John Elliott’s book Implosion: India’s Tryst with Reality highlights dynasty politics and the repercussions it has had or is likely to have on present-day India
British journalist John Elliott’s book Implosion: India’s Tryst with Reality questions the very essence of Indian democracy.While talking about his book at the Oxford bookstore recently, Elliott said, “Things were not rosy when I came to India three decades ago but things have definitely got worse.”
Elliott’s book is a product of his reportage in India in 1983. He tries to “encapsulate all that makes India what it is today.” It is a tale of the country’s journey since Independence, and all the impediments that challenged its path.
“The book looks at how corruption has eaten into all aspects of Indian life and questions the decades of rule by the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. It explores the impact of liberalisation, traces the build-up of social unrest over corruption, women’s rights and the exploitation of land and the poor. The book also reflects on the limitations of a hesitant foreign policy and looks in detail at why India’s defence forces are so depleted,” said Elliott.
In the book, the author mentions, “democracy provides a smokescreen for much that is wrong.” He explained, “India has been using democracy as a fig leaf to cover her limitations. It is dangerous to depend on a country’s strengths.” His book highlights dynasty politics and the repercussions it has had or is likely to have on the present-day India.
The book, Elliott asserted, revolves around India’s poor attitude towards most problems. “At the heart of the problem is the ‘quick fix’ attitude known as jugaad and the acceptance of chalta hai that together have eaten into the social and political fabric and heavily influenced what India is, and is not, today,” he said.
“Implosion,” Elliott said, “explains how political institutions in India are disintegrating and corruption now plagues every aspect of Indian life.”
He elaborated on the vices within the Indian society but said that our democracy is transparent. Nothing is hidden in India. Everything here is out in the open and people are aware of what is happening around. In the book, the author tries to uncover the secrets held in the ‘M Document’, the blueprint for the 1991 reforms.