Before 2002, when questions about Narendra Modi’s marital status began popping up in political circles, Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi was almost unheard of. Now, when the Bharatiya Janata Party’s prime ministerial candidate has finally acknowledged his wife in his election affidavit, Jashodaben is nowhere to be found. Her brothers claim she has gone on a long pilgrimage till the middle of May. While the media waits for her return to the limelight, here is what we know about Jashodaben so far.
Her father was a teacher too: Jashodaben grew up in Brahmanwada, a village in Gujarat’s Mehsana district, and her father Chimanbhai Modi was a school teacher. According to an India TV report, she lost her mother when she was two years old, and grew up with her older brothers, Ashok and Kamlesh.
While Ashok Modi now runs a grocery store in a town called Unjha, Kamlesh Modi lives with his family in Brahmanwada, a few houses down the lane from Jashodaben’s own residence. Their father died a few years after Jashodaben returned from her marital home to resume her education.
Modi did not leave her, she left him: In an interview with the Indian Express in February – her first media interaction after Modi was declared as the PM candidate – she clearly stated that it was her decision to walk away from the marriage. Modi and Jashoda had been married in 1969, when she was 17. But when she went to her marital home, her husband would most often not be around. He once told her he wanted to travel the country and do as he pleased – so what would she do following him?
Her in-laws, too, she claims, felt she was young and needed to focus on her studies. “The decision to leave was my own and there was never any conflict between us,” she said in the interview. She returned to her father’s house, completed her matriculation in 1974, finished a teacher-training course in 1976 and became a teacher in 1978.
Her life as a teacher was austere: Jashodaben has been retired for four years, but she spent most of her life as a primary school teacher. She briefly worked in Ahmedabad for three months at the start of her career, and was then posted to a district panchayat school in a village called Roopal. For most of her career, she taught in Rajosana village, not far from her brother’s place in Brahmanwada.
According to a report in Open, she lived an austere life in Rajosana, in a rented, 100-sq ft, one-room home that cost her Rs 150 a month. The house did not have a bathroom and she did all the housework herself, surviving on a Rs 10,000 monthly salary. She retired in 2009 and returned to Brahmanwada, and now receives a pension of Rs 14,000 a month.
Many of her students were Muslim: While her estranged husband is not a favourite among the country’s Muslims, many of the children Jashodaben taught in Rajosana were from the minority community. Muslims comprise 60% of the village’s population, and Jashodaben was known to distribute prasad among the children after her fasts in honour of Santoshi Maa every Friday.
She is deeply religious: This is perhaps the most widely-reported piece of trivia about Jashodaben – she wakes up at 4am, engrosses herself in prayer and continues to pray up till 11am. She is particularly devoted to Lord Shiva and Goddess Amba, and according to this report, her neighbours claim she even keeps a photo of Modi in her pooja thaali. These days, she is said to be praying and fasting for Modi to become the prime minister. Her brother Kamlesh has also claimed that Jashodaben has vowed not to eat rice or put on footwear till Modi becomes PM.
Modi keeps a close watch on her: They may not have met in 46 years, but Modi’s aides seem to keep an eye on Jashodaben to prevent undesirable reports about her appearing in the media. Caravan reported this week that back in 2002, a reporter who managed to hunt down Modi’s wife and speak to her brother received a call from the Gujarat chief minister that very night. In a veiled threat, Modi allegedly asked him to “think over” his “agenda”.
In 2009, when an Open magazine reporter visited Rajosana, local party members did not take long to find out – they kept a watch on the school where Jashodaben was teaching, asked the reporter to leave, and eventually Jashodaben declined to give an interview.
We welcome your comments at
[email protected].
Her father was a teacher too: Jashodaben grew up in Brahmanwada, a village in Gujarat’s Mehsana district, and her father Chimanbhai Modi was a school teacher. According to an India TV report, she lost her mother when she was two years old, and grew up with her older brothers, Ashok and Kamlesh.
While Ashok Modi now runs a grocery store in a town called Unjha, Kamlesh Modi lives with his family in Brahmanwada, a few houses down the lane from Jashodaben’s own residence. Their father died a few years after Jashodaben returned from her marital home to resume her education.
Modi did not leave her, she left him: In an interview with the Indian Express in February – her first media interaction after Modi was declared as the PM candidate – she clearly stated that it was her decision to walk away from the marriage. Modi and Jashoda had been married in 1969, when she was 17. But when she went to her marital home, her husband would most often not be around. He once told her he wanted to travel the country and do as he pleased – so what would she do following him?
Her in-laws, too, she claims, felt she was young and needed to focus on her studies. “The decision to leave was my own and there was never any conflict between us,” she said in the interview. She returned to her father’s house, completed her matriculation in 1974, finished a teacher-training course in 1976 and became a teacher in 1978.
Her life as a teacher was austere: Jashodaben has been retired for four years, but she spent most of her life as a primary school teacher. She briefly worked in Ahmedabad for three months at the start of her career, and was then posted to a district panchayat school in a village called Roopal. For most of her career, she taught in Rajosana village, not far from her brother’s place in Brahmanwada.
According to a report in Open, she lived an austere life in Rajosana, in a rented, 100-sq ft, one-room home that cost her Rs 150 a month. The house did not have a bathroom and she did all the housework herself, surviving on a Rs 10,000 monthly salary. She retired in 2009 and returned to Brahmanwada, and now receives a pension of Rs 14,000 a month.
Many of her students were Muslim: While her estranged husband is not a favourite among the country’s Muslims, many of the children Jashodaben taught in Rajosana were from the minority community. Muslims comprise 60% of the village’s population, and Jashodaben was known to distribute prasad among the children after her fasts in honour of Santoshi Maa every Friday.
She is deeply religious: This is perhaps the most widely-reported piece of trivia about Jashodaben – she wakes up at 4am, engrosses herself in prayer and continues to pray up till 11am. She is particularly devoted to Lord Shiva and Goddess Amba, and according to this report, her neighbours claim she even keeps a photo of Modi in her pooja thaali. These days, she is said to be praying and fasting for Modi to become the prime minister. Her brother Kamlesh has also claimed that Jashodaben has vowed not to eat rice or put on footwear till Modi becomes PM.
Modi keeps a close watch on her: They may not have met in 46 years, but Modi’s aides seem to keep an eye on Jashodaben to prevent undesirable reports about her appearing in the media. Caravan reported this week that back in 2002, a reporter who managed to hunt down Modi’s wife and speak to her brother received a call from the Gujarat chief minister that very night. In a veiled threat, Modi allegedly asked him to “think over” his “agenda”.
In 2009, when an Open magazine reporter visited Rajosana, local party members did not take long to find out – they kept a watch on the school where Jashodaben was teaching, asked the reporter to leave, and eventually Jashodaben declined to give an interview.