Jashodaben

In February 2015, Jashodaben hosted some Christian missionaries who invited her to join their missionary to help lots of destitute and helpless Hindus by teaching Gita and Ramayana to them. In June 2015, Jashodaben was scheduled to speak at a conference on politics organized by supporters of Modi. Event organizers reported that the conference was shut down on day 2 of the week-long program on the direction of the BJP leader Amit Shah and others. No reason was given for cancelling the conference, but people in attendance claimed Jashodaben's presence as the cause.

In November 2015, Jashodaben applied for a passport in order to visit relatives and friends overseas. As she was unable to produce a marriage certificate or a joint affidavit from her husband, the application was rejected by the regional passport office as "incomplete." Her brother Ashok stated that a legal option was being considered.

In December, the Intelligence Bureau denied her request for information about orders, saying that the law has an exemption which applies in this case. Jashodaben uses the name "Jashodaben Narendrabhai Modi", which is her married name. The letter was addressed to "Jashodaben, daughter of Chimanlal Modi" (her father's name). At the end of December 2014, Jashodaben filed an appeal to the refusal. In addition to the appeal, Jashodaben complained that the government officers changed her name from "Jashodaben Narendrabhai Modi" to her maiden name "Jashodaben Chimanlal Modi". Doordarshan, India's public television broadcaster, presented Jashodaben on television 1 January 2015 to hear her comments on the issue. As a result of this broadcast, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting chastised staff at Doordashan and transferred the director of the broadcast from Ahmedabad to Port Blair 2,500 km away. On 6 February Jashodaben's request was again denied, and again addressed to "Jashodaben, Chimanlal Modi's daughter".

In May 2015, Jashodaben filed a third request for the information about the security detail and their orders. She also complained that she had completed the forms using her legal name, "Jashodaben Narendrabhai Modi", but the government office replied to her using her maiden name. In response to the filing, a government representative said, "If they are still not satisfied by the information given by the first appellate authority, they can file the second appeal at the Gujarat Information Commission." In response to the RTI request, commentator on women's issues Shobhaa De called Jashodaben a "superhero" and "plucky", and said that her actions were "bold, blunt, and to the point".

In the 2014 Indian general election, Modi contested the Vadodara seat of the Parliament of India. Under the Representation of the People Act, Modi was asked to declare any previous marriage. In his response, for the first time in public and media, Modi acknowledged that he had a wife. Previously Modi had not responded to official documents asking about a spouse.

In summer 2014, Congress party politician Ajay Rai filed a lawsuit to be heard by the Allahabad High Court complaining, among other things, that Modi did not give the permanent account number of Jashodaben.

In June 2014, at what has been described as "her first public event", Jashodaben attended the public funeral of politician Gopinath Munde. In November 2014, she made her first trip to Mumbai where she prayed for her husband at the Mahalakshmi Temple and the Siddhivinayak Temple.

From May 2014, police from the Mehsana district began providing continual police protection for Jashodaben. The security agent team following her was assigned as a response to the Special Protection Group Act, which says that the spouse of the Prime Minister of India should receive police protection. The Salaries and Allowances of Ministers' Act describes other benefits which are typically given to spouses of prime ministers.

In November 2014, Jashodaben filed a Right to Information Act (RTI) request seeking details about her security and rights as the spouse of the prime minister. Various media organizations in India reported the RTI in different ways, including emphasizing Jashodaben's fear, the financial implications of her complaint, the guards' demands to be treated as guests, or the case as an example of female independence. Jashodaben has said that her security details suggest she refrain from talking with the media. The Gulf News reported that her security guards are primarily with her to conduct surveillance on her. Jashodaben's family has complained that her guards do not keep any identity cards, refuse to identify themselves, and refuse to name the person or office supervising them.

In 1992, Jashodaben refused to be interviewed by the newspaper Abhiyan when that publication presented a story on the marriage of her and Modi. In 2009, a reporter for Open found Jashodaben in her village and asked her some questions. In 2014, a reporter for The Indian Express interviewed her. In May 2014, TV9 Gujarat video interviewed her. In December 2014, a writer for Pakistani news agency Dawn News said that not many newspapers have had the courage to report the troubles which Jashodaben has experienced.

Jashodaben studied further to become a teacher at primary school, and from 1978–1990 taught in Banaskantha district. In 1991 she moved to Rajosana village and remains there. She is retired and her pension is ₹ 14,000 (US$200) per month. One commentator said that her low salary would have made much of life a hardship for her. In talking about her relationship with Modi, in one interview Jashodaben said "We have never been in touch... There has been no communication from his end to this day." In a later interview Jashodaben said that until 1987 she and Modi spoke "normally". Jashodaben lives with her brother Ashok and his wife in Unjha.

Narendra Modi and Jashodaben had an arranged marriage in the custom of the Ghanchi caste of Vadnagar. When Modi was thirteen, the couple underwent the religious ceremony of marriage. Per their family custom, they began living together (gauna) when Modi was 18 (jasodaben was 16) in 1968 but that period was brief.

Jashodaben Narendrabhai Modi (née Chimanlal Modi; born January 1952) is a retired Indian teacher and the wife of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Their traditional marriage was arranged in Vadnagar by their families. The couple married in 1968. He did not officially acknowledge this marriage until 2014 during his campaign. Jashodaben continues to identify herself as the wife of Narendra Modi. She completed her education and had a career as a teacher.

Jashodaben was born in 1952. Her mother died when she was two years old.