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Narendra Modi future Prime Minister of India : Life in Pictures

For a good part of the last decade, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has been surrounded in controversy over the post-Godhra riots in 2002. Earlier this week, the Supreme Court ruled that a lower court in Gujarat will now decide whether he should be investigated in a riots case, following which Mr Modi announced a three-day fast to promote "communal harmony” in the state.

Through this photo feature, we take a look at the life of a politician who is seen by many as a future Prime Minister of India.

Born on September 17, 1960 in a middle-class family in Vadnagar, Narendra Modi was active in politics from a very young age. He has been a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) since childhood.

Narendra Modi became a part of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), after making a mark in its student wing - the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).

Narendra Modi started climbing the political ranks quickly once the BJP came to power in Gujarat in 1995. Within the next six years, Mr Modi went on from being the national secretary to the general secretary, and finally in 2001, he was entrusted by his party to take charge as the Chief Minister of Gujarat

Mr Modi's promotion came at a time when the BJP had tasted defeat in the by-elections, resulting in Keshubhai Patel, his predecessor, resigning from office.

Taking over as chief minister could not have come at a tougher time for Mr Modi. Gujarat had witnessed a devastating earthquake earlier that year, and growth was almost non-existent in the state. However, Mr Modi's unique ideas and administrative skills soon got Gujarat back on the road to recovery and progress.

Trouble began for Mr Modi in 2002 after a fire engulfed a train carrying members of a Hindu nationalist organization, killing 59 people on board. Many Hindus blamed Muslims for the fire and began rampaging through Muslim neighborhoods. For weeks, spasmodic and brutal violence continued between Muslims and Hindus. Mr. Modi's critics have blamed him for doing too little to stop violence against Muslims, and in some cases, they allege, even abetting the violence.

Following the riots, opposition parties stalled Parliament and there were calls for Narendra Modi to resign. Mr Modi did resign, but took charge of office once again, shortly after the BJP won the state re-elections, being led by none other than Mr Modi himself.

In 2006, Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsaan Jafri, who was killed in the Gulbarg Society riot in Ahmedabad, registered her complaint against Mr Modi and 61 others. She accused Mr Modi of colluding to ensure that no help was given to those being attacked in the riots.

In 2008, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Centre and Gujarat government on Ms Jafri's plea and an amicus curiae was appointed to assist the Court. It then appointed a four-member Special Investigating Team (SIT) headed by former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director R K Raghavan to conduct investigation in these cases.

The Supreme Court, earlier this month, ruled that it will no longer monitor the case against Mr Modi for the communal riots at Gulbarag Society. The Supreme Court's verdict asks a Gujarat court to decide whether Mr Modi's role in the riots needs to be investigated.

Another controversy that has surrounded Mr Modi is the Ishrat Jehan fake encounter case. In June 2004, Ishrat Jehan, and her boyfriend, Javed were killed by the Gujarat Police. Also shot were Isan Johar and Amjad Ali. The police claimed the four were on their way to assassinate Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

In 2009, metropolitan magistrate SP Tamang who conducted a judicial inquiry into the incident described the death of Ishrat and the others as 'cold-blooded murder'. Mr Tamang's indictment of the Narendra Modi government was severe; he also said senior policemen conspired for "selfish motives."

In 2007, Mr Modi won the elections again, and began his third term as Gujarat's chief minister.

He also holds the record for the longest serving chief minister of the state.

Inspite of the controversies that surround him, Narendra Modi has time and again been recognised as the best Chief Minister in India by many publications. He has single-handedly elevated Gujarat to be known as the most industry-friendly state and a delight for investors. His successful run as chief minister, and now with the Supreme Court ruling that it will not investigate Mr Modi's role in the Gulbarg Society case, he is being seen by many as the frontrunner for the BJP's prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 elections.

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Top 10 Weirdest football hairstyles

Not many footballers will go down in history as fashion icons. But some have sported hairstyles that range from weird to ugly to downright bizarre!

Ronaldo's 2002 World Cup hairdo may have been Brazil's lucky omen, but it just looks like he balding backwards.

David Beckham has never shied away from a fashion challenge, be it sarongs, alice bands, cornrows or platinum blonde crowns a'la Marilyn Monroe. He also once paid GBP300 to get his head shaved. Some folk have more money than sense..

Looking at the superman he is today, it's a little hard to remember that when Cristiano Ronaldo first burst onto the EPL scene way back in 2003, he was a skinny, pimply youth who looked like his momma had emptied a bowl of spaghetti on his head. Ahhh...the folly (or is follicles?) of youth...

Those palm trees may look cute on a 3-year-old girl, but they're just wrong when attached to the head of Taribo West. Plus, how does he head the ball???

Why always you, Mario? Don't you know that you look scary enough already, even without the mohawk? What's next for Mario Balotelli? A crown of hair, like the Statue of Liberty?

Some of us think Bacary Sagna would look like an eight-year-old girl if you put a dress on him. The rest of us suspect that he's got a dead spider perched on his dome.

What do you get when you cross Santa Claus and Blade? Abel Xavier, who makes this list for having a beard that's as terrifying as his crowning glory. Yes, we are aware of how inappropriate that phrase is to describe this barbaric (or is that barber-ic?) hairstyle.

Carlos Valderrama was Simba even before Simba was Simba. He is living proof that a person can be anything they want to be. He obviously wanted to be a lion...

Djibril Cisse looks like the fruit of an unholy union between Abel Xavier and Mario Balotelli. And now he's wearing 'Malaysia' on his chest. Guh-reat!

Oh, look kids! Bozo the Clown has left the circus and joined Everton! We suspect that the 6ft4in Marouane Fellaini consists of 6ft of hair and 4in of everything else

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World of casting couch in Bollywood.. in pics

James Burke reveals the murky world of casting couch in Bollywood!

There have been fleeting evidences of this dark practice in B-town. But what you see here might shock you

In the recent past we’ve woken up to Payal Rohatgi accusing Dibakar Banerjee of making an indecent proposal while casting her for Shanghai. Then there was news about a starlet called Preeti Jain being raped by Madhur Bhandarkar. While none of these stories could be confirmed, it’s no hidden truth that the casting couch is part and parcel of life in Bollywood.

And, guess what: B-town’s history of indecent proposals dates back to – hold your breath – 1951! For all those who are wondering if it’s true, take a look at the gallery below.

These pics taken by photographer James Burke for Life Magazine are of director AR Kardar of Kardar Productions, who has movies like Shahjehan (1946), Dillagi (1949), Dulari (1949), Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966) among others to his credit. And here, apparently, the director is taking a screen test of new girls for his movies. Sigh. And a look at them surely makes you wonder what criteria the girls are supposed to satisfy to pass the screen test!

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Top 10 bollywood publicity seekers

Poonam Pandey:No one had ever heard of this Kingfisher Calendar model until she made her now infamous promise to strip naked if India won the 2011 Cricket World Cup. They did, she didn't. But she'd already cashed in on the publicity that had followed. She appeared on reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi Season 4 and became a celebrity of sorts on Twitter, posting pictures of herself in various stages of undress and a series of outrageous tweets.

In May 2012, a year after she reneged on her promise/threat, Poonam stripped for SRK's Kolkata Knight Riders when they won this year's Indian Premier League. She tops our list of attention-seekers, as somebody who spent a whole Sunday tweeting racy photo after racy photo of herself in a bath tub should.

Rozlyn Khan:Even Poonam Pandey inspires emulation, it seems. Little known model Rozlyn Khan stripped in honour of Chennai Super Kings, the team Kolkata Knight Riders beat. Before the Indian Premier League finals, she announced that she would do a special ‘Bikini Shoot with Captain Dhoni' if his IPL team Chennai Super Kings won. “As I promised did a full monty for Dhoni!” she tweeted, with the picture of herself. And if Poonam Pandey spent a day in her bath tub, so did Rozlyn. Except this was legit, sort of. She took a public bath in water dyed red to simulate blood, for a PETA campaign.

Sherlyn Chopra:She has made the most of her blink and miss stardom as the first Indian to become a Playboy pin up. The model-singer-actress'only significant role has been in the movie Dil Bole Hadippa, though she has appeared in a string other movies with risqué names and risqué content. Playboy magazine slightly overstated their Miss November's status on their website by listing her as 'Bollywood Goddess,' but it's unlikely that Bollywood will be knocking on her door any time soon.

Rakhi Sawant:Time was when Rakhi would have been top of this list. That she occupies fourth place is a testament to Twitter and the perils of taking public baths. Nevertheless, Rakhi is the one who started the trend of grabbing headlines by means of controversy and outrageous statements. Loud and unabashed, she's the girl who speaks her mind and for whom there's no such thing as bad press. Way back in 2008, Rakhi began her career as drama queen by crying foul when singer Mika kissed her at her birthday. Since then Rakhi has been offering cheap thrills, be it her non-wedding in the reality show Rakhi Ka Swayamvar or blaming Aamir Khan for stealing the concept of her show Rakhi Ka Insaaf and using it for Satyamev Jayate.

Veena Malik: After Bigg Boss there was no dearth of attention for this Pakistani model. First it was her purported romance with fellow contestant Ashmit Patel. Then a controversial nude shoot for FHM magazine which landed her in hot water in Pakistan, prompting her to accuse the magazine of digitally manipulating the picture. The actress made her Bollywood debut in the obscure Daal Mein Kuch Kaala Hai that was notable only for her scantily-clad posters. She has now signed up to play Silk Smitha in the Kannada version of The Dirty Picture.

Payal Rohatgi:B-grade actress Payal is a veteran of films named Tauba Tauba, Mazaa Mazaa and Men Not Allowed. If you haven't seen her in her underwear in any of these films, you might have spotted her on reality shows Bigg Boss, Fear Factor and Survivor India. Recently Payal made news when she did a steamy photoshoot with her live-in partner Sangram Singh.

Pooja Mishra:This model and VJ is another product of the Bigg Boss house. She was known for her constant bickering with her fellow inmates in the show. In April this year, Pooja Bedi filed a criminal case against her for defaming her on national television while Pooja Mishra claimed that her ex-boyfriend Timmy Narang had paid Pooja Bedi to harass her.

Shradha SharmaYet another Bigg Boss contestant, Shradha was soon forgotten when she was voted out of the show. But she took a shortcut to fame, to put it loosely, when she accused TV star Shweta Tiwari, who also happened to be the ex-wife of Shradha's boyfriend Raja Chaudhary, of “sleeping around” in a four-page interview to a magazine.

Shamita SharmaProving yet again that taking your clothes off on the flimsiest excuse will get you attention no matter what, South Indian actress Shamita Sharma stripped for a campaign by a social organization called Citizens Action Forum to protest against moral policing in Mumbai.

Nisha Yadav And, of course, getting naked will help have Mumbai drains cleaned before monsoon arrives in the city. So that's just what South starlet Nisha did.

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China's Incredible Floating Village

Imagine a world where everything is floating - One where instead of stepping on firm ground, you swim or sail out? Believe it or not, that's exactly what the residents of Sandu'ao village in China experience every day.

Also known as the Future Floating village, Sandu'ao, is situated at the entrance of the world's deepest ice-free natural harbor on the coastal East Fujian in China. While the village appears to be in the middle of an open ocean, it is landlocked from all sides and hence sheltered, so that the waters around are always calm, imposing no threat to the residents.

The modest wooden homes are constructed upon sturdy barge-like structures made from bamboo and wood, which are wired to plastic barrels and PVC, enabling them to float. And, its not just the homes that float -The self-sustaining village also has a floating post office, convenience store, and even a few restaurants.

Given the location, it is not surprising that most people in the village are fishermen. In fact, Sandu'ao is home to one of China's largest sea farms - supplying the country with yellow croakers and various other seafood, including shellfish, shrimp and giant prawns. Lately however, it has also become a popular destination stop for tourists who are curious to see this rather amazing way of living.

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Model Leena Kapoor and Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf in pics

Pakistani cricketer turned umpire Asad Rauf, who was accused of sexually exploiting Indian model Leena Kapoor, admitted that his pictures with her are real, but categorically denied having any relationship with Kapoor.

According to a report by NDTV, a model from Oshiwara, a neighbourhood in Mumbai, had accused Rauf of exploiting her after promising to marry her.

Rauf, talking to Express News, said that Kapoor forced him into recommending her for the TV reality show “Bigg Boss” as he has good relations with people in Bollywood, “But, the show’s organisers said that they do not accept entries via recommendations/references, so I ended contact with her [Kapoor],” he said.

He added that Kapoor was hurling allegations to gain “cheap publicity” and that it was a move to defame Pakistan. He also said that the model had taken pictures with him as a fan.

Calling it a personal matter, Rauf claimed that the International Cricket Council (ICC) had told him the same, adding that he will visit India in January for the India-England series.

The model, Kapoor, in her written complaint to a local deputy commissioner of police (DCP), had alleged that she had met the former cricketer in Sri Lanka a few months back after which they spent a few days together.

The complainant had alleged that Rauf told her he would marry her and would also get her an apartment. She said that he did disclose his marital status and the fact that he had children but added that religion allowed him to have more than one wife.

As per the complaint, they met after that many times, including during the Indian Premiere League (IPL), after which he had, when asked about marriage, said that “it would happen soon”.

The complaint reports that when she called him a few days ago, he did not respond and around five days back, he refused to have any future interactions, allegedly saying he did not know her.

The DCP office confirmed the receipt of a letter and said they would launch an inquiry into the matter.

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