BOOK REVIEW | prime ministers of India
by Diptendra Raychaudhuri
 | Title : Prime Ministers of India 1947-2009 Author: Compiled and edited by Neena Jha and Shivnath Jha Photographs by Vijender Tyagi and others Publisher: Bismillah: The beginning foundation Price: Rs 7995 |
SOME books make us hark back, and the experience is rather like glancing at a mirror that reflects lost expectations and squandered possibilities while encompassing pomp and show. This is true of Prime Ministers of India, a compilation of articles by historians, observers and scribes. Read these lines by Inderjit Badhwar and be sadly reminded of the leaders of the day who are gradually making India overtly dependent on the US: “Her dogged stand in which the Indian army helped the democratically elected Mujibur Rehman come to power in a newly-independent Bangladesh and subsequent defeat of Pakistan was in the teeth of opposition from Nixon and Kissinger who sent the US Seventh Fleet into the Indian Ocean. The leader of a poor, half-literate nation which had once been dependent on food aid from the US had had the temerity to stand up to Uncle Sam when the integrity of her nation had been at stake….”
Come to Morarji Desai, to the days of his fall, and read Hasmukh Shah and Mira Desai’s words: “When George Fernandes after making a brilliant defence of the regime in Parliament parted company within hours, the battle lines were drawn. A group of Akali leaders called on Desai and offered him their support. Akalis liked him. They also requested him to agree to three of their pending demands… Desai’s reply was characteristic. In substance it was: your demands are easy to meet but I cannot make a deal – main saudabaji nahin karunga.” Vir Sanghvi, Sunil Shastri and Mani Shankar Aiyar throw up interesting personal anecdotes. The piece on Charan Singh is a bit too critical, overlooking his role in ending the Congress hegemony in India’s political system. The article on Chandra Shekhar is similarly harsh. This is not to say that the writers’ arguments are flawed but they jar in a compilation of articles in which no persona is portrayed in black or white (except those written by close associates). The photographs, which make up half the book, add equal value despite the fact that all are not captioned. On the whole, a commendable effort in compilation and editing by Neena and Shivnath Jha.
