Bangladesh, July 3 -- On June 10, Narendra Modi became the country's longest continuously-serving elected prime minister, overtaking India's independence-era hero, Jawaharlal Nehru, who served 4,398 days in office following the first general elections. While Nehru led India for five years before those first elections, and Indira Gandhi served longer overall, but not continuously, Modi undoubtedly ranks alongside them as one of India's three most influential post-independence leaders. Modi's legacy, like theirs, will define India's path.

Already, Modi has led India's most profound realignment since 1947, overseeing dizzying progress in economic modernisation and state-capacity development, as well as dismaying setbacks on institutional i...