Newly sworn-in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with Pakistani counterpart

AFP/Prakash Singh

Newly sworn-in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets with Pakistani counterpart
(Image credit: AFP/Prakash Singh)

On Monday, India swore in its new prime minister, Narendra Modi. The inauguration was significant for a number of reasons — here are two: Modi's Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party just ousted the incumbent Congress party in a landslide, and Modi is the first Indian prime minister born after the nation's independence from Britain — but the ceremony was also conspicuous for one of the dignitaries in attendance, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

It was the first time since India and Pakistan gained independence in 1947 that a leader of one country attended the swearing-in of the other nation's leader. Modi and Sharif met for about an hour Tuesday morning.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.