India, Oct. 7 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi's completion of 25 years as a head of government has drawn congratulatory messages from leaders across the world. From Bhutan and Japan to Belgium, Dominica and Nigeria, world leaders have marked the milestone with messages of appreciation and respect for Modi's political career, which began in Gujarat in 2001 and continued at the national level after he became Prime Minister in 2014.

Among the most striking tributes has come from Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, who recalled telling Modi in 2019 that he saw him as an "avatar of Vishnu" and later concluded that he had been thinking of Vishnu's final avatar, Kalki.

"I told him something else: I saw him as an avatar of Vishnu," Tobgay wr...