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History will perhaps judge Prime Minister Narendra Modi as one of the most consequential reformers of our times, in the league of Lee Kuan Yew and Deng Xiaoping. In one crucial respect, his achievement may be even more remarkable. The World Bank’s latest estimates reveal an extraordinary transformation. Nearly 50 crore Indians moved above the lower-middle-income poverty line between 2011–12 and 2023–24. Extreme poverty fell from 27.1% to just 2.6%. Consider the circumstances in which this transformation has taken place. A decade marked by a global pandemic, wars, geopolitical instability, supply chain disruptions and slowing global growth. Yet India has emerged as one of the fastest-growing major economies. But what makes Modi’s leadership truly exceptional is the political environment in which he has pursued this transformation. Lee Kuan Yew, the architect of modern Singapore, once famously remarked, “No single person can change India.” He pointed to India’s extraordinary linguistic and social diversity and the immense difficulty of governing such a complex nation. He contrasted this with China, which he considered far easier to govern and transform because of its more centralised political system and greater linguistic cohesion. Lee Kuan Yew transformed Singapore. Deng Xiaoping transformed China. Both were extraordinary leaders. But Singapore was a small city-state, while China’s transformation took place under a one-party political system. India is different. A billion-plus people. Hundreds of languages. Extraordinary social, cultural and regional diversity. Competitive elections, powerful state governments, independent institutions, competing interests and multiple constitutional checks and balances. Reforming a country of this complexity, at this scale, while continuously seeking and winning the people’s democratic mandate, requires a rare combination of political acumen, administrative ability and leadership. Modi has demonstrated that democracy and decisive development are not mutually exclusive. That is perhaps his greatest contribution, not just to India, but to the global faith in democracy itself. When the history of great reformers of the 21st century is written, Narendra Modi will deserve a place among the foremost.