It's a record by itself. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has so far received 25 'global recognition' - that is international honours awards from across across the globe.
Trinidad & Tobago created history by becoming 25th country to confer the island nation’s highest civilian honour to Mod.
“Every award for PM Modi is a salute to Bharat’s rise,” goes the official line. It all started in 2016 around two years since Modi took over as the Prime Minister in May 2014.
The 25 awards have all been picked up during Modi’s foreign trips over the past nine years.
Even during latest trip, Modi got the honours from Ghana, Argentina, Brazil and Namibia. besides Trinidad & Tobago.
On Jul 9th 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin conferred Russia's highest national award "The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle” on Prime Minister Modi.
The journey had begun in 2016 when the Prime Minister got the honour from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 2016
The trend has caught up with. As many as 12 of the 25 awards have come to Modi in the last year violence.
The government has rightly projected each of these awards as “honouring India’s global ascent”.
The journey from being ‘Modi’ to the ‘Moditva phenomenon’ has been of a loner, and that of a man who vanquished adversaries at virtually every stage.
Till February 27, 2002, Narendra Modi was another BJP leader and at best a Chief Minister. But once the Sabarmati Express train was torched killing Ram Bhakts and that resulted in carnage between Hindus and Muslims in his home state – Narendra Damodardas Modi has not looked back.
He turned disadvantage to advantage. Besides dealing with detractors in Congress who wanted to nail him in 2002 riots, Modi also overcame hurdles posed by party colleagues like Sanjay Joshi.
In 2013, his declaration of being made BJP’s ‘prime ministerial candidate’ was opposed by none other than his mentor L K Advani.
In 2002, during the peak of mayhem, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee publically asked him to discharge ‘Raj Dharma’. Dealing with all that requires more than the assertiveness, and Modi has shown that.
And the right synthesis of Hindutva inclined nationalism punctuated with development and him (Modi) being seen as an architect of change transformed him into a big national leader
In 2023, in the Rajya Sabha on the significance of the Prime Minister receiving a large number of international awards, the then MoS External Affairs V. Muraleedharan in a written statement said it was a clear recognition of his statesmanship.
“Conferring the highest awards on the Prime Minister of India is a clear recognition of his statesmanship and leadership at bilateral, regional and global levels. It also reflects a recognition of India under the PM’s leadership, including giving voice to the Global South on the world stage and approaching issues confronted by humanity through dialogue and diplomacy,” Muraleedharan had said.
Notably, a sizable number of these awards have come from Muslim-majority countries.
It is also argued by right wing intellectual Anil Trigunayat that: “Since national interest is the underlying and indispensable factor in the diplomatic outreach, the Awards and recognition of foreign leaders is an implicit aspect of India’ strategic matrix.”
Even as success came along; all of it was not like a walk along the bed of roses.
In between in 2005, he was denied Visa by the US. By 2004, the government had changed in Delhi and in 2007 assembly polls Sonia Gandhi called him ‘Maut Ka Saudagar (A merchant of death)’.
An ear on ground politician that he is – Modi turned the table; and said ‘Soniaben’ has insulted five crore Gujaratis. All this in a state where entrepreneurship and business are virtues! He won 2007 assembly polls.
Modi mixed his cards well. He emerged ‘protector of Gujarati pride’. At times – he played up Hindutva-nationalist card using the phrase ‘Mia Musharraf’ to perfection and made it clear that there will be ‘no appeasement’ of Muslims.
Post 2019, PM Modi will be remembered for abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and for construction of Ram temple at Ayodhya.
In 2025 he wrote a new chapter when he turned Operation Sindoor as a great symbol of war against Pakistan-sponsored terrorism.
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