Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trajectory from tea-seller to a world leader "reflects the dynamism and potential of India’s rise." The byline on the piece that carries this line perhaps matters more than what is being said--US President Barack Obama.
Obama has written a short piece on Modi for Time magazine as part of its profile of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Calling Modi 'India’s reformer-in-chief', Obama wrote that Modi was helping other Indians follow his path with his plans to reduce poverty, improve education, empower women and "unleash India’s true economic potential while confronting climate change".
He harked back to the two world leaders' meeting in Washington last year, where they visited Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s memorial and reflected on the similar teachings of the great leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement and Mahatma Gandhi.
"Prime Minister Modi recognizes that more than 1 billion Indians living and succeeding together can be an inspiring model for the world," Obama wrote.
Modi thanked Obama through a tweet on Thursday evening, calling his words "touching and inspiring".
Dear @BarackObama your words are touching & inspiring. Thanks @TIME. http://t.co/igmK5moGxn
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 16, 2015
You can read Obama's short profile on Modi here.
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