Modi’s family swells with pride at tea boy
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UNJHA: As she savoured the prospect of her brother Narendra becoming India’s prime minister, Vasantiben Modi chortled at the idea that a one-time tea boy would soon be calling the shots over Delhi’s traditional elite.
“They can’t believe it, can’t believe that someone from such a simple background could beat them,” Vasantiben said from her modest two-storey home, close to the town in Gujarat where the siblings grew up.
Results on Friday showed Modi’s Hindu nationalist party and its allies headed for a landslide win over the secular Congress party that has ruled India for all but 13 years of its history as an independent nation.
Congress’s election frontman was Rahul Gandhi, the latest in a bloodline which has already provided three of India’s prime ministers.
But while Rahul’s childhood was spent playing in the peaceful back garden of his grandmother Indira Gandhi’s official residence, the young Modi would often help his father serve tea on a suburban train station platform — when not volunteering for a hardline Hindu youth movement.
While the urbane Rahul was educated at Oxford and Harvard universities, the abrasive Modi was on a spiritual voyage of discovery in the Himalayas after walking away from a child marriage arranged by his parents.
Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2014
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Comments (45) Closed
May 17, 2014 06:33am
Interesting that Modi's "voyage of discovery in the Himalayas after walking away from a child marriage" was twisted around by the biased Indian media to make him appear as some saint for abandoning his wife.
Let's hope for all those Modi Indian voters, Modi doesn't walk away from his new wife, India!
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May 17, 2014 02:59pm
@ AZMAISH...You need not bother. man about Modi. India will emerge stronger and prosperous under Modi and that's why we voted him to power.
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May 17, 2014 03:12pm
Dear Azmaish,
Your lack of understanding about Indian democracy is evident in your comment. Being from pakistan I don't blame you.
India is not Modi's wife. Modi is SERVANT of India. If he does not work properly, India will kick him out. That is the beauty of Indian democracy.
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May 17, 2014 04:24pm
Interesting Modi was a tea boy. What is his educational back ground.
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May 17, 2014 06:18pm
@Youth ..Common sense....Something missing with our previous ruling elite.....Try and find someone like that in Pakistan....They'll understand the common man's issues....but in Pakistan you'll always elect folk that most surely ensure Pakistan is in a perpetual state of begging.....Why ?? I don't know....
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May 17, 2014 07:01pm
@Youth According to his biography he holds a Masters degree in Political Science from Gujrat University.
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May 17, 2014 07:07pm
@AZMAISH
He walked away from familial ties in order to dedicate his life to his country without having the distractions of a family. He works long hours and pursues his goals with single minded dedication. Please don't make him out to be some sort of a flake.
@YOUTH
I don't think he is particularly well educated. However, he is very well read and especially influenced by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda.
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May 17, 2014 07:15pm
Raising from a hardline Hindu youth movement to a PM, if Modi actually holds onto his humble backgrounds then the turn of events might not be hopeful for India. Now is the time to prove hi adaptability. Grand imagination for a grand scale.
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May 17, 2014 07:20pm
Gosh- Indians here are so defensive and touchy. Just look at the comments.
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May 17, 2014 07:28pm
I can understand Pakistanis fear. Indian Muslims fear Modi less than pakistani counterparts ;-)
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May 17, 2014 07:31pm
A great rags-to-riches story of the son of a 'station-cha wala', who also used to serve tea and help his dad as a kid (and remember, the Sargeant Major and the Cha Wala in the famous and well-loved BBC TV Series: 'Dad's Army' of the 1970's & 1980's).
Sadly, we Pakistani's are unfortunate people, who will not see such rags-to-riches political leadership to emerge in the foreseeable future, due to our endemically flawed feudal landlords, elitist, and inherited political parties culture, tradition and the UK-based parliamentary form of democratic system is replaced by either the French or US-style of democracy within an Islamic framework!
Let's hope and pray that PM Modi will follow a peaceful dialogue with Pakistan, if not on Kashmir, than at least on other socio-political and economic issues and allow, both countries, opportunities to prosper and progress as 'truly emerging economies' (esp. Pakistan, which has been in a 'socio-political' quagmire for 35-40 years) with a fresh perspective and the beginning of a new era (as Congress Party has been defeated and not governed for only 13 out of 66 years since 1947!).
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May 17, 2014 07:34pm
A great rags-to-riches story of the son of a 'station-cha wala', who also used to serve tea and help his dad as a kid (and remember, the Sargeant Major and the Cha Wala in the famous and well-loved BBC TV Series: 'Dad's Army' of the 1970's & 1980's).
Sadly, we Pakistani's are unfortunate people, who will not see such rags-to-riches political leadership to emerge in the foreseeable future, due to our endemically flawed feudal landlords, elitist, and inherited political parties culture, tradition and unless the UK-styled parliamentary form of democratic system is replaced by either the French or US-style of democracy within an Islamic framework!
Let's hope and pray that PM Modi will follow a peaceful dialogue with Pakistan, if not on Kashmir, than at least on other socio-political and economic issues and allow, both countries, opportunities to prosper and progress as 'truly emerging economies' (esp. Pakistan, which has been in a 'socio-political' quagmire for 35-40 years) with a fresh perspective and the beginning of a new era (as Congress Party has been defeated and not governed for only 13 out of 66 years since 1947!).
A British-Pakistani
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May 17, 2014 07:43pm
Congress is not secular party, it is pseudo secular, time will who is real secular..sabka sath sabka vikas for great India.
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May 17, 2014 07:45pm
There are very few leaders who became leader by uniting people, but the history is full of people that rose to leadership by hate mongering and by dividing people.... Modi is one of them.
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May 17, 2014 07:54pm
I hope Modi runs the government in a secular way!
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May 17, 2014 08:04pm
@Youth education and qualification fails in comparison to quest to make stronger India
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May 17, 2014 08:54pm
Buddy you're wrong... he united all sort of people to come to become a PM... if you don't know the demography of India.. Uttar Pradesh has the population of Pakistan with 46% are muslims.. and BJP won 72 out of 80 seats! Congress election manifesto was BJP is unsecular.. were as BJP manifesto was & is development! You know what people has chose no matter what religion they follow. B/w BJP won all 22 seats in Gujarat & majority 3 seats in J&K!
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May 17, 2014 10:24pm
India will do well, no doubt. The guy is very sincere about how he wants to take India to a higher level. Just keep those riots under control. Hindu's will have a field day during his term and why should they not.
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May 17, 2014 10:28pm
@Youth Dear youth delinquent, education does not matter. What mater here is sincerity, good ethics, honesty, empathy and most of all genuine urge to help.
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May 18, 2014 01:15am
Sir,
If India is so prosperous than why the biggest immigration scams in Europe and other western world is committed by Indians desperate to settle there.
Modi is the biggest fascist in the world whose hands are tainted with the innocent people's blood and he will official unveil India as the ultimate apartheid state.
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May 18, 2014 11:01am
@AdnanK :so are you and yours!
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May 18, 2014 03:02pm
@Jai He is a Post Graduate in Political Science.
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May 19, 2014 11:09am
@Youth He is a BA in political science
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May 19, 2014 03:07pm
''Rahul was educated at Oxford and Harvard universities, '' He was told by Harvard that he is not a Harvard material, and was asked to leave, according to Dr. Subramanaim Swamy, an Harvard professor.Watch him on youtube.
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May 19, 2014 03:08pm
@Youth
Not sure, but he understands the people of India. He is a good orator and he can speak English. That is enough qualification.
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May 19, 2014 03:11pm
@Jai
Education does not mean some certificates only. By that standard, Sri Sri Ramakrishna could hardly read and write. But the world worships him. There are temples in his name in every major cities in the western world.
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May 19, 2014 03:25pm
@SMQ Zaman
''democracy within an Islamic framework!'' That is the problem with Pakistanis, they bring religion in everything but are not the most honest people, quite the opposite. And you living in the west, are also in this obsession. Mr.Irfan Hussain today says 30 percent of the young UK Muslims want sharia and I am sure you belong to this group. Why don't you go and live in Pakistan where there are plenty of Islam? That way you do not suffer from the torture of the decadent west.
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May 20, 2014 08:41am
@AZMAISH .. thats a nasty thing to say. To an Indian, India is MOTHER - Bharat Mata .. not a wife, mistress or friend!!
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May 20, 2014 09:43am
@Youth , FYI He is masters in Political Science as far as his educational background is concerned...
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May 20, 2014 11:33am
Dost , BJP is more secular then any other party in India.
Congress, BSP,SP,TMC are pseudo Secular party in India, these parties think about a single community , single religion and that community and religion change according to the area.
This is against the rule of democratic country..
BJP and modi never ask any particular community for vote , never ask a single community to help them,but they ask same rule for all, help for all according to their condition. And belief that only education and financial growth of every family will be the solution to make a strong country , make a corruption free country, make a terrorist free country. For a non democratic country it will be unable to realize it.
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May 21, 2014 10:12am
Honey moon will be over very soon.
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May 21, 2014 10:15am
@AdnanK
BJP trolls... they will post comments under various names.
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May 21, 2014 10:20am
@Truth bites
In US they are worried about fast migration of Indians who are taking jobs from local. I read an article that recommended to stop migration from India due to huge fraud committed by Indians in immirgation documents.
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May 21, 2014 03:32pm
@AZMAISH
I can understand you poor understanding of democratic values as your army generals have every now and than defied your constitution and put their ego first as to be the savior of pious land. Don't think about India too much now you will get burn.
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May 22, 2014 01:21am
@Qamar yes you are right and that is what Jinnah did.
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May 22, 2014 03:16am
I thought the guy said he has no family to be corrupt -- NOW he has? Same way he said he has no wife but it turned out he has.
This man is incredible in the truest meaning of the word.
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May 22, 2014 04:12pm
@Qamar
* I don't know what comes to your mind when you think of India. Just Religions
That too Hindus and Muslims.
* we have full trust in our constitution who has awarded every Indian citizen to question even highest authority possible in India. Democracy is practiced well in India.
* you should have heard his speech after elections were over. He said not that heat of election, mud slinging, asking votes in the name of religion caste creed and ethnicity is over and mandate is clear. Everyone is Indian citizen now and his focus is to provide good governance and development and I think you need lot of understanding and empathy to have such a thought process.
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May 22, 2014 04:16pm
@Truth bites
Common is your country any different than ours are your leaders any different from ours. But he is man of focus and has a score card which proves his mettle
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May 22, 2014 04:21pm
@John
Still Indians hold top positions in big organizations in US because to lack in talent pool in us. It's demand and supply my Friend. Get competitive and educated and grab your jobs. Such words look too fake when world has become so small
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May 22, 2014 07:29pm
@AZMAISH There is difference in how you see and how MOdi percieves India. He treats his nation as motherland and not as concubine which unfortunately "stakeholders" in Pak treat thier nation as
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May 22, 2014 08:29pm
@Youth Master's Political Science.
Other than the fact that he was the CM when the riots took place, his whole life and career is an inspirational.
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May 22, 2014 08:31pm
@Muzammil it's a misconception that RSS is hardline or anti-anyone.
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May 23, 2014 01:05am
@SMQ Zaman Excellent comments and used beautiful words, bro!
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May 23, 2014 05:07pm
@Youth He has a Masters in Political Science. He sold tea during his time off from school. He was not rich but not poor either...
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May 23, 2014 05:08pm
@Jai He has a Masters in Political science, RSS made him take up studies again.
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