On the birthday of PM Narendra Modi, the story is not only of a boy from Vadnagar who rose to the highest office. It is the story of a nation that, under his leadership, has rediscovered its strength and redefined its future.
The story begins in Vadnagar, a modest town where trains paused and lives moved quietly along the tracks. On 17 September 1950, a boy was born there who would one day carry the hopes of an entire nation. At his father’s tea stall, he served travellers with steady hands and attentive ears, learning in those early years that duty is sacred, patience is strength, and that true service often begins with the simple grace of listening.
As a young man, Narendra Modi-ji wandered across India, seeking meaning in places of spiritual learning and discipline. In the Himalayas and at the Ramakrishna Mission, he absorbed the lessons of austerity and reflection. In the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, he learnt the rigour of organisation and the habit of serving without expectation of reward. Later, as Chief Minister of Gujarat, he transformed those lessons into governance, showing that development could be both people-centred and result-oriented.
When in 2014 the people of India placed their trust in him as Prime Minister, he entered Parliament, bowed before the Constitution, and touched its steps with his forehead. That moment of humility captured his essence, for it revealed authority exercised as service and leadership anchored in duty.
From that day forward, the nation has witnessed eleven years of profound transformation. Modi-ji’s leadership has been marked not by piecemeal measures but by decisive shifts that touch the household, reshape institutions, and lift India’s standing in the world.
He began where dignity begins, in sanitation and water. The Swachh Bharat Mission was not a programme of bricks and mortar alone but a call to restore self-respect to the poorest homes. For millions of women, the arrival of a toilet meant safety and dignity. For the nation, it was a reminder that cleanliness is the measure of civilisation as much as it is of comfort. The Jal Jeevan Mission extended this transformation to the kitchen and courtyard, bringing tap water to rural homes that had for generations relied on distant wells. Hours once spent fetching water were returned to women and children, freeing time for education, work and rest. The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana gave families the security of a roof and an address, often in the name of a woman, turning shelter into empowerment.
Inclusion was not limited to physical infrastructure. It also meant bridging the gap between the poor and the financial system. Under Modi-ji’s guidance, India built one of the most extensive frameworks of digital public infrastructure anywhere in the world. A bank account, a verifiable identity, and a mobile phone became the new foundation of empowerment. Through this, money could reach people directly without leakage, and citizens could transact with ease and confidence. For the small vendor, it meant access to credit without a moneylender. For the farmer, it meant payment for produce without delay. For the poor, it meant being seen and recognised by the state.
Health was addressed with the same clarity of purpose. The Ayushman Bharat scheme gave poor families access to hospital care without fear of financial ruin. In millions of homes, illness no longer meant catastrophe. When the Covid-19 pandemic arrived, India faced a challenge of historic proportions. Yet under Modi-ji’s leadership, the nation mobilised vaccination on an unprecedented scale and extended a hand of friendship to the world. Through Vaccine Maitri, India supplied vaccines to more than ninety countries, offering not only doses but also hope. It was a moment when Bharat’s ancient principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the world is one family, found expression in public health diplomacy.
Decisive leadership was also evident in matters of national security. In 2016, India carried out surgical strikes across the Line of Control in response to terror attacks on soldiers. In 2019, after the Pulwama attack, the Indian Air Force struck at Balakot, targeting the infrastructure of terror with precision and resolve. Most recently, in May 2025, India launched Operation Sindoor, striking Pakistan-based terror camps in response to the brutal attack in Kashmir. Each of these actions conveyed the message that Bharat will safeguard its sovereignty, protect its citizens, and answer terror with clarity and strength. Under Modi-ji’s leadership, security policy has not been hesitant but assured, marked by both restraint and resolve.
Alongside national security came deep structural reform. The abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 brought Jammu and Kashmir fully into the constitutional fold, ending decades of ambiguity and opening new avenues for development and integration. The passage of the Naari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam in 2023 guaranteed one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, transforming representation from aspiration into constitutional certainty. In 2024, India replaced colonial-era codes of criminal law with the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam. These new laws embrace the needs of a digital age with provisions for e-FIRs, electronic evidence, forensic standards, and stronger safeguards for women and children. These decisions are not just administrative adjustments but also are nation-shaping milestones.
Economic reform moved with equal determination. The Goods and Services Tax unified the nation’s market and simplified taxation across states, creating a framework for cooperative federalism in practice. Infrastructure planning shifted from fragmented projects to integrated systems under the Gati Shakti National Master Plan and the National Logistics Policy. Highways, airports, and ports are now designed with interconnection in mind. On the railways, the spread of Vande Bharat trains has given travellers a taste of speed, comfort and national pride, proving that modernisation can be truly Made in India.
Culture and heritage have also been renewed with confidence. On 22 January 2024, Prime Minister Modi-ji led the pran pratishtha of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. It was a moment of spiritual fulfilment and civilisational pride, awaited for centuries by millions. In Kashi and Kedarnath, redevelopment has shown that ancient heritage and modern amenities can thrive together. These efforts are not about revisiting the past with nostalgia, but about carrying heritage forward with dignity into the present.
Science and technology have lifted national ambition. The successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 near the Moon’s south pole in 2023 was a landmark in space exploration. It made India the first country to achieve this feat and inspired an entire generation of students. It proved that Indian science and innovation can scale the highest challenges with determination and ingenuity.
On the world stage, Modi-ji has positioned Bharat as a leading voice of the Global South and a trusted partner of consequence. During India’s G20 Presidency in 2023, he secured consensus on the New Delhi Declaration at a time of deep global divisions, and placed the concerns of developing nations at the heart of the agenda. Trade agreements with nations such as the UK, UAE and Australia have expanded India’s access to global markets and strengthened supply chains. Diplomacy under Modi-ji has been marked by confidence, warmth, and a willingness to lead by example.
The result of these eleven years is not measured only in laws passed or projects inaugurated. It is seen in the millions who have crossed the threshold of poverty, as families gain access to sanitation, clean water, housing, healthcare, and education. It is seen in women who sit at the table of decision-making, in young entrepreneurs who build businesses on digital platforms, in farmers who receive timely support and recognition as stewards of the nation’s food security. Progress has entered daily life, and hope has become a habit rather than a rare visitor.
Behind these achievements is Modi-ji’s distinctive style of leadership. He rises early, works late, and lives simply. He travels tirelessly across the country and the world, carrying with him both detail and vision. He avoids spectacle, preferring results to rhetoric. Yet when moments of emotion arise, they reveal his authenticity. The nation remembers his tears when he spoke of his mother in Parliament, his bow before the Constitution, and his broom at the ghats of Varanasi. These are not staged performances, but glimpses of a man who carries his life of service with sincerity.
As India looks to the centenary of Independence in 2047, Modi-ji has set before the nation the vision of Viksit Bharat. It is not a slogan but a horizon. It is a call for an India that is self-reliant and inclusive, confident in its heritage and ambitious in its innovation. It asks women to lead, youth to innovate, farmers to thrive, and every citizen to take pride in the Tricolour. It is a vision that unites infrastructure with inclusion, tradition with technology, and prosperity with purpose.
On the birthday of Shri Narendra Modi-ji, the story is not only of a boy from Vadnagar who rose to the highest office. It is the story of a nation that, under his leadership, has rediscovered its strength and redefined its future. From Swachh Bharat to Jal Jeevan Mission, from Ayushman Bharat to Vaccine Maitri, from Article 370 to Ram Mandir, from GST to new criminal laws, from Chandrayaan-3 to the G20 Presidency, from surgical strikes to Operation Sindoor, the last eleven years are a tapestry of resolve and renewal.
From the modest platform of Vadnagar to the world stage, Modi-ji has walked with steady purpose and unwavering faith in Bharat’s destiny. His journey reminds us that service is the highest form of leadership and that when one man dedicates himself wholly to the nation, the nation itself begins to transform. As he celebrates another year of life, Bharat celebrates the confidence he has instilled, the pride he has restored, and the promise of Viksit Bharat that lies ahead.
Bansuri Swaraj is BJP Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) from the New Delhi constituency.
