India, Nov. 24 -- It came as a surprise-though perhaps it should not have-that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited to deliver the sixth Ramnath Goenka Lecture, as if the people of India had been waiting, breathlessly, to hear him speak on journalism.

My first reaction was incredulity. What right did he have to lecture India's journalists when, in eleven years as Prime Minister, he had not addressed even a single press conference? Journalism, after all, is grounded in accountability, in giving answers, and in facing questions-not in monologues delivered from elevated platforms with no risk of cross-examination.

But then I reminded myself that this was not a forum for journalism. It was a forum for Narendra Modi to think aloud on top...