Somnath Temple સોમનાથ મંદિર
Somnath Temple સોમનાથ મંદિર Location within Gujarat
Coordinates:	20°53′16.9″N 70°24′5.0″E / 20.888028°N 70.40139°E / 20.888028; 70.40139Coordinates: 20°53′16.9″N 70°24′5.0″E / 20.888028°N 70.40139°E / 20.888028; 70.40139
Name
Proper name:	Somnath Mandir
Devanagari:	सोमनाथ मन्दिर
Location
Country:	India
State:	Gujarat
District:	Junagadh
Locale:	Veraval
Architecture and culture
Primary deity:	Somnath (Shiva)
Important festivals:	Maha Shivaratri
Architectural styles:	Mandir
History
Date built: (Current structure)	1951 (present structure)
Creator:	Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (present structure)
Temple board:	Shree Somnath Trust of Gujarat
Website:	somnath.org

The Somnath Temple (Gujarati: સોમનાથ મંદિર Sanskrit: सोमनाथ मन्दिर) located in the Prabhas Kshetra near Veraval in Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat, India, is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of the God Shiva. Somnath means "The Protector of (the) Moon God". The Somnath Temple is known as "the Shrine Eternal", having been destroyed six times and rebuilt six times.^[1][2] Most recently it was rebuilt in November 1947, when Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel visited the area for the integration of Junagadh and mooted a plan for restoration. After Patel's death, the rebuilding continued under K. M. Munshi, another minister of the Government of India.^[3][4]

History[link]

Legend[link]

As per Shiv Mahapuran, once Brahma (the Hindu God of creation) and Vishnu (the Hindu God of saving) had an argument in terms of supremacy of creation.^[5] To test them, Shiva pierced the three worlds as a huge endless pillar of light, the jyotirlinga. Vishnu and Brahma split their ways to downwards and upwards respectively to find the end of the light in either directions. Brahma lied that he found out the end, while Vishnu conceded his defeat. Shiva appeared as a second pillar of light and cursed Brahma that he would have no place in ceremonies while Vishnu would be worshipped till the end of eternity. The jyotirlinga is the supreme partless reality, out of which Shiva partly appears. The jyothirlinga shrines, thus are places where Shiva appeared as a fiery column of light.^[6][7] Originally there were believed to be 64 jyothirlingas while 12 of them are considered to be very auspicious and holy.^[5] Each of the twelve jyothirlinga sites take the name of the presiding deity - each considered different manifestation of Shiva.^[8] At all these sites, the primary image is lingam representing the beginningless and endless Stambha pillar, symbolizing the infinite nature of Shiva.^[8][9][10] The twelve jyothirlinga are Somnath in Gujarat, Mallikarjuna at Srisailam in Andra Pradesh, Mahakaleswar at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, Kedarnath in Himalayas, Bhimashankar in Maharastra, Viswanath at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, Triambakeshwar in Maharastra, vaijanath temple in maharashtra, Nageswar at Dwarka in Gujarat, Rameshwar at Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Grishneshwar at Aurangabad in Maharastra.^[5][11]

Significance[link]

According to the legend, Soma or the Moon God built the temple in gold, Ravana in silver, and Shri Krishna in wood. Soma was cursed by his father-in-law Daksha to wane because Soma loved only one of his wives, all of whom happened to be Daksha's daughters. His other wives complained about this negligent behavior of Soma to their father Daksha, and thus the curse. He then built a Shivlinga at the Prabhas tirth (a Hindu pilgrimage) and prayed to Lord Shiva who removed the curse partially because asked upon by Soma's one wife (the one that he loved more than others). Thus, causing the periodic waning of moon.^[12][13][14] Pleased by the prayers Soma (Moon god), Lord Shiva decided to rest in that Lingam till eternity, and thus the Jyotirlingam.

Timeline[link]

The first temple of Somnath is said to have existed before the beginning of the common era.^[15]

The second temple, built by the Yadava kings of Vallabhi in Gujarat, replaced the first one on the same site around 649 CE.^[15]

In 725 CE Junayad, the Arab governor of Sind, sent his armies to destroy the second temple.^[15] The Gurjara Pratihara king Nagabhata II constructed the third temple in 815, a large structure of red sandstone.

Somnath temple, 1869

In 1024 CE, the temple was once again destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni^[13][16] who raided the temple from across the Thar Desert. The temple was rebuilt by the Gujjar Paramara King Bhoj of Malwa and the Solanki king Bhimadev I of Anhilwara, Gujrat (present day Patan) between 1026 and 1042. The wooden structure was replaced by Kumarpal (r.1143-72), who built the temple of stone.^[17][18]

In 1296 CE, the temple was once again destroyed by Sultan Allauddin Khilji's army.^[13][15][18] According to Taj-ul-Ma'sir of Hasan Nizami, Raja Karan of Gujarat was defeated and forced to flee, "fifty thousand infidels were dispatched to hell by the sword" and "more than twenty thousand slaves, and cattle beyond all calculation fell into the hands of the victors".^[15] The temple was rebuilt by Mahipala Deva, the Chudasama king of Saurashtra in 1308 AD and the Linga was installed by his son Khengar sometime between 1326 and 1351 AD.^[18]

In 1375 CE, the temple was once again destroyed by Muzaffar Shah I, the Sultan of Gujarat.^[15][18]

In 1451 CE, the temple was once again destroyed by Mahmud Begda, the Sultan of Gujarat.^[13][15][18]

In 1701 CE, the temple was once again destroyed by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.^[15] Aurangzeb built a mosque on the site of the Somnath temple, using some columns from the temple, whose Hindu sculptural motifs remained visible.^[19]

Later on a joint effort of Peshwa of Pune, Raja Bhonsle of Nagpur, Chhatrapati Bhonsle of Kolhapur, Queen Ahilyabai Holkar of Indore & Shrimant Patilbuwa Shinde of Gwalior rebuilt the temple in 1783 AD at a site adjacent to the ruined temple which was already converted to a mosque.^[19]

Zakariya al-Qazwini[link]

A Painting of the tomb of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, in 1839-40, with Sandalwood Doors long believed to be the Somnath, which he destroyed in ca 1024, later found to be replicas of the original.^[20]

The following extract is from “Wonders of Things Created, and marvels of Things Existing” by Zakariya al-Qazwini, a 13th century Arab geographer. It contains the description of Somnath temple and its destruction:^[16]

“Somnath: celebrated city of India, situated on the shore of the sea, and washed by its waves. Among the wonders of that place was the temple in which was placed the idol called Somnath. This idol was in the middle of the temple without anything to support it from below, or to suspend it from above. It was held in the highest honor among the Hindus, and whoever beheld it floating in the air was struck with amazement, whether he was a Musulman or an infidel. The Hindus used to go on pilgrimage to it whenever there was an eclipse of the moon, and would then assemble there to the number of more than a hundred thousand."

“When the Sultan Yaminu-d Daula Mahmud Bin Subuktigin went to wage religious war against India, he made great efforts to capture and destroy Somnat, in the hope that the Hindus would then become Muhammadans. As a result thousands of Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam. He arrived there in the middle of Zi-l k’ada, 416 A.H. (December, 1025 A.D.). “The king looked upon the idol with wonder, and gave orders for the seizing of the spoil, and the appropriation of the treasures. There were many idols of gold and silver and vessels set with jewels, all of which had been sent there by the greatest personages in India. The value of the things found in the temples of the idols exceeded twenty thousand dinars."

Restoration of temple after Independence[link]

Before independence, Prabhas Pattan was part of the princely state of Junagadh. After integration of Jungadh in to Union of India, the Deputy Prime Minister of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel came to Junagadh on November 12, 1947 to direct the stabilization of the state by the Indian Army and at the same time ordered the reconstruction of the Somanath temple.^[21]

When Sardar Patel, K. M. Munshi and other leaders of the Congress went to Gandhi with the proposal of reconstructing the Somnath temple, Gandhi blessed the move,but suggested that the funds for the construction should be collected from the public and the temple should not be funded by the state. He expressed that he was proud to associate himself to the project of renovation of the temple^[22] But soon both Gandhi and Sardar Patel died and the task of reconstruction of the temple continued under K. M. Munshi, who was the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the Nehru Government.^[22]

The ruins were pulled down in October 1950 and the mosque present at that site was shifted few miles away.^[23] In May 1951, Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Republic of India, invited by K M Munshi, performed the installation ceremony for the temple.^[24] Rajendra Prasad said in his address "It is my view that the reconstruction of the Somnath Temple will be complete on that day when not only a magnificent edifice will arise on this foundation, but the mansion of India's prosperity will be really that prosperity of which the ancient temple of Somnath was a symbol.".^[25] He added "The Somnath temple signifies that the power of reconstruction is always greater than the power of destruction"^[25]

This episode created a serious rift between the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who saw the movement for reconstruction of the temple as an attempt at Hindu revivalism and the President Rajendra Prasad and Union Minister K. M. Munshi, who saw in its reconstruction, the fruits of freedom and the reversal of past injustice done to Hindus.^[25]

The present temple, which was built by Patel and Munshi, is managed by Shree Somnath Trust.^[26]

Architecture[link]

Arrow Pillar or Baan-Stambh

The present temple is built in the Chalukya style of temple architecture or Kailash Mahameru Prasad Style^[12] and reflects the skill of the Sompura Salats, Gujarat's master masons.

The temple is situated at such a place that there is no land in straight-line between Somnath seashore till Antarctica, such an inscription in Sanskrit is found on the Arrow-Pillar called Baan-Stambh erected on the sea-protection wall at the Somnath Temple. This Baan-Stambh mentions that it stands at a point on the Indian landmass, which happens to be the first point on land in the north to the south-pole on that particular longitude.^[27]

'Proclamation of the Gates' Incident[link]

In 1782-83 AD, Maratha king, Mahadaji Shinde (Ruler of North India: Ujjain/ Gwalior/ Mathura) victoriously brought the Three Silver Gates from Lahore, after defeating Muhammad Shah of Lahore. After refusal from Pundits of Guzrath and the then ruler Gaekwad to put them back on Somnath temple, these silver gates were placed in temples of Ujjain. Today they can be seen in Two Temples of India Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga Mandir & Gopal Mandir of Ujjain.^[20]

In 1842, Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough issued his famous 'Proclamation of the Gates' in which he ordered the British army in Afghanistan to return via Ghazni and bring back to India the sandalwood gates from the tomb of Mahmud of Ghazni in Ghazni, Afghanistan. These were believed to have been taken by Mahmud from Somnath. There was a debate in the House of Commons in London in 1843 on the question of the gates of the Somanatha temple.^[28] After much cross-fire between the British Government and the opposition, the gates were uprooted and brought back in triumph. But on arrival, they were found to be of replicas of the original.^[20] So they were placed in a store-room in the Agra Fort where they still lie to the present day.

In the 19th Century novel, The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, the diamond of the title is presumed to have been stolen from the temple at Somnath and, according to the historian Romila Thapar, reflects the interest aroused in Britain by the gates.^[29]

Gallery[link]

• 

  Somnath Temple, 1957

• Somnath 1869.jpg

  Somnath 1869

• The celebrated temple of Somnath.jpg

  Somnath Lithograph 1850

References[link]

Notes[link]

• Chaturvedi, B. K. (2006), Shiv Purana (First ed.), New Delhi: Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd, ISBN 81-7182-721-7, http://books.google.com/books?id=bchgql0em9YC&pg=PA58&dq=jyotirlinga&hl=en&sa=X&ei=tatJT_lXtIayAvm-2OoI&ved=0CEEQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false 
• Eck, Diana L. (1999), Banaras, city of light (First ed.), New York: Columbia University Press, ISBN 0-231-11447-8, http://books.google.com/books?id=J57C4d8Bv6UC&pg=PA107&dq=jyotirlinga&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uCxKT_eNKczMsQLV9vj6BA&ved=0CGEQ6AEwCA#v=onepage&q=jyotirlinga&f=false 
• Gwynne, Paul (2009), World Religions in Practice: A Comparative Introduction, Oxford: Blackwell Publication, ISBN 978-1-4051-6702-4, http://books.google.com/books?id=tdsRKc_knZoC&pg=PT271&dq=jyotirlinga&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uCxKT_eNKczMsQLV9vj6BA&ved=0CGcQ6AEwCQ#v=onepage&q=jyotirlinga&f=false .
• Harding, Elizabeth U. (1998). "God, the Father". Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 156–157. ISBN 978-81-208-1450-9. 
• Lochtefeld, James G. (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: A-M, Rosen Publishing Group, p. 122, ISBN 0-8239-3179-X, http://books.google.com/books?id=5kl0DYIjUPgC 
• R., Venugopalam (2003), Meditation: Any Time Any Where (First ed.), Delhi: B. Jain Publishers (P) Ltd., ISBN 81-8056-373-1, http://books.google.com/books?id=ZtnNw_hiA9oC&pg=PT113&dq=jyotirlinga&hl=en&sa=X&ei=p5FJT87jJsOHsgLpg_zqCA&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=jyotirlinga&f=false 
• Vivekananda, Swami. "The Paris Congress of the History of Religions". The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda. Vol.4. http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/volume_4/translation_prose/the_paris_congress.htm. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Somnath

• Official Website
• Somath Jyotirlinga
• Somnath travel guide from Wikitravel
• Somnath at the Open Directory Project

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Deepti Bhatnagar
Deepti Bhatnagar at Lavasa Women's Drive 2011
Born	(1967-09-30) September 30, 1967 (age 44) Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India
Occupation	Model, Actress, Television presenter

Deepti Bhatnagar (Hindi: दीप्ति भटनागर; born 30 September 1967) is an Indian model and actress.

Early life[link]

Deepti Bhatnagar was born in a Hindu Kayastha family from Meerut. She did her early education from Delhi and attended Meerut University. She moved to Mumbai in 1992 to identify a good ad agency to promote her handicrafts factory in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.

Career[link]

Bhatnagar was in Mumbai in 1992 for promoting her handicrafts, when she got an opportunity to sign for an ad agency to model for the Roopmilan saris’ press ad and after that ad she signed 12 more campaigns.^[1] She had given up her interest in running the handicraft factory and entered into the professional modeling world. She won the Eves Weekly contest in 1990.^[1] Soon afterwards, she was modeling in Singapore for various international fashion shows.^[1]

Her first film role came in Sanjay Gupta's Ram Shastra, also starring Jackie Shroff and Manisha Koirala.^[2] Some of her better known films are Pelli Sandadi (in Telugu), Inferno and the Aamir Khan starrer Mann.

In 2001, she ventured into television production with the travel shows Yatra, a religious travel guide show and Musafir Hoon Yaaron, an around the world travel guide show, both aired on STAR Plus. She also hosted both the shows.^[3] She visited around 80 countries in 6 years for Musafir Hoon Yaaron.

She started her own production company, Deepti Bhatnagar Productions having facilities of dubbing, editing and post-production.

Personal life[link]

Bhatnagar married her longtime boyfriend Randeep Arya, director Of Musafir hoon Yaroon. They have a son, Shubh, born on July 25, 2003. Bhatnagar gave birth to a second boy, named Shiv, at Breach Candy Hospital on Thursday(8h Jan 2008).

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Deepti Bhatnagar

• Deepti Bhatnagar at the Internet Movie Database

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Narendra Modi નરેન્દ્ર મોદી
Chief Minister of Gujarat
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 October 2001
Governor	Dr. Kamla Beniwal
Preceded by	Keshubhai Patel
Constituency	Maninagar
Personal details
Born	(1950-09-17) 17 September 1950 (age 61) Vadnagar, Gujarat, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Residence	Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
Alma mater	Gujarat University[1]
Religion	Hinduism
Website	Narendra Modi
As of 9 March, 2009 Source: Government of Gujarat

Narendra Damodardas Modi (Gujarati: નરેન્દ્ર મોદી; born 17 September 1950^[1]) is the current Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat. Born in a middle class family in Vadnagar, he was the third of six children born to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and his wife Heeraben.^[2] He has been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since childhood also having interest in politics since adolescence. He holds a master's degree in political science. In 1998, he was chosen by L. K. Advani, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to direct the election campaign in Gujarat as well as Himachal Pradesh.

He became Chief Minister of Gujarat in October 2001, promoted to the office at a time when his predecessor Keshubhai Patel had resigned, following the defeat of BJP in the by-elections. His tenure as chief minister of Gujarat began on 7 October 2001, and he is the longest serving Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat.^[3] In July 2007 he became the longest serving Chief Minister in Gujarat's history when he had been in power for 2063 days continuously.^[4] He was elected again for a third term^[5] on 23 December 2007 in the state elections, which he had cast as a "referendum on his rule".^[6][7]

Personal life[link]

Modi was born in a middle class family in Vadnagar in Mehsana district of what was then Bombay State, India.^[8] During the Indo-Pak war in the mid sixties, even as a young boy, he volunteered to serve the soldiers in transit at railway stations.^[9] As a young man, he joined the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, a student organisation and was involved in the anti-corruption Nav Nirmāṇ ("Reconstruction") Movement. After working as a full time organiser for the organisation, he was later nominated as its representative in the Bharatiya Janata Party.^[10] As a teenager Modi used to run a tea stall with his brother.^[11] Modi completed his schooling in Vadnagar. He earned a masters degree in political science from Gujarat University.^[12]

Early activism and politics[link]

Modi was a pracharak (campaigner) in the RSS during his university years.^[12][13] He took up the challenging task of energising the party cadres in right earnest. In partnership with Shankersinh Vaghela, Modi set about creating a strong cadre base in Gujarat. In the initial period, Vaghela was seen as a mass leader, while Modi was recognised as a master strategist.

The party started gaining political mileage and formed a coalition government at the centre in April 1990. This partnership fell apart within a few months, but the BJP came to power with a two-thirds majority on its own in Gujarat in 1995. During this period, Modi was entrusted with the responsibility of organising two crucial national events, the Somnath to Ayodhya Rath Yatra (a political rally through India on a converted Toyota van) of L.K. Advani and a similar march from Kanyakumari (the southernmost part of India) to Kashmir in the North. After the exit of Shankarsingh Vaghela from the BJP, Keshubhai Patel was made Chief Minister while Narendra Modi was sent to New Delhi as a General Secretary of the Party.

In 1995, Modi was appointed the National Secretary of the party and given the charge of five major states in India. In 1998, he was promoted as the General Secretary (Organization), a post he held until October 2001. In 2001, Narendra Modi was chosen by the party to be the Chief Minister of Gujarat after the removal of chief minister Keshubhai Patel.

Tenure as Chief Minister of Gujarat[link]

Personality[link]

Modi is known for leading a frugal lifestyle. He has a personal staff of just three. He is known to be a workaholic Chief Minister and an introvert.^[14] He ordered the demolition of many Hindu temples that were built without proper government sanction which earned him the ire of VHP^[11] He is a crowd puller as a speaker. Modi has also tried to turn his image from an Hindu Nationalist politician to an image of able administrator. He wears business suits and is improving his command over the English language.^[15]

Awards and recognitions[link]

Modi was awarded Gujarat Ratna by Shri Poona Gujarati Bandhu Samaj at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch on celebration of centenary year.^[16]

Development of Gujarat[link]

As a Chief Minister, Modi started various 'yojanas' or plans. This includes:

• Panchamrut Yojana,^[17][18][19] a five-pronged strategy for an integrated development of the state,
• Sujalam Sufalam, a scheme to create a grid of water resources in Gujarat in an innovative step towards water conservation and its appropriate utilisation.
• Krishi Mahotsav – agricultural research labs for the land
• Chiranjeevi Yojana – To reduce infant mortality rate
• Matru Vandana – Providing preventive and curative services under the Reproductive and Child Health Programme
• Beti Bachao – Campaign against female infanticide to improve sex ratio
• Jyotigram Yojana – Provide electricity to every village
• Karmayogi Abhiyan – To educate and train government employees
• Kanya Kelavani Yojana – To encourage female literacy and education
• Balbhog Yojana – Midday meal scheme for students to encourage school attendance from poor backgrounds.^[20]

Vibrant Gujarat[link]

Vibrant Gujarat is a biennial Global Investors' Summit held by the Government of Gujarat in Gujarat, India. The event is aimed at bringing together business leaders, investors, corporations, thought leaders, policy and opinion makers; the summit is advertised as a platform to understand and explore business opportunities in the State of Gujarat. the event has been held continuously since 2003.

Gujarat earthquake[link]

The biggest challenge which he had to face when he took over as the Chief Minister, was the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the areas affected by the massive Gujarat Earthquake of January 2001.

Gujarat violence[link]

On 27 February 2002, a train was burned by a Muslim mob in the town of Godhra leading to 59 deaths, most of them Hindu pilgrims and activists returning from the holy city of Ayodhya.^[21] Riots broke out in the state after it was suspected to be caused by Muslims, leading to 1180 deaths, many of them Muslims. Modi administration was accused of inaction over the riots and for encouraging them.^[15] As an aftermath of the riots, there were calls for Modi to resign from his position as chief minister of Gujarat. The opposition parties stalled the national parliament over the issue. Even Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), allies of the BJP, asked for Modi's resignation.^[22][23] Modi submitted his resignation to the Governor and recommended the dissolution of the 10th Gujarat Legislative Assembly.^[24][25] In the following state re-elections the BJP, led by Modi, won 127 seats in the 182-member assembly.

In April 2009, the Supreme Court of India appointed a special team of investigators to look into the role Modi had played in the alleged anti-Muslim conspiracy.^[15] The team was appointed in response to the complaint of zakia Jafri, the widow of ex-Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was murdered in the riots.^[26] In December 2010, a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in its report to the Supreme Court seeking answers pertaining to the Ehsan Jafri case, submitted that they had found no evidence against Narendra Modi.^[27]

However in February 2011, the Times of India reported that a confidential report from the SIT indicted Modi on several counts of alleged complicity in the Gujarat riots of 2002.^[28] Most other sources have noted that the SIT report does not indict Modi for the riots due to lack of evidence.^[29][30] The Indian Express too said the report did not find any Modi involvement in the violence, though it did accuse him of watering down the seriousness of the situation.^[31] According to the Hindu, the report not only found that Modi tried to water down the seriousness of the situation, but Modi also implicitly justified the killings of Muslims, and failed to condemn the attacks on them.^[32] The Bharatiya Janata Party demanded an investigation into the publication of the report, claiming the leak was politically motivated.^[33]

The apex court refused to pass any order on the case and referred it to the Ahmedabad magistrate for a decision.^[34] In April 2012, a Special Investigation Team found absolved Modi of any involvement in the Gulberg massacre, arguably the worst episode of the riots.^[35]. On 7 May 2012, a Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae, Raju Ramachandran observed that Modi can be prosecuted under sections 153 A (1) (a) & (b), 153 B (1), 166 and 505 (2) of the Indian Penal Code for promoting enmity among different groups during the 2002 Gujarat riots.^[36]. However the amicus report has been criticised by the Special Investigation Team for relying heavily on the testimony of a perjurer^[37].

2007 elections[link]

Modi made a speech at Mangrol in which he justified the alleged fake encounter of Sohrabuddin Sheikh, During the election campaign In response to Sonia Gandhi's speech calling him a "merchant of death",^[38] and referred to Sohrabuddin's killing. For this speech the Election Commission of India, a constitutional body governing election proceedings in India, cautioned Modi as it considered it as indulging in an activity which may aggravate existing differences between different communities.^[39] Modi won the election and continued his post as the Chief Minister Of Gujarat, he won with majority of votes of 122 seats out of 182 total assembly seats.^[40]

Conflicts with Governor Kamla Beniwal[link]

On 25 August 2011 Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal appointed Justice R A Mehta to the post of Lokyukta of Gujarat, a critical anti-corruption post that had been lying vacant since 2003. Justice R A Mehta was recommended for the post by the Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court in June. Since Governor Beniwal had made this decision without consulting and getting the approval of the chief minister and his council of ministers, the action angered Narendra Modi and his BJP party.^[41]

This marked the beginning of a strained relationship between Modi and the Governor. On 25 September 2011, Narendra Modi accused the Governor of running a parallel government in the state supported by the Congress. He demanded that she be recalled back.^[42] He also later accused her of delaying the progress of bills by not passing them.

The decision of the governor in the appointment of R A Mehta was challenged in the high court by the Modi government. The two member high court bench gave a split verdict on 10 October 2011. Later, a third member upheld the governor's decision in January 2012.^[43]

Foreign visits[link]

As the Chief Minister of the Gujarat State, to attract foreign investment in the state, Narendra Modi has made visits to foreign countries, including China and Singapore.

Narendra Modi made his first China visit in 2007 to invite investors Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor Summit,^[44] and second visit in November 2011. One month after the second visit to China, the Chinese Government released 13 Diamond traders from India jailed by the Shenzhen Customs, which the Chief Minister described as the consequece of his diplomatic efforts and statesmanship.^[45]

In 2005 Narendra Modi was denied of diplomatic visa to the United States, in addition to this visa denial, he was also revoked from his already granted B-1/B-2 visa.^[46]

Sadbhavna Mission[link]

In the late 2011-early 2012 Narandra Modi practised a series of fasts in the name of Sadbhavna Mission. The mission started on 17 September 2011 in Ahmedabad with 3 day fast with a view to strengthen the atmosphere of peace, unity and harmony in the state. He observed total 36 fasts in 26 districts, 8 cities including Ahmedabad.^[47]

Views and opinions[link]

Modi's position on terrorism[link]

On 18 July 2006 Modi delivered a speech criticising Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "for his reluctance to revive anti-terror legislations" like the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He asked the Centre to empower states to invoke tougher laws in the wake of the blasts in Mumbai.^[48] Quoting Modi:

Narendra Modi has frequently commented that if the BJP came to power at the Centre, they will honour the 2004 Supreme Court judgement to hang Afzal Guru.^[49] Afzal was convicted of terrorism in the 2001 Indian Parliament attack in 2004 by the Supreme Court of India and is in Tihar Jail.^[50]

On account of the November 2008 Mumbai attacks, on Thursday 27 November, Narendra Modi held a meeting to discuss waterfront security along the coastline.^[51] The meeting decided to ask the Central government to urgently sanction the following:

• Increase the number of police stations along the coast to 50 (from 10)
• Increase the number of police to 1500 from 250
• 30 modern high-speed surveillance boats.

The 30 coastal boats, under construction at Goa's shipbuilding yard, will have the capacity to run at the speed of 25 nautical miles per hour. These are being manufactured under the Centre's Rs 58-crore grant for coastal security.^[51]

Views on criticism of Modi's governance[link]

In 2003, when Narendra Modi was asked about the conflict of his dreams for Gujarat's future with international criticism of his past activities, Modi said,^[52]

Modi's decision to link Gujarat's violence with the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US drew criticism from some observers, who contrasted it with the then Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani's unpleasant apology for Gujarat in London a year ago.^[52] Modi responded to this criticism by The Guardian,^[52]

See also[link]

• Chief Minister
• Gujarat
• Bhartiya Janata Party

References[link]

External links[link]