The Monk who Transformed Uttar Pradesh: How Yogi Adityanath changed ‘UP Waala Bhaiya’ Abuse to a Badge of Honour by Shantanu Gupta enlists, with facts, the speed and the scale with which Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath transformed the state of Uttar Pradesh, which appeared to be perennially mired as a BIMARU state, with corruption, nepotism, lawlessness having become it’s salient features. Taking over as a surprise choice after the 2017 Assembly elections, in which the BJP and its allies romped home with a massive majority, Adityanath, who many dismissed initially as a ‘sanyasi’ who was inexperienced in matters of administration, has brought about a turn-around of UP, which is hard to believe, but difficult to dismiss as facts reveal the same. Bringing crime under control, rather sending shivers up the spine of many bahubalis, or priming Uttar Pradesh for industrial investment, Yogi Adityanath, has transformed the state into a peaceful state, where people can move freely, and women feel safe. Checking other boxes like industrial investment, improving infrastructure, handling the corona epidemic, increasing health and transport infrastructure across districts and regions-like Purvanchal and Bundelkhand, or making the lives of common people and workers, who were too keen on migrating, easy and providing them jobs within the state.