Union Home Minister Amit Shah
| Photo Credit:
Ravi Choudhary
A close confidante of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah has become the longest serving Union Home Minister surpassing the stint of BJP stalwart Lal Krishna Advani who occupied North Block from March 19, 1998 to May 22, 2004.
At 60 years, Shah, known for his bold decision making, has a long political career ahead.
While Shah continues to be Union Home Minister and has spent 2,258 days in office till Tuesday, Advani’s tenure was for 2,256 days. Before them, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India’s first Home Minister, served for 1,218 days. Interestingly, all the three come from Gujarat.
Shah was one of the youngest Union Home Ministers, having joined the August office at 54 in 2019.
Modi hailed Shah’s tenure at the North Block.
“Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s tenure has been marked by bold, historic decisions — from the abrogation of Article 370 to a firm crackdown on terrorism and strengthening of internal security,” BJP posted on social media as congratulatory message started pouring since morning.
He is known as the second most powerful person after PM Modi.
As an administrator, Shah has quite a few highs. Together with PM Modi, he implemented abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and converted the erstwhile State into a Union Territory after carving out Ladakh to make it an independent UT.
He piloted criminal justice system reform, bringing in three criminal laws — the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam — to replace the colonial era Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Indian Evidence Act of 1872, respectively.
The new laws came into effect on July 1, 2024.
The Lok Sabha MP from Gandhinagar is also credited with coming up with a blueprint to wipe out Naxals, bringing down the number of most affected districts to 6 from 12. He has set a March 31, 2026, deadline for security forces for a Naxalism-free Bharat.
The Union Minister did not hesitate either for pushing controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which offers Indian nationality to persecuted minorities — Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Christian and Parsi — of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Published on August 5, 2025
