Plain tales from the UPA
dates with elections as pivotal episodes in contemporary history; those whom they govern are likely place more emphasis on the riveting Olympics campaign or the rape of December 2012.
In India Rising Ravi Velloor leans towards the politician’s view and picks the general election of 2004 and the subsequent theatre that went into the choice of Manmohan Singh as prime minister to weave into his book. Having done that, however, he forgets for most of the book that the rich tapestry of stories with which he embellishes the chapters must have a connecting narrative too. The arrangement of the events is chronological so a foreign reader does not feel at a loss to place them in order. Yet, the author does not offer, either in the introduction or the chapters, any explanation as to why he chose the stories he did. So the reader is not sure what underlies his contention that India is rising, except an innate sense of optimism since the indicators of the economy sagged progressively in the period he covers, which is the two terms of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
Mr Velloor draws on an awesomely rich cast of characters to regale the reader. He is certainly entertaining, but with so many anecdotes recalled in first-person mode, it is difficult to recall many standout incidents. His description of the relations between Shivshankar Menon and M K Narayanan, for instance, told via their relationship with Dr Singh, is one of those. In the chapter “Slaying the Mallu Mafia” the associate editor of Straits Times sparkles, bringing in details that underline his deep connections with those who worked in the Prime Minister’s Office at the time.
Describing how Mr Menon moved into the role of the national security advisor at the expense of Mr Narayanan, who was sent as the governor of West Bengal, he writes: “Manmohan who hated confrontations, pondered how to break the news to the confident former spy catcher. He picked the moment one afternoon when Narayanan was briefing him after a secret trip to Tokyo… The talk turned to the northern Punjab state, which had witnessed Sikh separatism in the 1980s… Manmohan instructed him to have a word with [Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh] Badal. Narayanan was reluctant to place that call. In turn he suggested that it would be better for Manmohan, a fellow Sikh from Punjab, to have that conversation. Manmohan nodded in agreement and ended the meeting. As he [the PM] walked out, he stopped at the door, turned around and sought to score from a distance. ‘Maybe you should go as governor in Punjab’. Before the mystified Narayanan could react, the Prime Minister had vanished from view.”
To recreate such a rich evocation of body language, like nodding and standing near and far, from a purely one-onone meeting at the top of the country’s political leadership is amazing. Having captured the reader’s attention with such anecdotes, the chapters do not provide any analysis of the import of the developments. Was it Mr Velloor’s point in this chapter that the UPA’s foreign policy gyrations in its second phase were solely the result of the competing ambitions of two gentlemen? The Lutyens’ Delhi gossip with which this book is replete will delight those who like to feast on such things. For those who want to read a thought-provoking history of these times, the book is far less satisfactory.
A tailor-made comparison here is with Gurcharan Das’ book, India Grows at Night, written on a fairly similar time frame. Mr Das’ book picks on the Anna Hazare movement to segue into the theme of his book, which he examines from several angles. Mr Velloor, on the other hand, makes no effort to bind the chapters into a cohesive whole. Some effort in this direction can be found in the final section, which reads like an epilogue to the 2014 elections and developments immediately after. There are no palace tales here, yet these chapters score because they contain an argument.
The tenure of the UPA government was an absorbing period in modern India. It began with much promise but ended in a rout. Despite a stellar set of characters, was it done in by a fatal lack of leadership? Or was the problem created by an India that had become vastly more demanding of its leadership than even a decade ago? Did the spread of the internet accelerate a trend that the political leadership failed to read properly? A reading of the times might provide some answers at this stage. For those who plan to do business with India these are also vital queries. India Rising is a tale of the times without these answers. Ravi Velloor Konark Publishers 361 pages; ~566