Overview

• M.L. Mittal first met Narendra Modi at a 1998 Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam event in New York where Modi, then a private citizen, impressed with his global outlook and humble question, “How can you help me?”
• Mittal described Modi’s ascetic regimen of fasting twice weekly, avoiding air conditioning and fans, subsisting on fruits and jaggery, and sleeping on the floor in followers’ homes.
• During their shared stay, Modi chose the only room without modern comforts and rose at 5 a.m. to prepare tea and breakfast for Mittal and other hosts.
• As BJP general secretary under L.K. Advani in Delhi, Modi continued to live in a servant’s quarter, travel in a dilapidated vehicle and return unspent international allowances to the party fund.
• Mittal says these practices of penance, sacrifice and discipline formed the foundation of the Gujarat model that later won international acclaim.