Dalit leader sworn in

NEW DELHI: Ram Nath Kovind was yesterday sworn in as India’s 14th president, becoming the first member of a powerful Hindu nationalist movement to assume the highest public office in the world’s largest democracy.

The 71-year-old’s elevation also boosts the representation of his Dalit community, which ranks at the lower end of India’s ancient caste hierarchy, potentially helping Prime Minister Narendra Modi extend his voter base in a 2019 general election.

Kovind, a veteran politician and lawyer, is a long-time Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh member, a movement that helped launch Modi’s political career. Reuters