NEW YORK: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma were amongst those featured in this year's TIME Magazine's annual list of the '100 Most Influential People'. The list, released on April 20, recognises the most influential pioneers, titans, artists, leaders, and icons, for “the power of their inventions, the scale of their ambitions, the genius of their solutions to problems that no one before them could solve.”
Others on the list include British-Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed, US President Donald Trump, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, and Pope Francis. Modi's profile was written by author Pankaj Mishra, who had written it in May 2014, when he became the leader of the world's largest democracy. “Once barred from the US for his suspected complicity in anti-Muslim violence, and politically ostracised at home as well, this Hindu nationalist used Twitter to bypass traditional media and speak directly to masses feeling left or pushed behind by globalisation, and he promised to make India great again by rooting out self-serving elites.”
Three years later, Mishra wrote in the essay that Modi's “vision of India's economic, geopolitical and cultural supremacy is far from being realised, and his extended family of Hindu nationalists have taken to scapegoating secular and liberal intellectuals as well as poor Muslims.” He also added that the PM's aura remain undimmed, describing him as a “maestro of the art of political seduction, playing on the existential fears and cultural insecurities of people facing downward or blocking mobility.”
Meanwhile, Ahmed, who not only scored a place on the list, but also made it to the magazine cover, was honoured by actor, playwright and composer, Lin-Manuel Miranda who wrote, “Look, Riz Ahmed has been quietly pursuing every passion and opportunity for many years as an actor, rapper, and activist.” He added, “To know him is to be inspired, engaged and ready to create alongside him. The year 2016 was when all the seeds he planted bore glorious fruits, and here's the best part: he's just getting started.”
