'An enlightened ruler': Bhutan PM on why he sees Modi as an avatar of Vishnu

Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay has described Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an avatar of Vishnu, saying he now believes Modi is Kalki, Vishnu’s final avatar associated with overcoming disorder, restoring dharma, and ushering in renewal.

Recalling his meetings with Modi, the Bhutanese prime minister said he first told the Indian leader in 2019 that he saw him as an avatar of Vishnu. Five years later, after reflecting on those words, Tobgay said he had reached an even more specific conclusion.

"I told him that I had thought long and hard about what I had said five years earlier, and wondered whether I had been wrong," Tobgay stated. "I had concluded that I was right."

"Not only that. I now knew which avatar. Vishnu’s final avatar—the one associated with overcoming disorder, restoring dharma and ushering in renewal. Kalki."

‘He would always be my elder brother’

Tobgay recalled meeting Modi in Delhi on July 27, 2019, when his party had been eliminated from Bhutan's elections 10 months earlier and was no longer represented in Parliament.

He was neither prime minister nor an MP at the time and met Modi as a private citizen.

The Bhutanese PM said he thanked Modi for his support during his years in office and told him: “He would always be my elder brother—not merely because he was older, but because he treated me with the affection an elder brother reserves for a younger sibling.”

Tobgay then told Modi that he regarded him as an avatar of Vishnu.

“In our part of the world, I explained, enlightened rulers have long been regarded as such,” he recalled.

The comment surprised Tobgay himself. Afterwards, he said, he wondered whether he had been carried away or was wrong.

But reflecting on Modi’s record in Gujarat and at the national level, the Bhutanese leader said he came to believe that his assessment had been correct.

'He awakened in Indians a powerful belief'

Tobgay said he had watched Modi govern Gujarat for nearly 13 years, as the state became a national reference point for growth, infrastructure, investment and execution.

He pointed out that Modi later took that ambition to the national level, citing manufacturing, foreign investment, financial inclusion, sanitation, technology and infrastructure.

"What struck me most was his unwavering dedication to serving his country and his people," Tobgay wrote.

The Bhutanese PM also highlighted what he saw as Modi’s impact on how Indians viewed their country.

"He awakened in Indians a powerful belief in themselves and in their country," the letter stated.

"They seemed prouder of India, more ambitious about its possibilities and more confident of its place in the world."

Tobgay linked these qualities to his understanding of enlightened leadership in Bhutan's Buddhist tradition, which venerates Rigsum Gonpo, a trinity of Bodhisattvas representing wisdom, compassion and courage.

"To me, enlightened leadership is the exercise of these three qualities—wisdom, compassion and courage—through selfless service," he said.

'Viksit Bharat' and India's role

The Bhutanese prime minister said he sees these qualities coming together in Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat, with India aiming to become a developed nation by 2047.

“With Viksit Bharat, he has given that vision a name, a deadline and a national mission,” he stated.

Tobgay said compassion begins with understanding the hopes and aspirations of others and described Viksit Bharat as reflecting the collective ambition of 1.4 billion Indians. "Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas captures that aspiration: all together, progress for all."

On the challenge of delivering that vision, the Bhutanese PM pointed to the need for difficult choices and sustained execution.

“Building human capital, attracting investment, modernising infrastructure and, above all, improving governance require difficult choices and sustained execution. A vision is easy. Transformation is not,” he said.

Tobgay also highlighted the idea of Sabka Prayas, saying Viksit Bharat was not about one leader or one electoral cycle but about the present generation and those yet to come.

‘Viksit Bharat means Viksit Bhutan’

For Tobgay, the vision has a direct significance for Bhutan.

“For me, however, it is more personal. Viksit Bharat means Viksit Bhutan,” the Bhutanese PM wrote.

Tobgay recalled Modi’s first foreign visit as prime minister in June 2014, when India’s prime minister travelled to Bhutan within weeks of taking office. Tobgay was prime minister at the time and received him during the visit.

Modi, he said, summed up the relationship between the two countries in three characters: “B4B: Bharat for Bhutan; Bhutan for Bharat.”

The Bhutanese PM said the phrase had been reflected in India’s support for Bhutan’s 11th and 12th Five-Year Plans.

When Tobgay returned to office in 2024, Modi doubled India’s support for Bhutan’s 13th Plan to ₹10,000 crore, according to the letter.

“Today, B4B is visible across Bhutan—in schools and hospitals, roads and bridges, hydropower and technology, agriculture and enterprise,” Tobgay stated.

He also highlighted India’s support for Bhutan’s Gelephu Mindfulness City project, saying Modi had pledged India’s full support.

That commitment, Tobgay said, was already taking shape through rail links, border infrastructure and improved air and digital connectivity.

The Bhutanese PM also pointed to investments by Indian companies, including Tata Power, the Adani Group and JSW Energy, in Bhutan’s economic transformation. Leading Indian business figures have also joined the Gelephu project as founding members, he added.

Modi's 25 years in government

Tobgay's remarks come as PM Modi completes 25 continuous years as the head of an elected government.

Modi first took oath as Gujarat chief minister on October 7, 2001. He remained chief minister until 2014 and has served as prime minister since May that year.

October 7, 2026, therefore marks 25 continuous years of Modi leading an elected government. The Union Cabinet described the milestone as "25 years of continuous leadership as head of government."

Tobgay also recalled Modi being conferred Bhutan’s highest honour, the Order of the Druk Gyalpo, in recognition of his contribution to the country. Modi is the first and only foreign leader to receive the honour.

For the Bhutanese prime minister, however, the relationship goes beyond diplomacy.

"I have long regarded PM Modi as an elder brother, and over the years have come to see him as a mentor," Tobgay wrote. "He has never needed to instruct me; his example as a public servant has been instruction enough."

Tobgay said he was reminded of their 2019 conversation, and of another meeting on March 14, 2024, when he was prime minister again.

By then, the Bhutanese leader said, he had reconsidered his earlier description of Modi as an avatar of Vishnu—and concluded that he had been right.