Prime Minister Narendra Modi is back from his trips to the UK and the Maldives. After a very productive overseas trip where Modi signed the FTA in London and then reset India’s ties with Maldives after being a guest of honour in their independence day celebrations, he’s now back in India, specifically Tamil Nadu.

Since 2014, Modi has visited the state 41 times; this will be his 42nd trip, and he will stay there for two days to participate in the birth anniversary celebrations of Rajendra Chola I, thereby deeply intertwining himself with Tamil Nadu’s history once and for all. And why not, just like the king who brought immense development and fortune to the state, Narendra Modi has brought development to the state.

Modi has repeatedly emphasised that “when Tamil Nadu grows, India grows", signalling the state’s centrality to India’s overall development trajectory. His declaration back in 2023, came alongside the inauguration of infrastructure projects worth over Rs 5,000 crore in Chennai, and the announcement of an all-time high railway infrastructure budget of over Rs 6,000 crore for Tamil Nadu, six-fold higher than the average allocation under the previous UPA government.

This commitment to the state’s growth has sustained through policy prioritisation and record personal engagement. Modi’s fourth dozen visit to the state will see him inaugurate projects spanning airports, highways, ports and railways, alongside participating in the Aadi Thiruvathirai Festival at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, aligning modern development with Tamil heritage.

By invoking Tamil poets and local culture, and by personally........

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