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“As a boy, Narendra Modi helped his father sell tea to support their family. Today, he’s the leader of the world’s largest democracy, and his life story — from poverty to Prime Minister — reflects the dynamism and potential of India’s rise.” Thus begins US President Barack Obama's brief but eloquent write-up on India’s prime minister, one of the four Indians in the 2015 edition of TIME 100, the publication's annual list of the 100 most influential people. The outgoing US President himself is on the list.
In the write-up headlined 'India's reformer-in-chief', Obama also refers to Modi’s visit to the US: “When he came to Washington, Narendra and I visited the memorial to Dr Martin Luther King Jr. We reflected on the teachings of King and Gandhi and how the diversity of backgrounds and faiths in our countries is a strength we have to protect. Prime Minister Modi recognises that more than one billion Indians living and succeeding together can be an inspiring model for the world.”
The other Indians on the list are ICICI Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Chanda Kochhar, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Vikram Patel, joint director at the Public Health Foundation of India and professor at London School of Hygeine and Tropical Medicine.
“The list is not a ranking of any kind. It is about individual influence from various backgrounds and how these people are doing different things that are having all kinds of impact, both positive and negative,” says Nikhil Kumar, TIME’s South Asia bureau chief.
TIME had on Tuesday released another list of the world's 100 most influential people, based on a readers' poll conducted by the magazine. While that list also had Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the one released on Thursday and compiled by TIME's editors had only four people from India. Both Modi and Kejriwal were part of last year's list, too.
INDIANS ON THE TIME 100 LIST
