of the latter. Described as engineering a political realignment towards 

, Modi remains a figure of controversy domestically and internationally over his Hindu nationalist beliefs and his handling of the 2002 Gujarat riots, cited as evidence of an 

Narendra Damodardas Modi was born on 17 September 1950 to a 

). He was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi (c. 1915–1989) and Hiraben Modi (born c. 1920).

Modi had only infrequently spoken of his family background during his 13 years as chief minister of Gujarat. In the run up to the 2014 national elections, he began to regularly draw attention to his low-ranking social origins and to having to work as a child in his father's tea shop on the 

 a description that the evidence of neighbours does not entirely corroborate.

 in Vadnagar in 1967, where teachers described him as an average student and a keen gifted debater, with interest in theatre.

 Modi preferred playing larger-than-life characters in theatrical productions, which has influenced his political image.

When eight years old, Modi was introduced to the 

, popularly known as Vakil Saheb, who inducted him as a 

 (junior cadet) in the RSS and became his political mentor.

 While Modi was training with the RSS, he also met Vasant Gajendragadkar and Nathalal Jaghda, 

 leaders who were founding members of the BJP's Gujarat unit in 1980.

 in India which lasted until 1977. During this period, known as "The Emergency", many of her political opponents were jailed and opposition groups were banned.

 Modi was appointed general secretary of the "Gujarat Lok Sangharsh Samiti", an RSS committee co-ordinating opposition to the Emergency in Gujarat. Shortly afterwards, the RSS was banned.

 Modi was forced to go underground in Gujarat and frequently travelled in disguise to avoid arrest. He became involved in printing pamphlets opposing the government, sending them to Delhi and organising demonstrations.

 Modi was also involved with creating a network of safe houses for individuals wanted by the government, and in raising funds for political refugees and activists.

 During this period, Modi wrote a book in 

), describing events during the Emergency.

 Among the people he met in this role was trade unionist and socialist activist 

, as well as several other national political figures.

 In his travels during the Emergency, Modi was often forced to move in disguise, once dressing as a monk, and once as a 

 (regional organiser) in 1978, overseeing RSS activities in the areas of 

, and in 1979 he went to work for the RSS in Delhi, where he was put to work researching and writing the RSS's version of the history of the Emergency. He returned to Gujarat a short while later, and was assigned by the RSS to the BJP in 1985. In 1987 Modi helped organise the BJP's campaign in the Ahmedabad municipal election, which the BJP won comfortably; Modi's planning has been described as the reason for that result by biographers.

 became president of the BJP in 1986, the RSS decided to place its members in important positions within the BJP; Modi's work during the Ahmedabad election led to his selection for this role, and Modi was elected organising secretary of the BJP's Gujarat unit later in 1987.

On 27 February 2002, a train with several hundred passengers 

 The train carried a large number of Hindu pilgrims returning from 

 after a religious ceremony at the site of the demolished 

 In making a public statement after the incident, Modi declared it a terrorist attack planned and orchestrated by local Muslims.

 The government's decision to move the bodies of the train victims from Godhra to Ahmedabad further inflamed the violence.

 The state government stated later that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed.

 Independent sources put the death toll at over 2000,

 Approximately 150,000 people were driven to refugee camps.

 Numerous women and children were among the victims; the violence included mass rapes and mutilations of women.

The government of Gujarat itself is generally considered by scholars to have been complicit in the riots,

 (with some blaming chief minister Modi explicitly

) and has otherwise received heavy criticism for its handling of the situation.

 Several scholars have described the violence as a 

, while others have called it an example of 

 Summarising academic views on the subject, 

 said: "There is by now a broad consensus that the Gujarat violence was a form of ethnic cleansing, that in many ways it was premeditated, and that it was carried out with the complicity of the state government and officers of the law."

 The Modi government imposed a curfew in 26 major cities, issued shoot-at-sight orders and called for the army to patrol the streets, but was unable to prevent the violence from escalating.

 The president of the state unit of the BJP expressed support for the 

, despite such actions being illegal at the time.

 State officials later prevented riot victims from leaving the refugee camps, and the camps were often unable to meet the needs of those living there.

 Muslim victims of the riots were subject to further discrimination when the state government announced that compensation for Muslim victims would be half of that offered to Hindus, although this decision was later reversed after the issue was taken to court.

 During the riots, police officers often did not intervene in situations where they were able.

Modi's personal involvement in the 2002 events has continued to be debated. During the riots, Modi said that "What is happening is a chain of action and reaction."

 Later in 2002, Modi said the way in which he had handled the media was his only regret regarding the episode.

 reopened several cases related to the 2002 riots, including that of the 

, and established a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the issue.

 In response to a petition from Zakia Jafri (widow of 

, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre), in April 2009 the court also asked the SIT to investigate the issue of Modi's complicity in the killings.

 The SIT questioned Modi in March 2010; in May, it presented to the court a report finding no evidence against him.

 submitted his final report to the court. Contrary to the SIT's position, he said that Modi could be prosecuted based on the available evidence.

 The Supreme Court gave the matter to the magistrate's court. The SIT examined Ramachandran's report, and in March 2012 submitted its final report, asking for the case to be closed. Zakia Jafri filed a protest petition in response. In December 2013 the magistrate's court rejected the protest petition, accepting the SIT's finding that there was no evidence against the chief minister.

 In 2022, the Supreme Court dismissed a petition by Zakia Jafri wherein she challenged the clean chit given to the Modi in the riots by the Special Investigation Team, and upheld previous rulings that no evidence was found against him

, IndiaIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting the President of Indonesia, 

Foreign policy played a small role in Modi's election campaign, and did not feature prominently in the BJP's election manifesto.

 Modi's foreign policy, similarly to that of the preceding Congress government, focused on improving economic ties, security, and regional relations.

 Modi continued Manmohan Singh's policy of "multi-alignment."

 The Modi administration tried to attract foreign investment in the Indian economy from several sources, especially in East Asia, with the use of slogans such as "

". The government also tried to improve relations with 

 with the USA also mended after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister.

 During the run-up to the general election there was wide-ranging scepticism regarding future of the 

 under Modi's premiership as in 2005 he was, while 

 However sensing Modi's inevitable victory well before the election, the 

 had reached out to him as part of greater 

 from the west. Moreover, following his 2014 election as the Prime Minister of India, 

 congratulated him over the telephone and invited him to visit the US.

 The Modi government was successful in forging good foreign 

 with the USA in the presidencies of both 

Modi was born and raised in Vadnagar in northeastern Gujarat, where he completed his secondary education. He was introduced to the RSS at age eight. He has discussed having to work as a child in his father's tea stall in the Vadnagar railway station, which has not been reliably corroborated. At age 18, Modi was married to Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi, whom he 

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