Narendra Modi: A history-making leader with god-like status – and fierce critics
In contrast to previous leaders who have been privately educated, English-speaking and supported by the urban elites, Narendra Modi eschews the trappings of wealth and lives a life of solitude with no partner or children.
But how did the man who has ruled the world’s largest democracy for a decade get where he is today?
Here’s all you need to know about Mr Modi.
Did he really sell tea?
Modi’s father was a tea seller and his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), emphasises his humble background.
The tale of a young Modi selling tea at a railway station has endeared him to millions of underprivileged Indians, who believe he understands their struggles.
Little is known of his origins and formative years except from what he chooses to share. And it’s a very tightly controlled narrative with a formidable spin machine to provide that aura.
Except his brother has said this tea-selling story isn’t entirely accurate, and that Modi, like the rest of their siblings, just helped their father. So the truth is unclear.
Nevertheless, Indians were “mesmerised” by the story as a “backlash against nepotism, entitlement and dynastic politics”, political analyst Sanjay Jha says.
“They continue to give him the benefit of the doubt; some even believe he can do no wrong. In the perception equation, he is first among equals, giving him carte blanche to do whatever he wishes. It is surreal.”
Pic: AP
When did he get his first break in politics?
His big break came when he was chosen to be chief minister of the state of Gujarat in 2001. He held the role for more than a decade, transforming the state into an economic powerhouse and building his public profile to make a run for the premiership.
He came under scrutiny in 2002 after an argument between Hindu pilgrims and vendors at Godhra station erupted into violence amid allegations a Muslim mob set fire to a train.
The incident saw 59 people lose their lives and sparked large-scale riots across Modi’s state. An overwhelming number of Muslims were killed and thousands of their homes and businesses were destroyed.
Modi and his administration were accused of being complicit in the violence and of not doing enough to stop it, but India’s Supreme Court cleared him. Modi has always denied the allegations and has never expressed remorse.
How did he achieve god-like status?
Whenever Modi makes a public appearance, crowds of thousands gather for a glimpse of him.
Modi supporters wear masks of his face at a rally. Pic: Reuters
Music, prayers and shouts of Modi’s name blare at decibels that make your eardrums ring. His face is printed on dozens of cut-outs, posters and banners.
This is what it’s like when you have a reported 75% approval rating.
On social media, an army of more than 100,000 party workers strive tirelessly to spread Modi’s message directly to his followers.
When did he first become the face of Hindu nationalism?
Modi was just eight years old when he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), an organisation dedicated to making India a Hindu nation.
Never shy of showing off his religious identity, a trait most Indians politicians would baulk at, Modi wears it with pride.
“He has portrayed himself as a Hindu leader who has built a certain sense of pride in fellow Hindus,” says Sushant Singh, a lecturer in political science at Yale University.
“Hindu nationalism has gained ground in society, with a marginalisation and victimisation of Muslims and Christians.”
Modi took centre stage in the consecration of the controversial Ram temple in Ayodhya, built atop the ruins of a 16th-century mosque that was torn down by right-wing mobs in 1992.
Hindus believe Lord Ram was born on the exact same spot where the mosque was built in 1529.
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Is Modi popular in India?
Did he keep his wife a secret?
When he first entered politics, Modi presented himself as single, childless and married only to the cause of building a stronger India.
But it later transpired he had a secret wife – a fact only revealed when he filled in the paperwork to run for prime minister in 2014.
In keeping with tradition, his family had arranged a marriage when he was 18. Soon afterwards he left home and the marriage was never consummated.
His wife, Jashodaben, was discovered living a middle class life years later. She has never spoken publicly about Modi except to question the government’s decision to provide her with bodyguards.
“I have to cook for them… It gets really chaotic when I travel, because I use public transport and the guards follow me in an air-conditioned car.”
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Do his claims of economic success stack up?
Modi is never shy of boasting about his economic achievements and emphasises they are for every citizen of India.
But does he use religion and nationalism as a smokescreen for a less rosy economic picture?
While it’s true that India has overtaken Britain as the fifth-largest economy in the world, its GDP per capita remains dismal.
Unemployment is a persistent problem, and thousands of young men risk their lives to seek a better future outside India. Indians are the third-highest nationality when it comes to illegal migration into the United States.
Inequality is at a historic high, even more stark than under colonial Britain. According to a report by the Paris-based World Inequalities Lab, the top 1% of India’s population controls 40% of the nation’s wealth.
India ranks 111th of the 125 nations in the Global Hunger Index (2023) report. The government, however, has rejected the report’s findings.
India is home to more than a third of the world’s malnourished children under the age of five.
Last year Modi announced the extension of a free food ration scheme to 800 million Indians for the next five years.
According to the government, more than 250,000 Indians renounced their citizenship in 2022. If all is well, why are they leaving in such alarming numbers?
A man is detained during a protest against the arrest of the Common Man’s Party’s leader, which opposition leaders said was part of a pre-election crackdown by Modi. Pic: AP
Is he a threat to India’s democracy?
Dissent and protests against Modi or the government have been met with violent police crackdowns.
Since 2014, more than 20,700 NGOs – including international ones such as Amnesty International and Oxfam – have had their licences to work in India revoked after they allegedly violated strict foreign funding laws.
Modi has denied using state agencies to target his opponents.
His administration says India’s democratic institutions are robust, pointing to high voter turnout in recent elections that have delivered Modi’s party a clear mandate.
However, Indian media have found corruption investigations involving 23 of 25 opposition politicians were shelved after they defected to the BJP.
Journalists in India have been beaten, threatened and paid off, and the country ranks 161 out of 180 countries for press freedom.
“India’s democracy in the last decade has collapsed quite substantially,” says Harsh Mander, a fierce critic of Modi, whose home and NGO have been raided multiple times by federal agencies.
“Our judiciary has not been consistent in the defence of constitutional values and the media acts as cheerleaders of the ruling government and propagate hate against Muslim minorities.”
We see the boat from a distance – the orange of the life jackets reflected in the rising sun.
And as we draw closer, we can make out dozens of people crowded on board as it sets off from the shore, from a beach near Dunkirk.
.
There is no sign of any police activity on the shore, and there are no police vessels in the water.
Instead, the migrants crammed into an inflatable dinghy are being watched by us, on board a private boat, and the looming figure of the Minck, a French search and rescue ship that soon arrives.
Minck, a French search and rescue ship, shadows the boat
The dinghy meanders. It’s not heading towards Britain but rather hugging the coast.
A few of the passengers wave at us cheerfully, but then the boat starts to head back towards the shore.
As it nears a different beach, we see a police vehicle – a dune buggy – heading down to meet it.
Normal practice is for French police officers to slice through the material of any of these small boats that end up back on shore.
Sky’s Adam Parsons at the scene
Two police officers get out of the buggy and wait. A police helicopter arrives and circles above, performing a tight circle over the heads of the migrants.
The police think they might be about to go back on to the beach; in fact, these passengers know that most of them are staying put.
The boat stops a short distance from the shore and four people jump out. As they wade towards the beach, the boat turns and starts to head back out to sea.
We see the two police officers approach these four men and have a brief conversation.
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They don’t appear to check the bags they are carrying and, if they do question them about why they left the boat, it is the most cursory of conversations.
In reality, these people probably don’t speak French but they were almost certainly involved in arranging this crossing, which is against the law. But all four walk away, disappearing into the dunes at the back of the beach.
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Why do migrants want to come to the UK?
We follow the boat as it chugs off in the direction of Britain, carrying around 50 people.
The Minck returns to shadowing its progress, but its job is limited to offering help if the boat gets into trouble.
Otherwise, if the engine keeps working, then this flimsy vessel will reach British waters in a few hours’ time.
World
IDF chief says conditions ‘created’ for Gaza ceasefire – as Trump says it could be ‘this week or next’
Donald Trump and a leading figure in the Israeli army have suggested a ceasefire in Gaza could be close.
Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), told Israeli media that “conditions were created to advance a deal” to bring about an end to the conflict in the coastal territory, and the release of hostages.
In a televised address, he said: “We have achieved many significant results, we have caused great damage to the governance and military capabilities of Hamas.
“Thanks to the operational power that we have demonstrated, the conditions have been created to advance a deal to release the hostages.”
‘This week, or next’
It comes as the US president hosts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington DC on a prolonged visit this week.
Mr Trump said his meetings with Mr Netanyahu were focused “on Gaza for the most part”.
He said: “I think we have a chance [of a ceasefire] this week, or next week.”
However, the US leader added: “Not definitely,” saying nothing was certain about the situation in Gaza.
Donald Trump speaks, as Pete Hegseth looks on, during a dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Pic: Reuters
Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a bilateral dinner with Donald Trump this week.
Pic: Reuters
Hamas reiterates ‘keenness’ to end fighting
Meanwhile, Hamas has repeated its message that it is committed to the negotiations but warned of a number of sticking points despite the positive noises from senior Israeli figures.
In a statement, the militant group said: “In its keenness to succeed in the ongoing efforts, the movement [Hamas] has shown the necessary flexibility and agreed to release 10 prisoners.
“The key points remain under negotiation, foremost among them: the flow of aid, the withdrawal of the occupation from the territories of the Gaza Strip, and the provision of real guarantees for a permanent ceasefire.”
Read more:
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‘One issue’ still to be resolved in ceasefire, Sky News understands
Mr Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff previously told a cabinet meeting that the anticipated ceasefire would last 60 days and involve the release of ten hostages and nine bodies.
A source close to the negotiations told Sky News that the hostage release would take place in two waves during the 60 days and was conditional on the ceasefire.
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Israeli strikes continue
It comes as Israeli attacks on Gaza continue.
According to hospital officials, at least 40 Palestinians were killed in the latest attacks on Gaza – including 10 people from the same family.
Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis said the dead included 17 women and 10 children.
While the politicians talk, so many people come from around the world to try to get across the Channel on small boats. But why?
Why make such a perilous crossing to try to get to a country that seems to be getting increasingly hostile to asylum seekers?
As the British and French leaders meet, with small boats at the forefront of their agenda, we came to northern France to get some answers.
It is not a new question, but it is peppered with fresh relevance.
Over the course of a morning spent around a migrant camp in Dunkirk, we meet migrants from Gaza, Iraq, Eritrea, South Sudan, Sri Lanka and beyond.
Some are fearful, waving us away; some are happy to talk. Very few are comfortable to be filmed.
All but one man – who says he’s come to the wrong place and actually wants to claim asylum in Paris – are intent on reaching Britain.
They see the calm seas, feel the light winds – perfect conditions for small boat crossings.
John has come here from South Sudan. He tells me he’s now 18 years old. He left his war-torn home nation just before his 16th birthday. He feels that reaching Britain is his destiny.
“England is my dream country,” he says. “It has been my dream since I was at school. It’s the country that colonised us and when I get there, I will feel like I am home.
“In England, they can give me an opportunity to succeed or to do whatever I need to do in my life. I feel like I am an English child, who was born in Africa.”
‘England is my dream country,’ John tells Adam Parsons
He says he would like to make a career in England, either as a journalist or in human resources, and, like many others we meet, is at pains to insist he will work hard.
The boat crossing is waved away as little more than an inconvenience – a trifle compared with the previous hardships of his journey towards Britain.
We meet a group of men who have all travelled from Gaza, intent on starting new lives in Britain and then bringing their families over to join them.
One man, who left Gaza two years ago, tells me that his son has since been shot in the leg “but there is no hospital for him to go to”.
Next to him, a man called Abdullah says he entered Europe through Greece and stayed there for months on end, but was told the Greek authorities would never allow him to bring over his family.
Britain, he thinks, will be more accommodating. “Gaza is being destroyed – we need help,” he says.
Abdullah says ‘Gaza is being destroyed – we need help’
A man from Eritrea tells us he is escaping a failing country and has friends in Britain – he plans to become a bicycle courier in either London or Manchester.
He can’t stay in France, he says, because he doesn’t speak French. The English language is presented as a huge draw for many of the people we talk to, just as it had been during similar conversations over the course of many years.
I ask many of these people why they don’t want to stay in France, or another safe European country.
Some repeat that they cannot speak the language and feel ostracised. Another says that he tried, and failed, to get a residency permit in both France and Belgium.
But this is also, clearly, a flawed survey. Last year, five times as many people sought asylum in France as in Britain.
And French critics have long insisted that Britain, a country without a European-style ID card system, makes itself attractive to migrants who can “disappear”.
Read more:
Channel crossings rise 50% in first six months of 2025
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Migrant Channel crossings hit new record
A young man from Iraq, with absolutely perfect English, comes for a chat. He oozes confidence and a certain amount of mischief.
It has taken him only seven days to get from Iraq to Dunkirk; when I ask how he has made the trip so quickly, he shrugs. “Money talks”.
He looks around him. “Let me tell you – all of these people you see around you will be getting to Britain and the first job they get will be in the black market, so they won’t be paying any tax.
“Back in the day in Britain, they used to welcome immigrants very well, but these days I don’t think they want to, because there’s too many of them coming by boat. Every day it’s about seven or 800 people. That’s too many people.”
“But,” I ask, “if those people are a problem – then what makes you different? Aren’t you a problem too?”
He shakes his head emphatically. “I know that I’m a very good guy. And I won’t be a problem. I’ll only stay in Britain for a few years and then I’ll leave again.”
A man from Sri Lanka says he “will feel safe” when he gets to Britain; a tall, smiling man from Ethiopia echoes the sentiment: “We are not safe in our home country so we have come all this way,” he says. “We want to work, to be part of Britain.”
Emmanuel is another from South Sudan – thoughtful and eloquent. He left his country five years ago – “at the start of COVID” – and has not seen his children in all that time. His aim is to start a new life in Britain, and then to bring his family to join him.
He is a trained electrical engineer, but says he could also work as a lorry driver. He is adamant that Britain has a responsibility to the people of its former colony.
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“The British came to my country – colonising, killing, raping,” he said. “And we didn’t complain. We let it happen.
“I am not the problem. I won’t fight anyone; I want to work. And if I break the laws – if any immigrant breaks the laws – then fine, deport them.
“I know it won’t be easy – some people won’t like me, some people will. But England is my dream.”
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