Hardline priest's elevation sign Modi is moving towards a Hindu India

New Delhi

A SAFFRON-ROBED Hindu holy man was sworn in on Sunday to lead India's most populous state, sealing what appears to be a shift in course by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that could redefine the world's largest democracy as a Hindu nation.

The choice as Uttar Pradesh chief minister of Yogi Adityanath, a firebrand Hindu ascetic with a history of agitation against minority Muslims, stunned observers who said it marked a departure from the platform of development for all on which Mr Modi rose to national power in 2014.