A century of living, of building, of standing firm on principle — Lal Krishna Advani, the veteran BJP patriarch and Bharat Ratna awardee, enters his 100th year of life, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has marked the milestone with a deeply personal written tribute. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis amplified that tribute on Sunday, 8 November 2026, urging his followers to read what he called a 'heartfelt article' by the Prime Minister.

Modi and Advani: decades of mentor and protégé

The bond between Narendra Modi and L.K. Advani is one of Indian politics' most discussed mentor-protégé arcs. Modi rose through the RSS and BJP ranks during the same decades that Advani was reshaping the party from a marginal outfit into a national electoral force. That shared journey gives the Prime Minister's reflections an authority few others can claim.

Advani's career spans the Jan Sangh era, the Emergency, the founding of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980, his consequential Rath Yatra of 1990, and his tenure as Deputy Prime Minister under Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 2002 to 2004. Few figures in independent India's political history have presided over so wide a sweep of change.

Bharat Ratna and the 'Nation First' legacy

In 2024, the Government of India conferred the Bharat Ratna — the country's highest civilian honour — on Advani, recognising a lifetime of contribution to public life and democratic institutions. The award was widely seen as the ruling BJP's formal acknowledgement of its own ideological roots. Advani's 'Nation First' credo, invoked explicitly by CM Fadnavis in his post, has long served as a philosophical anchor for the party's self-image.

Modi's written tribute, as described by Fadnavis, draws directly from that personal history — framing Advani not merely as a party elder but as a figure who shaped the very architecture of contemporary Indian democracy. The act of writing, rather than tweeting, signals intentional gravitas.

BJP's tradition of honouring its founding generation

The BJP has consistently used the personal milestones of its senior statesmen to reinforce ideological continuity. Tributes to Advani, to the memory of Vajpayee, and to other figures from the Jan Sangh era serve a dual purpose: they honour individuals and they retell the party's origin story for a younger voter base that did not witness those decades firsthand. CM Fadnavis's decision to amplify this particular tribute fits that established pattern precisely.

As Advani's centenary year begins, commemorative events are expected to build through 2027. For now, it is a moment for reflection — on one man's extraordinary journey, and on what a century of principled public life looks like.