VADNAGAR, India—Locals in this town like to recount how, as a child, Prime Minister Narendra Modi swam through crocodile-infested waters to replace a flag on a shrine in the center of a lake. His father cried when Modi tried to resist the marriage, said Shamaldas M. Modi, a former classmate and cousin. In 1987, RSS leaders tapped Modi to help build the relatively new BJP into a political force in the state. For years, he faced a U.S. visa ban over the violence under his watch, but it was dropped once he was elected prime minister. The prime minister has encouraged Indians to embrace his journey as their own.

Source: Wall Street Journal June 03, 2024 06:54 UTC