Hindu nationalism, once a fringe ideology in India, is now mainstream. Nobody has done more to advance this cause than Prime Minister Narendra Modi, one of India’s most beloved and polarizing political leaders. “We never imagined that we would get power in such a way,” said Ambalal Koshti, 76, who says he first brought Modi into the political wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in the late 1960s in their home state, Gujarat.
Politics and race are both factors in a pending court challenge of Louisiana's new congressional maps. How much weight each carries is a major question before three federal judges whose ruling could affect the balance of power in the next Congress. At issue is a congressional map that was approved this year with the backing of the state's new governor, Jeff Landry — to the consternation of at least some of his fellow Republicans.