India, Aug. 28 -- Democracy survives on truth and transparency. But what happens when the very man entrusted with guarding those values-India's Prime Minister-builds his career on lies, concealment, and contradictions? Narendra Modi's carefully curated persona has, over the years, been exposed as a patchwork of half-truths and outright falsehoods. His biggest lies revolve around two of the most fundamental aspects of his life: his marriage and his education.

For decades, Modi projected himself as a lifelong bachelor. In interviews, speeches, and most damningly in multiple sworn election affidavits, he wrote "unmarried." The image of an ascetic, unattached leader served him well politically-he was free of personal obligations, wedded only...