A book by political scientist and journalist Vinay Sitapati reveals episodes from PV Narasimha Rao’s tenure as Prime Minister of India and his stature as a leader of modern India. Utsav Mishra reports
There is a reason why PV Narasimha Rao is regarded as one of the toughest prime minister in Indian history. He was a man who was never fully credited for the reforms that he brought in the country in terms of economy and policy that paved the way to make India a major IT hub of the world.
His leadership led India through a crucial transformational phase but also witnessed one of the biggest political and communal events in the history of the country with the demolition of the Babri Masjid and the resulting communal turbulence that the country witnessed. The incident forever changed the fabric of the relationship between Hindus and Muslims in India and further gave rise to the politics of religion and the right wing religious agenda in the country.
Half lion, a book by Vinay Sitapati, a political, scientist, journalist and lawyer was launched at India Habitat Centre. The book is centered on PV Narasimha Rao’s tenure as the prime minister of India and is based on first-hand accounts, documents and articles from former aides of the leader.
A panel discussion that followed the book release was attended by former foreign minister K Natwar Singh, senior journalist Shekhar Gupta, columnist and foreign policy analyst C Raja Mohan and political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta. During the discussion, Sitapati argued that Rao’s role was more serious in the anti-Sikh riots of 1984 when he was the home minister and was directly responsible for what followed the massacre.
Vice President M Hamid Ansari, who was also present at the event commented that he found the book to be very interesting, and lauded the efforts of the writer for his diligent research. “The book is a useful contribution to our knowledge of that period. I congratulate Vinay Sitapati for it,” he said.
Sitapati quoted from the book, “The first was a nightmare by any standard. The Congress was around 10 seats short of a majority. The opposition was split between a right wing BJP and a left wing National Front. The Prime Minister was perceived to be weak so his focus was on wide ranging consultations with the opposition to ascertain issues and seek a consensus on the parliamentary agenda.”
Ansari further commented, “The good thing about Narasimha Rao was what he did to the country lived after him, the harm too lived on and continued to extract a heavy toll. The country, and the world, acknowledged Rao’s role as the initiator for change in basic economic policies. On external affairs, his success was due to cultivated expertise as he made a realistic assessment of the shifts in global power patterns and adjusted policy to India’s immediate requirements.”
Natwar Singh threw light on and shared anecdotes about the tension in relations between congress leader Arjun Singh, Narsimha Rao and Sonia Gandhi, especially in the context of the probe into Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination.
“Sitapati had the advantage of having access to the personal papers of Narasimha Rao including information or assessments on situations and personalities given to him by the Intelligence Bureau,” said Gupta.