PM Modi Mother Heeraben Passes Away at the Age of 99
In a very sad turn of events, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mother Heeraben Modi passed away at the age of 99.
On Wednesday Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mother Heeraben Modi was admitted to the UN Mehta Hospital's Institute of Cardiology and Research Centre in Ahmedabad as her health deteriorated. Someone had recently discharged her from the same hospital. It was a government hospital. Today 3:30 am Heeraben Modi passed away. She was born in 1923 and died at the age of 99. PM Modi rushed to Ahmedabad. He had remained at the hospital for more than an hour and had also spoken to doctors at the hospital. PM Modi, who was scheduled to launch the developmental projects in West Bengal, may join the events through video conferencing or he may cancel.
Informing about her death, the Prime Minister posted a heartfelt tweet early this morning, "A glorious century rests at the feet of God... In Maa, I have always felt that trinity, which contains the journey of an ascetic, the symbol of a selfless Karmayogi and a life committed to values." The Indian prime minister often visited his mother to seek her blessings on important occasions and festivals.
Her life and sacrifices had "shaped" his mind, personality, and self-confidence. Mr Modi wrote on 18 June when Heeraben turned 99. "My Mother is as simple as she is extraordinary. Just like all mothers," he wrote.
They were last seen together in public on 4 December when Mr Modi visited her house during the assembly election in Gujarat, his home state. Born on 18 June 1923, Heeraben Modi's hometown was Vadnagar in Gujarat. She has five sons - PM Narendra Modi, Pankaj Modi, Soma Modi, Amrit Modi and Prahlad Modi, and one daughter Vasantiben Hasmukhlal Modi. Heeraben Modi lived in Raysan Village near Gandhinagar with the Prime Minister's younger brother Pankaj Modi.
At the age of 14-15, she was married to Damodardas Mulchand Modi and moved to the town of Vadnagar a few kilometres away. His mother wanted to get a good education but never got a chance to study as she was married off. Since she never got a chance to study, she wanted her children to study hard and become something. Heeraben took up meagre jobs like cleaning utensils and doing household chores for neighbours to run the family. The family used second hand-used utensils and clothes at their home. Modi said that, "In Vadnagar, our family used to stay in a tiny house which did not even have a window, let alone a luxury like a toilet or a bathroom.” Despite not being very educated, Heera Baa had immense knowledge about Ayurvedic and home remedies. PM’s brother Prahlad Modi had said, "My mother knew so many Desi Nuskhe. She was known as Dassi Maa. Even though she never went to school, she was a doctor in our village. The secret behind completing 100 years is the struggle and hard work Heeraba did during her entire life.” She was punctual, neat and a hard worker. Heeraben never attended public programmes, Mr Modi wrote, adding that she had only accompanied him to two events. The second one was in 2001, when he first took an oath as the chief minister of Gujarat. "Since then, she has never accompanied me to a single public event," he wrote. Though he became India's prime minister in 2014, Heeraben visited him in Delhi only two years later. Mr Modi had tweeted photos of himself showing her around his official residence.
Months later, when Mr Modi's government controversially banned 500 and 1,000 rupee notes in a bid to crack down on undeclared wealth, Heeraben was photographed visiting a bank, like millions of Indians, to exchange old notes. Heeraben Modi lived with PM Modi's younger brother Pankaj Modi at Raysan village near Gandhinagar. The Prime Minister would regularly visit Raysan and spend time with his mother during most of his Gujarat visits. In June this year, PM Modi wrote a blog for his mother on her 99th birthday. In the blog, the prime minister wrote about various aspects of his mother's life which "shaped his mind, personality and self-confidence." Several politicians and ministers have expressed sorrow over her death on social media.
