Modi's Moment : On the anniversary of the ethnic violence in Gujarat, the state's militant chief minister is both unrepentant and possibly a harbinger of India's political future.

Drums beat, as supporters of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) push forward to toss marigolds and rose petals at Narendra Modi. When Gujarat's chief minister emerges from the airport in the BJP stronghold of Rajkot, there's a cry and a crush of men in saffron scarves emblazoned with the BJP lotus symbol. That evening, speaking at a local IT college, the reception is just as rapturous. "The media say this man is like Hitler," says a local BJP man, introducing Modi to the packed auditorium. "They portrayed him like a devil." And yet, the emcee says, he won the vote. When Modi stands up and starts talking--without notes--in his grave, low voice, the neatly ...