Decoding Rahul Gandhi

by Aarthi Ramachandran

In a bid to demystify ‘Brand Rahul’, Decoding Rahul Gandhi chronicles his political path, which is different from that pursued by his mother Sonia, father Rajiv, and grandmother Indira. Although the 42-year-old Rahul has borrowed a few elements from them, he has carefully and deliberately added new ideas, strategies and practices from the world of business and management. Rahul’s philosophy is a form of corpo-politics, where management principles are applied to political leadership, and socio-politics, where beliefs in inclusive growth are ingrained in overall strategies. Why have Rahul’s plans flopped so far? His initiatives to inculcate ‘internal democracy’ in the Congress’ youth and student wings were well-intentioned, but lacked a clear-cut thrust and have failed to grapple with realpolitik. Decoding Rahul Gandhi is based on dozens of interviews with political actors, members of Rahul’s team in the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), and his friends and acquaintances. Coupled with in-depth reportage of his electoral and political campaigns, the book establishes how Rahul’s politics is riddled with inconsistencies, symbolism and an opportunistic, rather than committed, engagement with national issues. The book throws light on the factors that have shaped him as a person and politician. It details his working style, which is nearer to a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and the role played by the members of his A-Team (which includes Kanishka Singh and Sachin Rao). • How did Rahul Gandhi’s years abroad as a student and as a management consultant influence his politics? • What was his much-hyped revamp of the IYC and the NSUI all about? • What are the reasons for the Congress’ and Rahul’s humiliating defeat in the 2012 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections? • How has he applied global management principles, like ‘The Toyota Way’ and ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’, to domestic politics? • Prime Minister Rahul Gandhi – what would this mean for India?

Genres: Politics

275 pages, Paperback

First published August 21, 2012

Reviews

[Tova · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a bunch of thoughts on this book...regardless I think Rahul Gandhi is a fascinating character, and the fact that book is wildly outdated only makes some of the stuff more ironic and sad. Full review available here!

[Pronoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this short biography of Rahul Gandhi, Ramachandran takes us through an explanation of Rahul Gandhi’s ‘new’ kind of politics, his failures and successes, and his personality. Given the difficulty of accessing any information relating Sonia Gandhi and her family, I imagine enthusiasts of Indian politics must long for a deeper insight into the enigma that Rahul Gandhi is. Ramachandran does a great job of using her limited sources judiciously; providing clear explanations of why Gandhi has often failed without treating him disrespectfully; and boiling down and presenting to us the history of the Nehru-Gandhi family in order for us to understand Gandhi’s policies and approach to life. I would have, however, edited this short book significantly to remove repetition of content and overtly long explanations of just about everything. Also, while Ramachandran suggests that Gandhi’s technocratic approach to party-politics is the cause of his failures, we are left hanging for more explanation (perhaps Ramachandran could have drawn parallels from Indian contemporary history or history of similar developing countries to make a larger claim.) At the end of this book, we are left feeling sorry for Gandhi and concerned for the future of the Indian National Congress, but these are precisely the reasons why this book should be read, especially by the Congress Vice-President.

[Ranjan Atreya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read about the Congress clan and like the first, this one was disappointing too. I can't really put my finger on what is missing but this book and possibly all books about the Gandhi family are just opportunistic attempts at capturing a hungry and largely curious public's imagination about what happens at 10 Janpath. Yes, we get a glimpse at Rahul's ideas and his thoughts but it all seems very superficial. It's an honest attempt no doubt but the lack of solid material comes out fairly early in the book.

It's an ok read if you're interested in knowing more about the man.

[Hamsini · Rating 2 out of 5]

pretty insipid, uninspiring read that got marginally better towards the end. it felt like it lacked critical engagement with the subject. writing a biography without more than half a face to face meeting with the subject somewhere reeks of cheating your readership. in many parts of the book, it felt like the author got wind of something valuable but failed to build on it. you also got the feeling somewhere that it was a dishonest effort. there are so many glaring gaps in the subject's integrity and politics visible even to the common man that it is shocking that this author couldn't piece together the information and string together a more solid critique.

[Vivek · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book does justice to the title.

[Toshan Chandrakar · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book actually covers good ground for a person who wants to know the Man that is Rahul Gandhi is. But it gets quite redundant and seems as if the editor was either underpaid or was absent minded in their job.

While the book starts amazingly covering most of the information which no news piece or anything would ever tell you especially the bits about RG's education and the circumstances of his education. But as the book progresses into the elections of UP and others, it loses on important issues which surrounded RG. It gets boring and doesn't engage the reader as much as it did in the earlier chapters. This mistake can be rectified I guess if the author tries to cover the story of 2012 to 2019 in a second edition or a second part.

All in all, it gives a human touch to a politician who's bullied from left right and center. Reading about his education surely was beneficial for me to understand the man more.

[Arjun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bookmarks in comments