India, Oct. 3 -- In October 2001, Narendra Modi entered the national political consciousness as the Chief Minister of Gujarat. Twenty-five years later, after serving Gujarat and then leading India as Prime Minister since May 2014, his public journey can be viewed through a simple but powerful question: what does governance mean to the ordinary citizen who has waited for generations for the most basic necessities of life?

For a poor family, development is not a statistic. It is the first light in a home that earlier had no electricity. It is a tap bringing drinking water to the doorstep. It is a gas cylinder that changes the daily life of a woman who spent years cooking over smoke. It is a toilet that restores privacy and dignity. It is a...