India, Sept. 14 -- Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi will turn 75 this week. It is a diamond jubilee for a man who lived his formative years in anonymity, dedicated his middle years to organisational work, and the last quarter of his life at the zenith of power, in Gandhinagar and in New Delhi.

Till a few weeks ago, September 17 was not just viewed as his birthday but also a kind of D-Day in a political suspense thriller, thanks to some needless sensationalism. The question, based on a comment taken entirely out of context, was whether Modi would retire as PM? Those waiting for a response got their answer on August 28. On that day, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said in New Delhi, "I never said I will retire or someone else should retire." Retu...