PM Narendra Modi birthday: Lesser-known facts about our prime minister

Prime Minister Narendra Modi. File Pic

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be celebrating his 73rd birthday on September 17. Born as Narendra Damodardas Modi on September 17, 1950, he was elected the Chief Minister of Gujarat for three terms (2001 to 2014) and is the current and 14th Prime Minister of India.

On PM Narendra Modi's birthday, he will be dedicating the 'YashoBhoomi' convention centre in Dwarka, New Delhi.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning a number of events to celebrate PM Narendra Modi's birthday across India. These events include blood donation camps, health check-up camps, and sanitation drives. The party will organise a 16-day-long 'Seva Hi Sangathan' programme Seva Hi Sangathan across the country, from September 17 to October 2, according to news agency ANI. The program will focus on social service and outreach to marginalized communities. Some of the activities that will be undertaken during the program include blood donation camps, health check-up camps, sanitation drives, and tree plantation drives.

On the occasion of PM Narendra Modi birthday, here are some interesting facts about him.

1. PM Modi, before contesting in the General Elections, was also the longest-serving chief minister of Gujarat.

2. He is the first Prime Minister ever to be born in Independent India.

3. Born to a Gujarati family in Vadnagar, PM Modi used to assist his father in selling tea at the local railway station as a child.

4. At the age of eight, PM Modi found out about the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and started attending lectures or training sessions. He met Lakshmanrao Inamdar who became his mentor after inducting him as a junior cadet in the RSS.

5. PM Modi completed high school education in 1967 and completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1978. He earned a Master's degree from Gujarat University in 1982.

6. PM Modi, who went into forced hiding during the 1975 Emergency, has written a book in Gujarati language sequencing events of the time.

7. Post the 1971 war, PM Modi became a full-time campaigner for the RSS. He was assigned to the BJP in 1985.

8. PM Modi is a firm follower of the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and has often described visiting ashrams founded by Vivekananda: the Belur Math, Advaita Ashrama and the Ramakrishna Mission.

9. PM Modi ranked 15th in the 2014 Forbes Magazine list of most powerful people. In the same year, he was ranked the Person of the Year by Time magazine. He was included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World in 2014, 2015 and 2017.

10. PM Modi is the second most followed leading personality on the social media platform 'X' (formerly Twitter) with over 90 million followers.