Author: Sanjaya Baru
My Rating: 2/5
Some books tell a story which grips you to such an extent that you just drown in it's grandeur. Some books use beautiful language which creates a symphony of it's own and you just like to sing along. Some others present to you an entirely different landscape which is so beyond your own imagination. This book matches none of the above mentioned categories. In fact it solely relies on the perfect launch time planned by the author. Other than that, one might be interested given the fact that it gives you a sneak-peak into the PMO and the associated dealings with the making and unmaking of Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister of India. Oh Sorry, accidental PM i meant!
The issue is that given the immense editorial background of the author, the reader would have a lot of expectations from this book. The added thrill of coming across privileged information makes it a more intriguing prospect. But one would be disappointed to see not much literary magic and the ultra-plain description of the events happening in the PMO as seen from the eyes of the former Media adviser to the former PM Dr. Singh.
It is more like a personal diary of a hot-shot editor who got a chance to work with the Prime Minister. But at the same time one must applaud the reasons behind the origins of this book. All of us are aware that how there were two power centers in the UPA government and Dr Singh was more like a puppet whose strings were in the hands of you know who. This book tries to present the ugly truth which we partially know but find it hard to believe. Dr. Singh, the great economist of the 90s who liberated the Indian economy, was chosen by the leadership as he was the best combination of competence and compliance available with the UPA. They could not risk putting in front dominating personalities like Pranob Mukherjee and others for obvious reasons. It brings out the positive contributions, the energy and the determination of the accidental PM that we hardly know.
This books makes us aware about the great vision of Dr. Singh and his loyalty towards Congress because of which he never took credit for all good decisions he had taken but certainly took the fall for all those which went terribly wrong so as to save face of you know who. Most of those who are aware are disgusted by the fact that a brilliant economist was ridiculed by the masses because of ugly political game played by the Congress leadership. He might have been the accidental PM in UPA I but there is no doubt that he was responsible to gather an enhanced mandate in UPA II. His greatest contribution would remain as the controversial US-Indo nuke deal which provides some cushion for the energy security of our country.
But at the same time one cannot deny the fact that by being a proxy PM, he had betrayed the mandate that the people gave to him. By not acting against the corrupt members of his cabinet, he has certainly wronged. We have no doubt about his integrity but allowing such corrupt elements under your umbrella is also corruption. Anyways, the books deals with the making and unmaking of the PM where the author was appointed as his media adviser and by the virtue of his position he knows things that an Aam Aadmi won't. So, I would recommend this only if you are keenly interested in the politics of the nation and love to know how things work inside the government. As far as Baru is concerned, you should stick to editing!
Quotes from the book....
"I do not know everything that happened in the PMO. Not only do i not know all sides of the truth, I do not even know how many sides the truth has."
"It was a popular saying that in India's power structure only three institutions mattered- the PM, the CM and the DM."
"Public offices offer the opportunity for private education at public expense." - Dr. Singh
"For someone whose favorite aphorism was 'money does not grow on trees', Dr. Singh presided over a government that had begun to spend money as if it was growing on trees."
"He was not a popular leader like Vajpayee, nor an experienced politician like Narsimha Rao. Yet, he showed the country that an ordinary, honest Indian, an aam aadmi, to use the current buzzword in politics , could become Prime Minister through sheer hard work and professional commitment."
My Rating: 2/5
Some books tell a story which grips you to such an extent that you just drown in it's grandeur. Some books use beautiful language which creates a symphony of it's own and you just like to sing along. Some others present to you an entirely different landscape which is so beyond your own imagination. This book matches none of the above mentioned categories. In fact it solely relies on the perfect launch time planned by the author. Other than that, one might be interested given the fact that it gives you a sneak-peak into the PMO and the associated dealings with the making and unmaking of Dr. Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister of India. Oh Sorry, accidental PM i meant!
The issue is that given the immense editorial background of the author, the reader would have a lot of expectations from this book. The added thrill of coming across privileged information makes it a more intriguing prospect. But one would be disappointed to see not much literary magic and the ultra-plain description of the events happening in the PMO as seen from the eyes of the former Media adviser to the former PM Dr. Singh.
It is more like a personal diary of a hot-shot editor who got a chance to work with the Prime Minister. But at the same time one must applaud the reasons behind the origins of this book. All of us are aware that how there were two power centers in the UPA government and Dr Singh was more like a puppet whose strings were in the hands of you know who. This book tries to present the ugly truth which we partially know but find it hard to believe. Dr. Singh, the great economist of the 90s who liberated the Indian economy, was chosen by the leadership as he was the best combination of competence and compliance available with the UPA. They could not risk putting in front dominating personalities like Pranob Mukherjee and others for obvious reasons. It brings out the positive contributions, the energy and the determination of the accidental PM that we hardly know.
This books makes us aware about the great vision of Dr. Singh and his loyalty towards Congress because of which he never took credit for all good decisions he had taken but certainly took the fall for all those which went terribly wrong so as to save face of you know who. Most of those who are aware are disgusted by the fact that a brilliant economist was ridiculed by the masses because of ugly political game played by the Congress leadership. He might have been the accidental PM in UPA I but there is no doubt that he was responsible to gather an enhanced mandate in UPA II. His greatest contribution would remain as the controversial US-Indo nuke deal which provides some cushion for the energy security of our country.
But at the same time one cannot deny the fact that by being a proxy PM, he had betrayed the mandate that the people gave to him. By not acting against the corrupt members of his cabinet, he has certainly wronged. We have no doubt about his integrity but allowing such corrupt elements under your umbrella is also corruption. Anyways, the books deals with the making and unmaking of the PM where the author was appointed as his media adviser and by the virtue of his position he knows things that an Aam Aadmi won't. So, I would recommend this only if you are keenly interested in the politics of the nation and love to know how things work inside the government. As far as Baru is concerned, you should stick to editing!
Quotes from the book....
"I do not know everything that happened in the PMO. Not only do i not know all sides of the truth, I do not even know how many sides the truth has."
"It was a popular saying that in India's power structure only three institutions mattered- the PM, the CM and the DM."
"Public offices offer the opportunity for private education at public expense." - Dr. Singh
"For someone whose favorite aphorism was 'money does not grow on trees', Dr. Singh presided over a government that had begun to spend money as if it was growing on trees."
"He was not a popular leader like Vajpayee, nor an experienced politician like Narsimha Rao. Yet, he showed the country that an ordinary, honest Indian, an aam aadmi, to use the current buzzword in politics , could become Prime Minister through sheer hard work and professional commitment."
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