The Making of a Dharmic Ruler

PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI, despite being in the public eye for a quarter of a century, remains an enigma. On his 75th birthday on September 17, he was greeted by several world and Indian leaders. Among the latter, the predominant senti­ment was that India needed Modi at its helm to continue to progress and prosper. But underlying these customary, even sincere, praises and prayers, a question remained: Would he renounce his high office or cling to power?

Modi’s meteoric rise has shown him both astute and hardnosed in dealing with rivals, whether within his own party or in the Opposition. He has consistently outmanoeuvred or outlasted those who have stood in his way. Initially, it was Keshubhai Patel, then Atal Bihari Vajpayee; later, any or many of his projected or putative competitors. When it comes to the Opposition, neither Arvind Kejriwal, who contested against him in Varanasi in the 2014 General Election, nor Rahul Gandhi, who is his biggest and most vocal critic, appears to stand a chance. Modi has clearly outclassed them both.

Far from criticising Modi, I am merely pointing out those qualities that mark him as an outstanding politician, with a tremendous will to power. Kautilya would agree. Running a country, no matter how large or small, is no career for the fainthearted. And when it comes to India, the most populous and complex nation on earth, not to speak of an ancient civilisation which is also a modern state, the challenges multiply manifold.

Modi has managed them superbly in his long innings, first as chief minister of Gujarat, then as our third longest-serving prime minister.

The road to cracking the riddle of who or what Modi is, I would argue, leads back to his formative years. Modi is, first and last, a pracharak, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-trained, life-long and dedicated worker. Yet, and this is equally important, he is not merely a pracharak; he is much more. It is this paradox that best explains his complex personality.

This approach to understanding Modi acquires greater salience during the Sangh’s ongoing centenary celebrations. Modi was identified, chosen, groomed, and trained by the Sangh. Yet his relationship with the Sangh has not been without its hiccups or ups and downs. During his stint as Gujarat’s chief minister, for instance, he often chafed at the Sangh’s attempts to rein him in or control him. How he took on Pravin Togadia, even getting him shunted out of Gujarat, is just one example of who won that round of the fight.

More recently, in May 2024, on the eve of the General Election, JP Nadda, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), famously re­marked that BJP had grown enough to be capable of running itself, implying that it didn’t need RSS, its mothership, which had created it. It seems rather unlikely that Nadda would have issued such a statement of his own accord. Had he done so, he might have been given, as is any informed observer’s guess, a dressing down. Not only did that not happen, but Nadda also got a Cabinet berth and continues as the acting president of BJP, suggesting that he had some sort of clearance from the top.

But the results of the 2024 General Election made both BJP and Modi eat humble pie. What became clear, yet again, is that BJP cannot win big without the support of RSS. Brand Modi, no matter how appealing or how TINA (there is no alternative) is not, in itself, enough to power BJP to victory. This was demonstrated, once more, in the Maharashtra election which saw the return of the RSS-backed Devendra Fadnavis to the chief minister’s gaddi.

Politically, I dare say intellectually, Modi has tried, throughout his remarkable career, to break free from and outgrow RSS. But morally, emotionally, ideologically he remains anchored to his character as a pracharak. Would it, then, be true to say that once a pracharak, always a pracharak?

This begs the question: What is a pracharak? The English translation, propagandist or preacher, would be rather misleading in addition to inaccurate. Instead, a pracharak may be defined as a ‘professor’, not in the conventional sense of a teacher but one who practises and professes certain virtues and actions. A pracharak is as much of a servant and saviour of society as a sanyasi might be. Someone whose whole life is dedicated to a cause.

Can Narendra Modi be understood in this framework? My answer is, yes—and no.

A pracharak is not merely an ideological emissary or an apparatchik but the embodiment of dedication, discipline, and service. The word derives from the Sanskrit root prachar, meaning to spread or propagate, but its connotation extends far beyond the simple dissemination of ideas. In the RSS context, a pracharak represents the highest form of organisa­tional commitment—individuals who renounce personal ambitions, family life, and material pursuits to serve the cause of cultural nationalism and social organisation.

TRYING TO UNDERSTAND Modi through such a perspective helps explain what critics often charac­terise as his authoritarian tendencies. A pracharak’s training emphasises organisational hierarchy, discipline, obedience, and the subordination of individual desires to collective goals. However much a certain course of action is discussed, once a decision is taken, the Sangh culture is for all swayam­sevaks (self-helpers) to obey. When translated into political governance, this manifests as a highly centralised decision-making process, intolerance for dissent within party ranks, and an expectation that Cabinet colleagues function more as implementers than self-motivated and enterprising political agents.

Despite his massive personality cult, Modi knows that the cause he pro­fesses is greater than his person. The former is a political necessity, the latter the inner reality that drives the man. Everyone knows that Modi is a prime minister with a mission. So hard-working, so persis­tent, so determined that he lets no obstacle stand in his way.

Modi wants to make India great again.

No doubt, Modi’s early years as a pracharak in Gujarat, be­ginning in the 1970s, were formative in ways that continue to influence his political modus operandi today. As a pracharak, he learned the art of grassroots organisation, the importance of discipline, and the value of long-term strategic thinking. The RSS system emphasises patience, methodical planning, and the ability to work within existing structures while gradually transforming them—skills that would prove invaluable in his later political career.

When we examine Modi’s political journey through the pracharak framework, several patterns emerge that distin­guish him from conventional politicians. First, his relationship with power appears fundamentally different from that of typi­cal political leaders. Where many politicians seek power for personal aggrandisement or immediate political and pecuni­ary gains, Modi views power as the instrument of implement­ing a larger civilisational project.

Modi’s famous discipline—his rigorous daily schedule, minimal sleep, and relentless focus on work—reflects classic pracharak conditioning. Unlike politicians who compart­mentalise their public and private lives, Modi appears to have no private life at all. His entire existence is organised around his public role, suggesting someone who has internalised the pracharak ideal of complete dedication to the cause.

The pracharak tradition demands complete surrender of the self to the mission. This Modi has demonstrated in ample measure. Unlike conventional political leaders who might balance personal interests with public service, Modi, the pra­charak, is wholly devoted to his dharma. He practises celibacy, maintains an austere lifestyle, and dedicates his existence to building and strengthening his role as India’s visionary prime minister. To this end, he wants to beat the re­cords and achievements of all those who preceded him.

But here is where the fundamen­tal difference arises. Pracharaks are supposed not only to be humble but utterly without personal ambition. Modi is supremely, even superbly ambitious—of course for Bharat. But arguably, that ambition is deeply personal now. It has come to be identified with his personality and life’s mission.

The crucial question—even test—is who will win? Modi the politician, or Modi the pracharak? The jury is out on this one. It is use­less trying to second-guess Modi, whether prime minister or pracharak.

Indeed, one of his great character traits is how closely guarded the inner workings of his mind and heart are and how closely he holds his cards to his chest. Even US President Donald Trump, who famously jibed about his allies, rivals, and foes not having the cards, cannot be sure that Modi does not have one hidden up his sleeve.

If so, why would I shoot my mouth off, only to be proven wrong? Let me just say that if the pracharak in him wins over the politician, renouncing power will not prove difficult for Modi when the right time comes.

But, surely, that time is not now. What is more, when the time does come, the pracharak and the politician may even find themselves aligned.

ideologyNarendra ModiNation BuildingpoliticsPraacharakRSS