Narendra Modi's political rise in many ways mirrors India's own path from a newly independent nation freed from the shackles of colonialism to a confident, secure country inching ever closer to superpower status -- albeit one wracked by deep and abiding fault lines.
Born into humble origins three years after India's independence, Modi has ascended to the pinnacle of India's political landscape.
He came into power on a promise of development and growth in 2014, and was reelected with a roaring majority in the next general election, five years later.
He is now taking the power he has accumulated to new levels, expected to win a rare third consecutive term in this month's nationwide election, buoyed by levels of popularity for a two-term incumbent that defy all modern conventions, both in India and throughout much of the democratic world.
But the very nature of India's constitutionally secular democracy is fraying, critics warn, with minority groups feeling deeply marginalized under his party's Hindu nationalist policies.
