Page 79 - EW July 2024

Books

Vignettes of six PRIME MINISTERIAL appease conservative Mus-
lims (even Sonia Gandhi
PMs DECISION-MAKING IN INDIA did not agree with him)
Neerja Chowdhury
following the Shah Bano
ALEPH BOOK COMPANY judgment, unlocking the
N HER STUDY OF Rs.999 gates of controversial Babri
India prime ministers Masjid-Ram Janmab-
Irenowned journalist Pages 578 hoomi to appease Hindu
Neerja Chowdhury begins sentiment and promising
with Indira Gandhi and six Ram Rajya to kick off his
prime ministers until Man- she rightly bemoans the In her study of six 1989 election campaign, he
mohan Singh. Notably, she current fashion of rubbish- India prime ministers, destroyed his credentials
skips five short-tenured ing Nehru. this renowned and goodwill.
prime ministers, despite Her contextualisa- journalist begins with V.P. Singh’s short
their regimes having tion of the office of prime Indira Gandhi until tenure as prime minister
significantly altered Indian minister linked to a host Manmohan Singh, is well-analysed depicting
politics, as well as the pro- of institutions is apt. So, if skipping short tenure his rise and fall. But he left
cess of prime ministerial the Prime Minister’s Office PMs an indelible footprint with
decision-making. (PMO) is created, not only his Mandal politics, which
Yet, she presents an au- does the cabinet system in 1971. The 1975 judg- redefined Indian politics
thentic and candid account decline ceding to the prime ment of Justice JML Sinha and governance of the
of complex decisions taken ministerial system, the on the election petition country. Singh’s statement
by each of the six chosen cabinet secretariat that of Raj Narain declaring to Chowdhury: “Some run
PMs — post-resurrection has constitutional sanction her election null and void governments…. I ran his-
(Indira Gandhi), Shah also declines relative to the and unseating her from tory. It will define govern-
Bano (Rajiv Gandhi), post- PMO. Parliament in June 1975, ments and coalitions in the
Mandal (V.P. Singh), post- Chowdhury also under- prompted her to declare time to come,” sums up his
demolition of the Babri lines the different ways in a national Emergency on contribution to history. He
Masjid (P.V. Narasimha which the PMO functions. June 25, 1975. But while let out two genies – ‘Man-
Rao), testing nuclear Her analysis also clears flagging the role of Sanjay dal’ and ‘kamandal’ out of
devices (Atal Bihari Va- recent motivated narra- Gandhi, Chowdhury rushes the bottle and they haven’t
jpayee) and Indo-US civil tives that Nehru created through this section. Her been put back.
nuclear deal (Manmohan the PMO to function in an decision to call a General P.V. Narasimha Rao
Singh). autocratic fashion. Rightly, Election in 1977, knowing has often been described
Beginning with a as Pai Panandiker-Mehra’s fully well that she could as the prime minister who
well-analysed 19-page (1996) study of cabinet lose despite assurances refused to decide, but his
introduction, raising and government highlighted, of the IB, and her resur- statement: ‘Jo hua voh
underlining crucial issues Shastri created a small rection between 1977 and theek hua…. Maine is liye
and processes relating to PMO to help him with 1980 were amazing acts of hone diya… ki Bharatiya
the office of prime min- L.K. Jha as secretary. This courage. Janata Party ki mandir
ister, Chowdhury quotes was expanded by Indira Rajiv Gandhi took over ki rajniti hamesha ke liye
powerful orator Atal Bihari Gandhi, who revived and as the prime minister khatam ho jaye’ (What
Vajpayee, ‘The higher you expanded it after Morarji following his mother’s as- happened, happened for
go, the more lonely you Desai had limited its ex- sassination, with President good. I allowed it to hap-
are.’ This sets the tone of panse and worked through Giani Zail Singh’s backing. pen because I wanted the
the analysis that depicts the cabinet secretariat. Beginning with immense BJP’s temple politics to
prime ministers as mere Indira Gandhi’s politics goodwill and the clean finish for ever) was the
mortals, attempting to of neutralising the Syn- slate of a non-political outcome of a conscious
survive amidst compet- dicate is well-captured leader, he unfortunately decision. Yet his ‘non-deci-
ing pressures, striving to in this narrative. Despite became “the secular prime sion’ consolidated saffron
triumph politically. In the her claim that she did not minister who undermined politics for which he paid
process, despite a short believe in any ‘ism’, she secularism”. Chowdhury’s a heavy price personally
tenure V.P. Singh changed espoused socialism — the analysis of his tenure with his political cred-
the politics of the country result was centre-staging details how with the false ibility, notwithstanding
for all time to come. And the slogan, garibi hatao, steps of enacting a law to India’s economic recovery

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