Modi’s take on criticism stirs the soul

When prime minister Narendra Modi sat with Lex Fridman on 16 March 2025, his words on criticism landed like a quiet thunderclap. “Criticism is the soul of democracy,” he said, leaning into a three-hour chat that peeled back his skin. “In our scriptures, it’s said: ‘Always keep your critics close’—they’re your nearest companions because through genuine criticism, you improve fast.” I can’t shake the image of him in his Gujarat village, a boy whitening shoes with chalk, now urging a nation to sharpen its voice. It’s personal—he craves the real stuff, not the noise.

He’s got a point that stings. “Genuine criticism requires study, research, analysis,” he told Fridman, frustration creeping in. “Today, people take shortcuts, jump to accusations.” I’ve scrolled X enough to see it—snappy jabs at his every move, from 2002 Gujarat to Covid calls, often light on facts, heavy on heat. Modi’s not dodging; he’s daring critics to dig deeper, to trade allegations for insight. “Allegations benefit no one,” he said, calm as ever, serving up a plea for substance over squabbles.

This isn’t just talk—it’s his lens on power. From fasting as a kid—“we never felt poor”—to nudging Ukraine and Russia toward peace, he frames criticism as a mirror, not a blade. “I stand with peace, not neutrality,” he said on the war, a stance that echoes his call for sharp feedback at home. Pakistan’s proxy wars got a swipe too—“terror’s trail leads there”—but it’s his hunger for critique that lingers. A Delhi cab driver might nod, recalling potholes fixed after loud complaints, proof words can shift things.

Modi’s riff feels like a challenge—to us, to foes, to allies. “Democracy runs in my veins,” he said, and you hear the kid who pressed clothes with a hot pot, now steering 1.4 billion. Fridman, fasting 45 hours to sync, got a front-row seat to a leader who’d rather hear hard truths than hollow praise. It’s raw, unpolished, and sticks with you—criticism as a lifeline, not a lash. The podcast’s viral hum on X says it’s struck a nerve, a call to rethink how we talk power.