Shankar Singh Vaghela

The Modi Raj 1: The chaiwallah's son

Modi, Avantika Chalkoti, Jitendra Chauhan, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, R. Balashankar, Shankar Singh Vaghela, Yashwant Sinha

This podcast series examines the trajectory of Narendra Modi from his impoverished upbringing in Gujarat and early induction into the Hindu nationalist RSS to his ascent as India's longest-serving Prime Minister. While Modi successfully orchestrated the nation's economic rise to fifth-largest global economy and cultivated a distinct personal brand, his tenure is simultaneously scrutinized for fueling Hindu supremacism and threatening democratic norms through divisive rhetoric. The narrative culminates in an analysis of how Modi's recent electoral defeat, which forced him into coalition governance, challenges his previous "strongman" style and sets the stage for investigating pivotal events like the 2002 Gujarat riots.