Lal Krishna Advani, the face of hardline Hindu nationalism, has turned Indian politics upside down this week by resigning as head of the opposition Bharatiya Janata party after an extraordinary visit to his birthplace in what is now Pakistan.

He rose to power through the ranks of Hindu ultra-nationalists to become deputy prime minister in the previous government. He was reviled by Muslims for his role in the destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya in 1992 and the subsequent riots in which 2,000 Indians were killed.