The story behind India's Narendra Modi | ABC News

Has Modi lost his aura of invincibility? Is his past catching up with him?
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is one of the most powerful people in the world. He has transformed his nation into an emerging superpower everyone wants to do business with. But he's also created an environment where no journalist is allowed to ask him questions, and many critics are scared of voicing public dissent.
This leaves many unanswered questions about the man himself. Avani Dias travels around India in search of answers about who Modi is and how he has shaped the world's most populous nation.

00:00 Avani Dias's visa extension was denied by Indian authorities
00:50 How democratic is India?
01:36 Modi wins another five years as Prime Minister
02:25 Who actually is Narendra Modi?
02:41 Anthony Albanese and Narendra Modi attend cricket match in Gujarat.
04:10 Narendra Modi's relationship with journalists and a free press
04:31 Modi speaking at US congress saying India is the 'Mother of Democracy'
05:00 India's election - the biggest and most complicated with 945 million registered voters and a million polling stations
05:48 Narendra Modi's story begins in northwestern India in Vadnagar
06:11 What was the village like where Modi grew up?
06:51 Modi portrays himself as the political outsider and common man
08:36 Religion in India, secularism, Hindu nationalism and the RSS
12:24 Modi and his marriage
16:41 Modi rises through the ranks of the RSS and cut ties with his family
17:33 Modi becomes chief minister of Gujarat, estranged wife finds him.
18:25 Modi goes public about his marriage
19:20 Modi moves to Kolkata and then into the Himalayas and follows the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and expresses desire to become a monk
23:16 Avani Dias visits a Swami Vivekananda ashram
25:00 How Vivekananda and Hinduism has impacted Modi's politics and policies
26:46 Narendra Modi and the BJP organise a Hindu march to a Muslim mosque in Ayodhya
29:12 The mosque was demolished during the riots and 2,000 people killed
34:00 February 2002 Godhra train fire
35:00 Riots break out in Gujarat. More than 1,000 people die - mostly Muslims.
38:00 Narendra Modi walks out of interview with Karan Thapar on CNN IBN over the Gujarat riots
39:33 Narendra Modi's US visa application is denied over religious freedom concerns
40:10 Modi wins 2007 election in Gujarat
40:45 He is announced as leader of BJP in the 2013 election. He wins.
41:52 The Clean India Mission to give every Indian a toilet
42:44 India's economy under Modi
43:16 Modi invited back to US and a state dinner with Joe Biden.
43:00 India's relationship with western countries
45:00 Avani Dias's visa cancelled.

*EDITOR'S NOTE: This video incorrectly implies that India’s original constitution included the word ‘secular’. While the Supreme Court of India affirmed during the 1960s that secularism is a basic feature of India’s 1950 constitution, the word was inserted in a constitutional amendment in 1976, changing the description of India from "sovereign, democratic republic" to "sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic.

Subscribe: https://ab.co/3yqPOZ5
Read more here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-0...

Welcome to ABC News In-depth, where you'll find our long-form journalism and other videos to help you understand what's going on in the world around you.

Watch more ABC News content ad-free on ABC iview: https://ab.co/2OB7Mk1

For more from ABC News, click here: https://ab.co/2kxYCZY

Get breaking news and livestreams from our ABC News channel:    / newsonabc  
Like ABC News on Facebook:   / abcnews.au  
Follow ABC News on Instagram:   / abcnews_au  
Follow ABC News on Twitter:   / abcnews  

Note: In most cases, our captions are auto-generated.

#ABCNewsIndepth #ABCNewsAustralia