While working as a young full-time member of the RSS, Narendra Modi stayed under the radar during the Emergency period. He took use of this to collaborate with individuals and organizations from a variety of political backgrounds, exposing him to a wide range of beliefs and points of view.
His disguises were so good that even people who had known him for a long time could not identify him. He donned saffron-colored swamiji clothes and even a turban to represent a Sikh. The social media accounts associated with Modi recalled that he had successfully tricked authorities in a jail to deliver a crucial document.
Modi’s advocacy and leadership during that turbulent period began to garner attention after the Emergency was abolished in 1977. He received an invitation to Mumbai that same year to take part in a conversation about the youth’s resistance activities during the Emergency.
Modi was appointed ‘sambhag pracharak‘ of south and central Gujarat due to his fighting spirit and organizational skills. Young RSS full-timer Modi was also assigned the important responsibility of preparing official RSS articles during the Emergency.
Modi wrote his first book, Sangharsh Ma Gujarat, in 1978. It was a narrative of his experiences leading the underground struggle in Gujarat against the Emergency. He finished the book in an astounding 23 days.
[With TOI inputs]
