Students in Mizoram gushed while waiting for Narendra Modi to arrive at the capital city of Aizwal – another Saturday when schoolchildren in uniform were part of an event featuring the prime minister.
“If Modi is there, anything is possible. Today, we see a new railway line being built, and it is truly an opportunity for us to be here,” a girl student told the state-run Doordarshan.
She wasn’t the only one to open up to the national television channel which also provides news, and in her outpouring of gratitude.
“In Kawrthah, the residential school and in Tlangnuam, the Eklavya Model School being built, for us is no less than a priceless gift. From this initiative, all of us children are extremely happy and excited. This school will give a new direction to our future. All of us students’ express heartfelt gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this step,” said another girl student.
Prime ministers in the past have interacted with children. One particular PM, the country’s first one, was known during his lifetime and beyond for his bond with children.
The incumbent prime minister, however, has bettered Chacha Nehru and turned each meeting into a high-profile event recorded on camera, telecast and each word reproduced with enthusiasm in India’s mainstream media.
Modi’s love for interacting with children is not new. Since becoming PM 11 years ago, the scale of the events widened.
On March 6, 2022 – another Saturday – some differently abled students in Maharashtra’ were in for a surprise when Modi joined them for a 10-minute ride from Garware metro station to Anandanagar in Pune.
One student, then seven years old, had described her ride with Modi as “short yet memorable” to the news agency PTI.
The student of the Poona School of Blind Girls had told PTI a day after her interaction with Modi that she was informed at the last moment about the ride with the prime minister.
“I felt relaxed as the meeting was not confirmed initially. I got a message at the 11th hour and reached the Garware metro station,” she had said.
He chatted with the students, mostly in Marathi and the camera shutters clicked merrily.
Now, such events have become routine.
Little over a month ago, on Rakshabandhan on August 9 – a Saturday – at 7, Lok Kalyan marg, the official residence of the PM, schoolchildren and members of the Brahma Kumaris gathered to tie Rakhis to the PM.
The PM later shared a video of the event on his X handle.
The PM’s affection for children is not new. For 10 years during his tenure as CM of Gujarat, Modi paid annual visits to schools in the rural areas, and holding the hands of children escorted them to schools, as a method to boost measures against school dropouts.
“He would even sit in the classrooms with the children. All his speeches delivered before the students were on the importance of education,” said a former bureaucrat from Gujarat.
Known for his hands-on approach in governance as chief minister, he had held several such events throughout his tenure, though very few of them had made it to the national media.
2014 changed that for Modi. And the students across the country.