Narendra Modi  (English, Paperback, Mukhopadhyay Nilanjan)

Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times presents the author’s perspective of Narendra Modi and the events and decisions that govern his life.

Summary Of The Book

Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times explores the intriguing personality of Narendra Modi, the man who seems to be in contention to represent BJP in the race for the post of the next Prime Minister of India. Narendra Modi is a name that can always be counted on to raise passions. He is either demonized or admired, vilified or worshipped. Each camp gets heated as it puts forward its own arguments to support its views.

Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times is one more such attempt. The author traces Modi’s life from his young days, to his initiation into the RSS and his gradual rise to his current status. The author travelled throughout Gujarat and interviewed many people who are directly or indirectly related in some way to Modi. He has gathered information about Modi’s childhood days, his taste in clothing, and his initial days in the RSS and BJP as a junior member.

As a young child, he supplemented his father’s income by selling tea, and started in politics by working for a local leader, taking part in rallies, shouting slogans, and waving flags. The book says he gave up his family and wife to further his political ambitions. It cites his hardline views during the Gujarat riots as the reason for his popularity and larger than life image.

The book also goes into some details like Modi’s preferences in clothing, his distinctive kurtas which has led to a lucrative line of business selling Modi Kurtas, in the tradition of Nehru jackets. Modi also likes designer fountain pens and watches, but is a frugal diner. He is tech savvy and has a good cyber presence with Facebook and Twitter profiles.

Narendra Modi: The Man, The Times is an effort to delve into the man’s personality and character, to examine the factors that has made him who he is now. The book analyzes his government’s performance over the years and tries to explain the reasons for the conflicting views about him.

About Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay

Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay is an Indian journalist.

Other books by this author are The Demolition: India At The Crossroads and Hindu-Muslim Communalism.

Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay started his career as a journalist in the 1980s. He has worked for various leading publications like The Economic Times, The Statesman, Hindustan Times, and Outlook. He also hosts a show on the government run Lok Sabha TV called A Page From History, which focuses on important historical issues. He lives near Delhi.