Narendra Modi

Some Lesser Known Facts About Narendra Modi

• Does Narendra Modi Smoke?: No

• Does Narendra Modi Drink Alcohol?: No

• He was born into a family of an oil-pressing community, which is considered as the Other Backward Class (OBC) in India.

• In his childhood, Modi wanted to join the Indian Army and tried to get himself enrolled in a Sainik School, but due to financial constraints, he couldn’t get admission in the Sainik School.

• At the age of 17, he left his house and travelled to different parts of India.
  

  

  

• Young Narendra Modi often lent his hands to his father’s tea-stall at the Vadnagar Railway Station.

  

• When his father died of Bone Cancer in 1989, Narendra Modi was on Kailash Manasarovar Yatra.

  

• When he joined Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), he was assigned to mop the floor at the RSS Headquarter in Ahmedabad.

  

• Narendra Modi was engaged to Jashodaben at a very young age.

  

• He doesn’t share his official residence with any of his family members.

  

• He undertook a 3-month course in the United States on Image Management and Public Relations.

  

• He is a great follower of Swami Vivekananda.

  

• After Barack Obama, Narendra Modi is the second most followed leader in the world on Twitter (more than 12 million followers).

  

• He wears crease-less attires mostly.

  

• During his tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat, it became the world’s 2nd best State in 2010.

• He never took even a single day holiday during his 13-year tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

• Narendra Modi is considered as the most techno-savvy leader of India as he is very active on various social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.

  

• Narendra Modi and former United States President Barack Obama are very good friends.

  

• Modi has a Rakhi sister named Qamar Mohsin Sheikh (also known as Qamar Jahan), who has been tying Rakhi to Modi since his days as an RSS worker.

  

• On 26 May 2014, he became the first ever Prime Minister of India to be born in independent India.

• He always puts his signature in Hindi, whether it is a casual occasion or an official document.

  

• He is a pure vegetarian and prefers simple food in his meal.

  

• On 28 September 2014, he received a full-house reception at the Madison Square Garden in New York.

• He is a fitness enthusiast and has incorporated Yoga in his daily routine. He is also credited to bring Yoga to the international level by getting it recognized as International Yoga Day by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2015. Since then, every year, 21 June is celebrated as International Yoga Day, worldwide.
  

• In 2015, three days before the inauguration of a temple on his name, the temple was demolished by members of the ‘Om Yuva Group’ who had constructed the temple dedicated to Narendra Modi in Kotharia village in Rajkot, Gujarat. Reportedly, they had to pull down the temple as Modi was not happy with the move and he had expressed his displeasure over the construction of such temples. Modi, in a series of Tweets, said,
  

  Have seen the news about a temple being built in my name. I was appalled. This is shocking & against India’s great traditions. Building such temples is not what our culture teaches us. Personally, it made me very sad. Would urge those doing it not to do it.” ^[9]Live Mint

  

• Narendra Modi is considered as one of the most popular leaders in India who has strong connections with the general public. He is often seen breaking the protocol to meet & greet the public.

• In 2016, London’s Madame Tussaud Wax Museum unveiled a wax statue of Modi.

• On 8 November 2016, in the most surprising move in the administrative history of India, he announced to demonetize the Rs. 500 & 1000 currency notes (the two biggest currencies in India at that time).

• Narendra Modi has an author & poet within; he has written a few books, mainly in Gujarati, including Sangharshma Gujarat (1978) and Jyotipunj (2008).

  

• On 23 May 2019, after the results of the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, he became the only leader of BJP to lead the party register more than 300 seats in the history of Lok Sabha Elections.

• On 30 May 2019, Narendra Modi took the oath as the Prime Minister of India for the second time.

• In June 2023, he became the first Indian Prime Minister to address a Joint Sitting of the US Congress; he had earlier addressed the U.S. Congress in 2016. ^[10]The Hindu

  

• On 25 August 2023, Narendra Modi visited Greece to enhance bilateral ties, marking the first visit by an Indian prime minister since Indira Gandhi’s visit in September 1983, 40 years prior. ^[11]The Hindu

  

• On 26 December 2023, Modi’s official YouTube channel crossed 20 million subscribers, making him the first prime minister to achieve this milestone on the platform. The videos on the channel have accumulated over 4.5 billion views, establishing his popularity ahead of many other global leaders on the platform. ^[12]The Times of India

• In January 2024, Modi visited Lakshadweep to advocate for its beaches as tourist destinations. In February of the same year, he did scuba diving to offer prayers at Panch Kui in Dwarka, Gujarat.

• Here’s an interesting video about Narendra Modi’s biography:

• When PM Modi shared the link of Anurag Thakur’s complete un-expunged speech on social media in July 2024, the Indian National Congress (INC) served a privilege motion against the Prime Minister.

• He welcomed a calf at his residence in Delhi’s 7 Lok Kalyan Marg. The calf was born with a fire symbol on his forehead after which he was named Deepjyoti.

  

• In October 2024, on the occasion of the Hindu festival of Navaratri, Modi penned a garbha song titled Aavati Kalay, which he dedicated to Goddess Durga.

  

• • He became the first Prime Minister of India in fifty years to visit the South American country of Guyana on 20 November 2024.

    

• He became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Ghana and address its parliament in July 2025.