Lakshmanrao ‘Vakil Saheb’ Inamdar, one of Gujarat’s most influential RSS pracharaks, lived a rootless life with no family of his own. Yet, he became a father figure to Narendra Modi.
00:00Narendra Modi first met Laxman Rao Inamdar, Vakeel Sahab, in Wadnagar in the early 1960s.
00:07A teenager then, Modi was struck by Inamdar's oratory and his ability to connect with people through simple everyday examples.
00:13Inamdar was one of the founding fathers of the RSS and became more than just a leader.
00:17For Modi, he was a guide, someone who encouraged him to study, gave him responsibilities and shaped his worldview.
00:23Years later, when Modi faced political marginalization within the Gujarat BJP,
00:27he turned to a project inspired by Inamdar's vision.
00:30On the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Modi supervised the building of Sanskar Dham, a residential high school for boys.
00:36It opened in June 1992, housing the Laxman Gyan Pete secondary school on a 125-acre complex.
00:41This school project, rooted in Vakeel Sahab's influence, was an early sign of what Modi would later champion as part of the much-debated Gujarat model.
00:49As biographer Kishore Makwana notes, Inamdar's contribution was far greater than just a project.
00:54Modi has inherited Vakeel Sahab's organizational skills, his rapport with people, the ability to remember thousands of names and fine details.
01:01Among Modi's most treasured positions today are his mentor's diaries, where Inamdar recorded his daily experiences over decades.
01:07Modi himself has kept a diary since the mid-1980s, a practice he openly credits to Vakeel Sahab.
01:13Inamdar had no family of his own. He chose a rootless life, living simply and dedicating himself fully to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
01:20The austria discipline left a deep impression on the young Modi, who modelled much of his own lifestyle on his mentor.
01:25Lakshman Roy Inamdar was born in 1917 in Khatav, Satara district, Maharashtra.
01:30Lawyer by training, he joined the RSS in 1943, fought against the Nizam in Hyderabad and spent his life as one of Gujarat's most influential Pracharaks.
01:38He passed away in 1984. But his influence on Narendra Modi's discipline, organization and vision continues to be felt to this day.
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