Muslim scholar from Varanasi completes PhD on PM Modi from BHU

Najma Parveen said that initially some people opposed her decision, but she was firm on her idea and went ahead with the research

Researcher Najma Parveen, a resident of Lallapura in Varanasi, has completed her PhD on India’s prime minister, titled ‘Narendra Modi’s Political Leadership: An Analytical Study’, from the department of political science of Banaras Hindu University (BHU).

Najma Parveen shows her PhD certificate. (HT Photo)

She is possibly the first Muslim woman in the country to do research on PM Modi, in which she has described the prime minister as a ‘megastar’ of politics.

Parveen enrolled for the research in 2014 and completed her project in eight years under the supervision of Professor Sanjay Srivastava of BHU, while the external examiner of her thesis was from Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi.

The researcher comes from an ordinary weaver family and had lost her parents several years ago. Braving hardships, she continued her education with financial support from Professor Rajiv Srivastava, the founder of Vishal Bharat Sansthan.

“I selected this topic as PM Narendra Modi created a model of development as the chief minister of Gujarat. His popularity grew and he became the prime minister of the country. The 2014 general elections transformed the entire political landscape of the country. The Bharatiya Janata Party’s victory considerably reduced the influence of regional parties in national politics. As prime minister, Modi started working in a dynamic manner and took several decisions for the development of the country and welfare of the poor. That is why I chose this topic,” she said.

Parveen said that initially some people opposed her decision, but she was firm on her idea and went ahead with the research.

Harbouring dreams of becoming a politician like Modi, Parveen said that she has already floated a political party, the Bharatiya Awam Party, of which she is the president.

Her thesis is divided into five chapters, and Parveen says she referred to 20 Hindi books and 79 English books, including biographies of PM Modi, to complete her research.

She also referred to 37 newspapers and magazines and also met PM Modi’s brother Pankaj and RSS leader Indresh Kumar during her course.

Parveen said that the movement against Triple Talaq, Muslim women from Kashi sending rakhis to PM Modi and the Bharatiya Awam Party’s support to Modi have been prominently included in the research.

“From scratches to the sky. History was created in general election 2014 when Narendra Modi, who belongs to a non-political and simple family, became PM. So, Parveen chose a very relevant topic for her research, which covered welfare schemes, developmental programmes and reformation in different fields Modi did as PM in the last nine years,” Rajiv Srivastava said.

Parveen has been active in the movement against Triple Talaq. When the Modi government formulated a law against the practise, she was one among the first Muslim women to thank the prime minister.