Demographic shifts and the rise of Hindutva in Kanniyakumari district

Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.

Kanniyakumari holds a distinctive place in Tamil Nadu’s political history. Despite nearly six decades of Dravidian dominance in the State, it became the first district to elect a Hindutva-backed candidate as early as 1989, when V. Balachandram of Hindu Desam won the Padmanabhapuram constituency