Narendra Modi

Narendra Modi, born on 17 September 1950, leads the Bharatiya Janata Party and has been Prime Minister of India since 26 May 2014. He was Chief Minister of Gujarat from 7 October 2001 to 22 May 2014. In 2024 the BJP won 240 of 543 seats, short of a majority, and he was sworn in for a third term on 9 June 2024 at the head of a 293 seat coalition. He is a living politician. Supporters credit him with economic growth; critics say he has weakened democracy and secularism (AP). The Supreme Court on 24 June 2022 upheld a special investigation team's closure report that cleared him and 63 others over the 2002 Gujarat violence.

Key moments in Sikh and Punjab history under his governments

• 2015 to 2018: his government set up a Special Investigation Team on 1984 cases. It reviewed 293, sought trial in 12 and closed 241, reportedly without investigation. In January 2018 the Supreme Court set up a new team under Justice Shiv Narayan Dhingra to re-examine 186 of them (Scroll).
• 9 November 2019: he inaugurated the Indian side of the Kartarpur corridor and flagged off the first jatha of over 500 pilgrims, days before Guru Nanak Dev Ji's 550th birth anniversary. In September 2019 the Home Ministry approved commuting Balwant Singh Rajoana's death sentence to life ahead of the anniversary. The Centre also listed eight Sikh prisoners, Professor Bhullar among them, for special remission, but the Tribune reported that the release did not happen.
• 2020 to 2021: farmers camped on Delhi's borders for nearly a year against three farm laws. ThePrint reported that BJP leaders branded the protesters Khalistani, and that a BJP leader later said this backfired and dented Modi's image among Sikhs. On 19 November 2021 Modi announced the repeal, saying the government had failed to convince some farmers.
• January 2022: he announced that 26 December would be Veer Baal Diwas, for the Sahibzade. The SGPC objected and asked Sikhs to observe it as Sahibzade Shahadat Diwas. The Centre had not accepted that by December 2022 (ThePrint).
• 2023 to 2024: on 18 September 2023 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Parliament of credible allegations linking Indian government agents to the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India's foreign ministry called the allegations a deliberate smear for political gain. On 14 October 2024 Canada and India each expelled six diplomats (Al Jazeera).
• 2023 to 2025: after the US disclosed in November 2023 a foiled plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York, India set up an inquiry committee on 18 November 2023. The US later indicted Vikash Yadav, a former Indian intelligence officer. On 15 January 2025 the Home Ministry said the committee recommended legal action against an unnamed individual, whom the Tribune understood to be Yadav.

Known for: three terms as Prime Minister. In Sikh affairs, the Kartarpur corridor and the farm law repeal, set against the disputes above.