The Accidental Prime Minister The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh Sanjaya Baru 9780670086740 Books
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Manmohan has three daughters, no son; so he treats Sanjaya as a son. Sonia Gandhi, Outlook
In 2004 Sanjaya Baru left a successful career as chief editor of the Financial Express to join Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as his media adviser in UPA 1. Singh offered him the job with the words, Sitting here, I know I will be isolated from the outside world. I want you to be my eyes and ears. Tell me what you think I should know, without fear or favour.
The Accidental Prime Minister is Baru s account of what it was like to manage public opinion for Singh while giving us a riveting look at Indian politics as it happened behind the scenes. As Singh s spin doctor and trusted aide for four years, Baru observed up close Singh s often troubled relations with his ministers, his cautious equation with Sonia Gandhi and how he handled the big crises from managing the Left to pushing through the nuclear deal. In this book he tells all and draws for the first time a revelatory picture of what it was like for Singh to work in a government that had two centres of power.
Insightful, acute and packed with political gossip, The Accidental Prime Minister is one of the great insider accounts of Indian political life and a superb portrait of the Manmohan Singh era.
The Accidental Prime Minister The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh Sanjaya Baru 9780670086740 Books
As I read the book I was overcome by nagging feelings of disquiet and a sense of sad sympathy for Dr. Manmohan Singh. Baru's book, although promoted as a political gossipy narrative by the publishers (Penguin), it is much more than that. It reveals much about the effects of the inner workings of the UPA-1 regime, without overtly giving away any confidential 'official secrets'. Cleverly done.It establishes that Dr. Singh was under many pressures and compulsions, and his fundamental role was to take the fall as head of a government, for any political-economic fallout, and to ascribe all positives to the Congress party and the Gandhi Dynasty. Dr. Manmohan Singh's role for his initiatives and successes were downplayed and instead, the ruling party sycophantically praised the Gandhis for those achievements. Many positive initiatives for the benefit of the country fell by the wayside and were scuttled in the interest of promoting the Dynasty.
From the book it is clear that the dynastic politics of India holds back the possibilities of maximizing progress for the nation. In the epilogue Sanjaya Baru likens Manmohan Singh to Bheeshma of the Mahabharata -- he who also had to preside over and support dynastic politics, corruption and venality while maintaining his own integrity.
Dr. Singh as the Accidental Prime Minister is disturbingly reminiscent of Bheeshma, with all the back-story implicit in that comparison. Sanjaya Baru succeeds in creating this impression indelibly in the reader's mind. This impression remains despite the flaws in the hastily edited book, and some tedious sections of narrative.
Like the 'Accidental Prime Minister', the book too is a flawed but heroic presentation, while remaining deeply disturbing. It should stimulate sober thinking and re-evaluation of not only Dr. Singh's part in the growth and progress of India, but also should rudely awaken all who have tacitly or helplessly accepted the established corruption of government that has steeped into the daily lives of all Indians.
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Tags : The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh [Sanjaya Baru] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Manmohan has three daughters, no son; so he treats Sanjaya as a son. Sonia Gandhi, Outlook In 2004 Sanjaya Baru left a successful career as chief editor of the Financial Express to join Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as his media adviser in UPA 1. Singh offered him the job with the words,Sanjaya Baru,The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh,Penguin,0670086746,Nonfiction Politics
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The Accidental Prime Minister The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh Sanjaya Baru 9780670086740 Books Reviews
Hearing about the book in Indian media and opposition ministers touting this as evidence of a 'failed' PM, I was very curious but expected a book full of gossip and partisan reporting (as most Indian media is). However, this book turned out to be quite an insightful read into Manmohan Singh as a person, his leadership qualities, strengths (yes it does talk a lot about those) and weaknesses. It is mostly very reverential to Dr. Singh, which is understandable since the author is a long time associate.
Finishing the book, I felt sad for Dr. Singh - who has so many stellar achievements but has gotten much disrepute due to various reasons. I also ponder whether the author has betrayed Dr. Singh by writing this account - especially given the launch right before elections and Dr. Singh's regard for his own privacy. (Though the timing could very well be the decision of the publishers given how much media coverage they have been able to get around it).
Here are some notes from the book, which I thought are worth sharing
"Years later, while working for Dr Singh, I discovered that misleadingly friendly smile was especially reserved for his critics and opponents... As a journalist, I had heard stories of how Indira Gandhi would suddenly win over a detractor with a smile or a special gesture. As a communist in my youth, I had also read stories of how Stalin had invited a colleague home for dinner before he was sent off to Siberia or just shot dead. Dr Singh was certainly not a Stalin, nor was he an Indira, but I felt he may well have learnt a lesson or two about winning friends and disarming critics from her."
"Narayanan’s favourite line was, ‘I have a file on you.’ He used it, humorously, with ministers, officials, journalists and others he met, leaving them, however, with the uneasy feeling that he wasn’t really joking."
"Politics is about power and patronage, and ministerial positions are won not just on the basis of competence but also in recognition of a politician’s political clout or loyalty to the leader."
"The Congress party refused to allow Rao’s body to be brought into the party’s headquarters on its way to the airport, and Sonia chose not to be present at the Hyderabad cremation."
"We all knew that NDTV had an inside line to the CPI(M) since NDTV’s Prannoy Roy was married to Radhika Roy, sister of Brinda Karat, a CPI(M)leader and the wife of Prakash Karat"
"When the Left finally withdrew support to the government in July 2008, it tried till the very last to get Sonia to save the government by dumping Dr Singh and replacing him with a ‘pro-Left’ PM. Karat failed where his predecessors had succeeded, because by July 2008, Dr Singh’s personal credibility and his standing as PM had reached such heights that the Congress would have been grievously wounded if Sonia had dumped Dr Singh to please the Left and retain power."
As I read the book I was overcome by nagging feelings of disquiet and a sense of sad sympathy for Dr. Manmohan Singh. Baru's book, although promoted as a political gossipy narrative by the publishers (Penguin), it is much more than that. It reveals much about the effects of the inner workings of the UPA-1 regime, without overtly giving away any confidential 'official secrets'. Cleverly done.
It establishes that Dr. Singh was under many pressures and compulsions, and his fundamental role was to take the fall as head of a government, for any political-economic fallout, and to ascribe all positives to the Congress party and the Gandhi Dynasty. Dr. Manmohan Singh's role for his initiatives and successes were downplayed and instead, the ruling party sycophantically praised the Gandhis for those achievements. Many positive initiatives for the benefit of the country fell by the wayside and were scuttled in the interest of promoting the Dynasty.
From the book it is clear that the dynastic politics of India holds back the possibilities of maximizing progress for the nation. In the epilogue Sanjaya Baru likens Manmohan Singh to Bheeshma of the Mahabharata -- he who also had to preside over and support dynastic politics, corruption and venality while maintaining his own integrity.
Dr. Singh as the Accidental Prime Minister is disturbingly reminiscent of Bheeshma, with all the back-story implicit in that comparison. Sanjaya Baru succeeds in creating this impression indelibly in the reader's mind. This impression remains despite the flaws in the hastily edited book, and some tedious sections of narrative.
Like the 'Accidental Prime Minister', the book too is a flawed but heroic presentation, while remaining deeply disturbing. It should stimulate sober thinking and re-evaluation of not only Dr. Singh's part in the growth and progress of India, but also should rudely awaken all who have tacitly or helplessly accepted the established corruption of government that has steeped into the daily lives of all Indians.
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