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The Paradoxical Prime Minister
Narendra Modi is a paradoxical man. He says one thing and does another.
He gives voice to a number of liberal ideas (such as the constitution being his holy book, and sab ka saath, sab ka vikas), while at the same time pandering to some of the most illiberal elements in Indian society, on whom he depends for political support.
Another paradox is how a Prime Minister who prides himself on effective governance has, through his silence, appeared to condone the worst aspects of misgovernance—communal riots, lynchings, the violence of gau-rakshaks and so on.
A third paradox is his talk of soaring ambitions for the country when his government’s performance is underwhelming.
So who is the real Narendra Modi?
A noble, selfless leader who acts effectively in the interests of all his countrymen or an autocratic, right-wing bigot who is interested only in power and converting plural India into a Hindu Rashtra? Or something in between?
This brilliant study of Modi and the effect he has had on our country answers these and other questions about a leader who is reviled and worshipped in equal measure.
The book is divided into five sections comprising fifty chapters. The first section takes a close look at Modi’s life and times. The other four sections look at key aspects of the way in which Modi’s government functions and the lasting and often deleterious impact it has had on Indian society, major institutions, the economy, foreign policy and our fundamental values.
Using years of close observation, personal encounters with Modi, considerable scholarship, a deep understanding of Indian politics, and an insider’s view of the way in which government functions, Shashi Tharoor has stitched together a compelling portrait of this paradoxical figure.
Never before has there been such a superbly written and devastatingly accurate account of the most controversial prime minister India has ever had.
He gives voice to a number of liberal ideas (such as the constitution being his holy book, and sab ka saath, sab ka vikas), while at the same time pandering to some of the most illiberal elements in Indian society, on whom he depends for political support.
Another paradox is how a Prime Minister who prides himself on effective governance has, through his silence, appeared to condone the worst aspects of misgovernance—communal riots, lynchings, the violence of gau-rakshaks and so on.
A third paradox is his talk of soaring ambitions for the country when his government’s performance is underwhelming.
So who is the real Narendra Modi?
A noble, selfless leader who acts effectively in the interests of all his countrymen or an autocratic, right-wing bigot who is interested only in power and converting plural India into a Hindu Rashtra? Or something in between?
This brilliant study of Modi and the effect he has had on our country answers these and other questions about a leader who is reviled and worshipped in equal measure.
The book is divided into five sections comprising fifty chapters. The first section takes a close look at Modi’s life and times. The other four sections look at key aspects of the way in which Modi’s government functions and the lasting and often deleterious impact it has had on Indian society, major institutions, the economy, foreign policy and our fundamental values.
Using years of close observation, personal encounters with Modi, considerable scholarship, a deep understanding of Indian politics, and an insider’s view of the way in which government functions, Shashi Tharoor has stitched together a compelling portrait of this paradoxical figure.
Never before has there been such a superbly written and devastatingly accurate account of the most controversial prime minister India has ever had.
498 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2018
860 people are currently reading
2254 people want to read
About the author
Shashi Tharoor
77 books3,069 followersShashi Tharoor is a member of the Indian Parliament from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala. He previously served as the United Nations Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information and as the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs.
He is also a prolific author, columnist, journalist and a human rights advocate.
He has served on the Board of Overseers of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is also an adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva and a Fellow of the New York Institute of the Humanities at New York University. He has also served as a trustee of the Aspen Institute, and the Advisory of the Indo-American Arts Council, the American India Foundation, the World Policy Journal, the Virtue Foundation and the human rights organization Breakthrough He is also a Patron of the Dubai Modern High School and the managing trustee of the Chandran Tharoor Foundation which he founded with his family and friends in the name of his late father, Chandran Tharoor.
Tharoor has written numerous books in English. Most of his literary creations are centred on Indian themes and they are markedly “Indo-nostalgic.” Perhaps his most famous work is The Great Indian Novel, published in 1989, in which he uses the narrative and theme of the famous Indian epic Mahabharata to weave a satirical story of Indian life in a non-linear mode with the characters drawn from the Indian Independence Movement. His novel Show Business (1992) was made into the film 'Bollywood'(1994). The late Ismail Merchant had announced his wish to make a film of Tharoor’s novel Riot shortly before Merchant’s death in 2005.
Tharoor has been a highly-regarded columnist in each of India's three best-known English-language newspapers, most recently for The Hindu newspaper (2001–2008) and in a weekly column, “Shashi on Sunday,” in the Times of India (January 2007 – December 2008). Following his resignation as Minister of State for External Affairs, he began a fortnightly column on foreign policy issues in the "Deccan Chronicle". Previously he was a columnist for the Gentleman magazine and the Indian Express newspaper, as well as a frequent contributor to Newsweek International and the International Herald Tribune. His Op-Eds and book reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, amongst other papers.
Tharoor began writing at the age of 6 and his first published story appeared in the “Bharat Jyoti”, the Sunday edition of the "Free press Journal", in Mumbai at age 10. His World War II adventure novel Operation Bellows, inspired by the Biggles books, was serialized in the Junior Statesman starting a week before his 11th birthday. Each of his books has been a best-seller in India. The Great Indian Novel is currently in its 28th edition in India and his newest volume. The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone has undergone seven hardback re-printings there.
Tharoor has lectured widely on India, and is often quoted for his observations, including, "India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, but rather, in the context of its history and cultural heritage, a highly developed one in an advanced state of decay.". He has also coined a memorable comparison of India's "thali" to the American "melting pot": "If America is a melting pot, then to me India is a thali--a selection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each tastes different, and does not necessarily mix with the next, but they belong together on the same plate, and they complement each other in making the meal a satisfying repast."
He is also a prolific author, columnist, journalist and a human rights advocate.
He has served on the Board of Overseers of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is also an adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva and a Fellow of the New York Institute of the Humanities at New York University. He has also served as a trustee of the Aspen Institute, and the Advisory of the Indo-American Arts Council, the American India Foundation, the World Policy Journal, the Virtue Foundation and the human rights organization Breakthrough He is also a Patron of the Dubai Modern High School and the managing trustee of the Chandran Tharoor Foundation which he founded with his family and friends in the name of his late father, Chandran Tharoor.
Tharoor has written numerous books in English. Most of his literary creations are centred on Indian themes and they are markedly “Indo-nostalgic.” Perhaps his most famous work is The Great Indian Novel, published in 1989, in which he uses the narrative and theme of the famous Indian epic Mahabharata to weave a satirical story of Indian life in a non-linear mode with the characters drawn from the Indian Independence Movement. His novel Show Business (1992) was made into the film 'Bollywood'(1994). The late Ismail Merchant had announced his wish to make a film of Tharoor’s novel Riot shortly before Merchant’s death in 2005.
Tharoor has been a highly-regarded columnist in each of India's three best-known English-language newspapers, most recently for The Hindu newspaper (2001–2008) and in a weekly column, “Shashi on Sunday,” in the Times of India (January 2007 – December 2008). Following his resignation as Minister of State for External Affairs, he began a fortnightly column on foreign policy issues in the "Deccan Chronicle". Previously he was a columnist for the Gentleman magazine and the Indian Express newspaper, as well as a frequent contributor to Newsweek International and the International Herald Tribune. His Op-Eds and book reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, amongst other papers.
Tharoor began writing at the age of 6 and his first published story appeared in the “Bharat Jyoti”, the Sunday edition of the "Free press Journal", in Mumbai at age 10. His World War II adventure novel Operation Bellows, inspired by the Biggles books, was serialized in the Junior Statesman starting a week before his 11th birthday. Each of his books has been a best-seller in India. The Great Indian Novel is currently in its 28th edition in India and his newest volume. The Elephant, the Tiger and the Cellphone has undergone seven hardback re-printings there.
Tharoor has lectured widely on India, and is often quoted for his observations, including, "India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, but rather, in the context of its history and cultural heritage, a highly developed one in an advanced state of decay.". He has also coined a memorable comparison of India's "thali" to the American "melting pot": "If America is a melting pot, then to me India is a thali--a selection of sumptuous dishes in different bowls. Each tastes different, and does not necessarily mix with the next, but they belong together on the same plate, and they complement each other in making the meal a satisfying repast."
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August 16, 2021
This book came out in 2019, just before the general elections, when Shashi Tharoor, along with most liberal Indians, hoped that Narendra Modi's disastrous reign would come to an end. But things proved otherwise - he came back to power with an even greater majority, riding on the wings of jingoistic nationalism flavoured with militant Hindutva.
Any non-Indian reading this book would be surprised at how such an incompetent showman came to power in the first place, leave alone a second time. Dr. Tharoor does a fine job of taking 'Moditva' apart: his empty rhetoric, his illiberal policies concealed under a nationalist facade, the degradation of citizens' freedoms, the planned targeting of minorities and liberals by "fringe groups" with the blessings of the government, his mismanagement of almost everything under the sun... all are highlighted with facts and figures. Then what happened? Why did the Indian populace elect this charlatan back into office with a thumping majority? Is it because (as the BJP, Modi's party, alleges) all the accusations against Modi are lies? Or is there some other reason?
After two years of Modi 2.0, no one with a neutral mindset can say that he is not a communal bigot. The "development" platform he fought on in 2014 has been all but abandoned. Now it's the turn of nationalism: meaning unconditional support of the Modi administration and its philosophy of Hindutva. Amit Shah, who has a criminal case pending against him in Gujarat, has been made the Home Minister; Article 370, which gives Kashmir its special status, has been unconstitutionally scrapped; the Citizen's Amendment Act which ensures citizenship based on religion and flies in the face of India's secular constitution has been passed in the parliament; so also farm bills giving undue advantage to crony capitalists. And worst, people protesting peacefully against these unconstitutional "reforms" - students, activists, even pregnant ladies - are incarcerated without bail under the infamous colonial era sedition law and the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, even for years on end.
So no, Modi has not been elected because he "fooled" the people with the promise of development. He has been elected to do exactly what he is doing now - transform India into a Hindu theocracy. The only people who got fooled the first time around were a handful of liberals. He is paradoxical only to people who consider Indians to be essentially secular.
And this, IMO, is the major flaw in Shashi Tharoor's thesis. The liberal India that Nehru envisaged exists only in minuscule pockets: and his own party, the Indian National Congress, did nothing to promote this idea after Nehru's death in 1964. From then onwards, it has been compromise, and casteist and religious adjustments, which had kept the Congress in power - amply supported by crony capitalists. As the years went by, the BJP exploited these fault lines until a hapless Congress found themselves sidelined and the Hindu fundamentalists occupying the throne of Indraprastha.
To put it simply - Modi is not the cause, he is the symptom of our national malaise: our regressive culture. If he goes, someone else of the same ilk will step in to take his place. To lay the fascist monster of Hindutva once and for all, a total annihilation and restructuring of our national cultural ethos is required.
Modi is not paradoxical. He is "inevitable".
Any non-Indian reading this book would be surprised at how such an incompetent showman came to power in the first place, leave alone a second time. Dr. Tharoor does a fine job of taking 'Moditva' apart: his empty rhetoric, his illiberal policies concealed under a nationalist facade, the degradation of citizens' freedoms, the planned targeting of minorities and liberals by "fringe groups" with the blessings of the government, his mismanagement of almost everything under the sun... all are highlighted with facts and figures. Then what happened? Why did the Indian populace elect this charlatan back into office with a thumping majority? Is it because (as the BJP, Modi's party, alleges) all the accusations against Modi are lies? Or is there some other reason?
After two years of Modi 2.0, no one with a neutral mindset can say that he is not a communal bigot. The "development" platform he fought on in 2014 has been all but abandoned. Now it's the turn of nationalism: meaning unconditional support of the Modi administration and its philosophy of Hindutva. Amit Shah, who has a criminal case pending against him in Gujarat, has been made the Home Minister; Article 370, which gives Kashmir its special status, has been unconstitutionally scrapped; the Citizen's Amendment Act which ensures citizenship based on religion and flies in the face of India's secular constitution has been passed in the parliament; so also farm bills giving undue advantage to crony capitalists. And worst, people protesting peacefully against these unconstitutional "reforms" - students, activists, even pregnant ladies - are incarcerated without bail under the infamous colonial era sedition law and the draconian Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, even for years on end.
So no, Modi has not been elected because he "fooled" the people with the promise of development. He has been elected to do exactly what he is doing now - transform India into a Hindu theocracy. The only people who got fooled the first time around were a handful of liberals. He is paradoxical only to people who consider Indians to be essentially secular.
And this, IMO, is the major flaw in Shashi Tharoor's thesis. The liberal India that Nehru envisaged exists only in minuscule pockets: and his own party, the Indian National Congress, did nothing to promote this idea after Nehru's death in 1964. From then onwards, it has been compromise, and casteist and religious adjustments, which had kept the Congress in power - amply supported by crony capitalists. As the years went by, the BJP exploited these fault lines until a hapless Congress found themselves sidelined and the Hindu fundamentalists occupying the throne of Indraprastha.
To put it simply - Modi is not the cause, he is the symptom of our national malaise: our regressive culture. If he goes, someone else of the same ilk will step in to take his place. To lay the fascist monster of Hindutva once and for all, a total annihilation and restructuring of our national cultural ethos is required.
Modi is not paradoxical. He is "inevitable".
December 31, 2018
After reading this book, I understood what it is meant by ‘’ a pen is mightier than a sword’’
The tarnished image of Indian National Congress is meticulously sewed by MR Tharoor, using this book as a needle, and Modi as a thread.
In a first, after reading this book we get to know that the book name is one of the possibilities, and so the correct one could be THE PARADOXES IN INDIAN POLITICS AND PROPAGANDA OF CONGRESS.
The book is divided into 5 sections, comprising of 50 chapters, which gives details on a wide array of topics. Most of the things which MR Tharoor explains can be meant to both current ruling party and its predecessor, this is to say that it gives detail accounts of failures of the current Government that can be attributed to the past Government as well. Italicized words are from the book and the other is my reply to these assertions.
Paradoxical Tharoor:
1. A) pg-46: Yet Narendra Modi has managed a complex modus vivendi with the RSS. B) Pg-57: In some ways, Mr Modi seems to have outgrown the RSS prejudices. Pg-58: Mr Modi’s love towards Gandhi is just for political gains since Gandhi enjoys a high charisma in the international audience. C) Pg-82: RSS Leadership is currently struggling with a critical dilemma to support the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
2. A) Pg-71: Comparisons are, of course, ALWAYS invidious, all the more so when they involve political leaders from different countries. But there’s something about the trajectories of Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and India’s Narendra Modi that makes comparisons irresistible.
3. A) Pg 153: In this 2013 judgment that reaffirmed section 377, the Supreme Court said that legislators, not judges, must decide its fate. Unfortunately, Parliament proved itself unequal to the task; the bigotry and homophobia in the ruling party and the indifference and prejudice in much of Opposition had rendered the institution a temple of hypocrisy on this issue. Indeed, the legislative recourse of the injustice of section 377 would not have been available as long as the Bjp was in power. B) Pg 154: The Modi government deserves no credit for the abolition of section 377. It allowed its MPs to twice thwart my attempts to raise the issue on the floor of the house. In point A Mr Tharoor said it was the collective fault of the ruling party and the Opposition, in the B point, he has no qualms in accusing the Bjp government.
4. Pg 168, Chapter thirteen: One of the hallmarks of a vibrant, thriving democracy is a free and health press, India is ranked 138th out of 180 countries, a disgraceful score.
(The Wire, 02-11-18) the decline in journalism and the state of freedom within the media is not a creation limited entirely to 2017 or the past four years alone. Even the UPA government in 2012 had sent out advisories to broadcast media on the criticism of the then prime minister Manmohan Singh by the opposition after his Independence Day address.
So the matter before us is not the 138 this year or 140 ranking (2014) or 131 ranking (2012). It is whether the press will get due freedom and if political parties are ready to address it through their manifestos. It would be a wonder if civil society stands up and makes the matter personal enough to emote over. And it would be even more powerful if journalists themselves came together to protect their right to expression as it is their diversity and plurality that will help us learn more about the length, breadth and width of what our nation is while checking the powers that be at the Fourth Estate.
FALSIFICATION:
1. Pg-84: It is clear that Modi wants his supporters to view him as a messianic figure.
The Hindu 30-05-14: I firmly believe that the life story of living individuals should not be included as a part of school curriculum- Narendra Modi.
2. A) Pg 89: While assorted Hindutva thugs and goons are busily engaged in assaulting minorities, Dalits, liberals and Women, another battle is being fought for the hearts and minds of all Indians. B) Pg 103: Chapter three, a growing wave of communalism. C) Pg 121: Chapter five, Minority report.
June 6, 2018. Times of India: India has moved up four places to the 137th rank on the 2018 Global peace index; it is due to a reduction in the level of violent crime driven by increased law enforcement, according to a report
Finally, these are very few points that I pointed out, there are many more. Only one side of the argument is given, and while stating some definitions and platitudes, I somehow found a very good correlation with the Congress rule.
Well, these things are as far as my knowledge could reach currently, however, I’m prepared to read further, and keep updating my review.
**LOSING CREDIBILITY:
This is a new addition which is written after the loss of the Bjp in Hindi heartland. **
*In this book, it is grandiloquently described that in the 2014 elections there is a number of young voters who do not know what has happened in the Godhra riots, and by listening to Modi’s words everyone did vote. *
Now, Madhya Pradesh Cheif Minister is Kamal Nath who has been accused of heading a mob lynching Sikhs after the death of Indira Gandhi. Our magnificent author of this book stated that Kamal Nath should get the benefit of doubt as what Modi has got.
I guess this statement erodes the integrity of the literature, mocks the readers for purchasing, and a wonderful insult of supporters of this book: By saying you people are going to read this book and believe because I've got a very good vocabulary and make use of magical words. The people who support this book are going to bend their head in shame.
*He pointed out the changing of Vice Chancellors of the educational institutions and uses his vocabulary by stating: it dampens the organisational quality. *
After Kamal Nath has become CM he transferred 24 collectors, 48 IAS officers. Loan waiver increased the NPA’S to 24%. Rajasthan Government has taken back the law of having a certain educational qualification, and a functional toilet to be an eligible candidate in participating civic elections. The statement given was: it is an advertisement for’’ Swatch Barath mission’’. I’m literally ashamed that a party exists in my country which can withdraw such a good law.
Now, the people who supported this book, just think aren’t they literally liberal rhetoric and a device of propaganda?
And by believing this book is not a loss to the nation but the loss to our self-respect.
DOs:
Read this Book, keeping blame aside for a minute think of the other government, if Modi didn’t do, did others do?
Check online for additional information, since only one side of an issue is given.
Post reviews and be open for discussion.
To get into a conclusion, please do read, THE MYTH OF HINDU TERROR- MANI, OF COUNSEL- ARAVIND SUBRAMANIAN, URBAN NAXALS- VIVEK, AND RSS- WALTER ANDERSON.
DONTs:
Don’t be infatuated with the mellifluous work, and vouch for everything that is written.
Don’t come to a conclusion with these words check for the other side of the issue
.
IT IS WORTHY TO NOTE THAT THE BOOK, '' CREATIVE DISRUPTOR AND THE MAKER OF NEW INDIA'', HAS COME, WHICH GIVES A COUNTER ARGUMENT TO THE PARTISAN PROPAGANDA, PLEASE DO CHECK IT OUT TO GET A CLEAR PICTURE OF CURRENT POLITICS
The tarnished image of Indian National Congress is meticulously sewed by MR Tharoor, using this book as a needle, and Modi as a thread.
In a first, after reading this book we get to know that the book name is one of the possibilities, and so the correct one could be THE PARADOXES IN INDIAN POLITICS AND PROPAGANDA OF CONGRESS.
The book is divided into 5 sections, comprising of 50 chapters, which gives details on a wide array of topics. Most of the things which MR Tharoor explains can be meant to both current ruling party and its predecessor, this is to say that it gives detail accounts of failures of the current Government that can be attributed to the past Government as well. Italicized words are from the book and the other is my reply to these assertions.
Paradoxical Tharoor:
1. A) pg-46: Yet Narendra Modi has managed a complex modus vivendi with the RSS. B) Pg-57: In some ways, Mr Modi seems to have outgrown the RSS prejudices. Pg-58: Mr Modi’s love towards Gandhi is just for political gains since Gandhi enjoys a high charisma in the international audience. C) Pg-82: RSS Leadership is currently struggling with a critical dilemma to support the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
2. A) Pg-71: Comparisons are, of course, ALWAYS invidious, all the more so when they involve political leaders from different countries. But there’s something about the trajectories of Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and India’s Narendra Modi that makes comparisons irresistible.
3. A) Pg 153: In this 2013 judgment that reaffirmed section 377, the Supreme Court said that legislators, not judges, must decide its fate. Unfortunately, Parliament proved itself unequal to the task; the bigotry and homophobia in the ruling party and the indifference and prejudice in much of Opposition had rendered the institution a temple of hypocrisy on this issue. Indeed, the legislative recourse of the injustice of section 377 would not have been available as long as the Bjp was in power. B) Pg 154: The Modi government deserves no credit for the abolition of section 377. It allowed its MPs to twice thwart my attempts to raise the issue on the floor of the house. In point A Mr Tharoor said it was the collective fault of the ruling party and the Opposition, in the B point, he has no qualms in accusing the Bjp government.
4. Pg 168, Chapter thirteen: One of the hallmarks of a vibrant, thriving democracy is a free and health press, India is ranked 138th out of 180 countries, a disgraceful score.
(The Wire, 02-11-18) the decline in journalism and the state of freedom within the media is not a creation limited entirely to 2017 or the past four years alone. Even the UPA government in 2012 had sent out advisories to broadcast media on the criticism of the then prime minister Manmohan Singh by the opposition after his Independence Day address.
So the matter before us is not the 138 this year or 140 ranking (2014) or 131 ranking (2012). It is whether the press will get due freedom and if political parties are ready to address it through their manifestos. It would be a wonder if civil society stands up and makes the matter personal enough to emote over. And it would be even more powerful if journalists themselves came together to protect their right to expression as it is their diversity and plurality that will help us learn more about the length, breadth and width of what our nation is while checking the powers that be at the Fourth Estate.
FALSIFICATION:
1. Pg-84: It is clear that Modi wants his supporters to view him as a messianic figure.
The Hindu 30-05-14: I firmly believe that the life story of living individuals should not be included as a part of school curriculum- Narendra Modi.
2. A) Pg 89: While assorted Hindutva thugs and goons are busily engaged in assaulting minorities, Dalits, liberals and Women, another battle is being fought for the hearts and minds of all Indians. B) Pg 103: Chapter three, a growing wave of communalism. C) Pg 121: Chapter five, Minority report.
June 6, 2018. Times of India: India has moved up four places to the 137th rank on the 2018 Global peace index; it is due to a reduction in the level of violent crime driven by increased law enforcement, according to a report
Finally, these are very few points that I pointed out, there are many more. Only one side of the argument is given, and while stating some definitions and platitudes, I somehow found a very good correlation with the Congress rule.
Well, these things are as far as my knowledge could reach currently, however, I’m prepared to read further, and keep updating my review.
**LOSING CREDIBILITY:
This is a new addition which is written after the loss of the Bjp in Hindi heartland. **
*In this book, it is grandiloquently described that in the 2014 elections there is a number of young voters who do not know what has happened in the Godhra riots, and by listening to Modi’s words everyone did vote. *
Now, Madhya Pradesh Cheif Minister is Kamal Nath who has been accused of heading a mob lynching Sikhs after the death of Indira Gandhi. Our magnificent author of this book stated that Kamal Nath should get the benefit of doubt as what Modi has got.
I guess this statement erodes the integrity of the literature, mocks the readers for purchasing, and a wonderful insult of supporters of this book: By saying you people are going to read this book and believe because I've got a very good vocabulary and make use of magical words. The people who support this book are going to bend their head in shame.
*He pointed out the changing of Vice Chancellors of the educational institutions and uses his vocabulary by stating: it dampens the organisational quality. *
After Kamal Nath has become CM he transferred 24 collectors, 48 IAS officers. Loan waiver increased the NPA’S to 24%. Rajasthan Government has taken back the law of having a certain educational qualification, and a functional toilet to be an eligible candidate in participating civic elections. The statement given was: it is an advertisement for’’ Swatch Barath mission’’. I’m literally ashamed that a party exists in my country which can withdraw such a good law.
Now, the people who supported this book, just think aren’t they literally liberal rhetoric and a device of propaganda?
And by believing this book is not a loss to the nation but the loss to our self-respect.
DOs:
Read this Book, keeping blame aside for a minute think of the other government, if Modi didn’t do, did others do?
Check online for additional information, since only one side of an issue is given.
Post reviews and be open for discussion.
To get into a conclusion, please do read, THE MYTH OF HINDU TERROR- MANI, OF COUNSEL- ARAVIND SUBRAMANIAN, URBAN NAXALS- VIVEK, AND RSS- WALTER ANDERSON.
DONTs:
Don’t be infatuated with the mellifluous work, and vouch for everything that is written.
Don’t come to a conclusion with these words check for the other side of the issue
.
IT IS WORTHY TO NOTE THAT THE BOOK, '' CREATIVE DISRUPTOR AND THE MAKER OF NEW INDIA'', HAS COME, WHICH GIVES A COUNTER ARGUMENT TO THE PARTISAN PROPAGANDA, PLEASE DO CHECK IT OUT TO GET A CLEAR PICTURE OF CURRENT POLITICS
October 26, 2018
One of the closest and finest accounts on the tyrannical prime minister that is Narendra Modi. A dictator in the garb of a democrat. Broke the Indian economy, devastated the sheer value of India and it's secularism, supported riots and what not. Great Job Dr. Tharoor.
January 4, 2019
Caustic one-sided diatribe about Modi and the Modi administration. He portrays Modi as a PR-obsessed, authoritarian megalomaniac who is (a) a facilitator of his party's vision of India as basically an illiberal, Hindu fundamentalist, male chauvinistic society (b) a great orator who is prone to marketing gimmicks but incapable of implementation. Criticises Modi's approach to the economy ("demonetisation a bad idea badly implemented; GST a good idea badly implemented" etc), foreign policy ("kowtowing to China, yo-yo-ing in relations with Pakistan etc), governance (eg says there is a dangerous and impractical level of autocracy in the decision making), social policy (condoning cow vigilantism, not doing enough to reassure minority groups, etc).
I found this worth reading as it has a lot of arguments, facts, statistics, anecdotes that ranged from thought-provoking to sometimes alarming. All packaged in his characteristic wit (or perhaps glibness). However, the book (a) is extremely one-sided (b) often reads like a litany of familiar problems in the country, each with a sudden abrupt conclusion that Modi is to blame (even when it's less fair to say so) (c) doesn't truly address the alternative we have (d) really could have done with an editor (lots of repetition).
I found this worth reading as it has a lot of arguments, facts, statistics, anecdotes that ranged from thought-provoking to sometimes alarming. All packaged in his characteristic wit (or perhaps glibness). However, the book (a) is extremely one-sided (b) often reads like a litany of familiar problems in the country, each with a sudden abrupt conclusion that Modi is to blame (even when it's less fair to say so) (c) doesn't truly address the alternative we have (d) really could have done with an editor (lots of repetition).
August 24, 2019
What else you can expect from a guy who is in congress and write a book against his rival party democratically elected Prime minister. Just look at the timing he released this book just before election. This is the problem with congress they are not learning anything from last election (now 2 elections). I always believe in democracy where we should have good opposition too. But again congress hate for BJP is so much that they are showing how much they hate India as well. Anyway this book was just a pathetic attempt to discredit Narendra Modi who is the prime minister of India. It would have been better if he did a detail analysis on govt's policies.
November 20, 2023
"What is the meaning of wasting time reading this book?" Pongalswamy asked.
"Why? What's wrong?" I retorted.
"Many. First of all, being a principal leader in the opposition, Tharoor's views are bound to be along with his party-lines, biased, skewed, and his analysis would be far from being objective."
"I agree."
"Secondly, the timing of the release of this book - few months before the general election. The objective is clearly trying to present to the so-called book-reading intellectual voters, a darker picture of the leader of the ruling party, highlighting only the many failings of his Government, to galvanize them towards the opposition, his own party. Isn't it?"
"I agree, too."
"Third, 50 chapters. 500 pages. Phew. As you can guess from his acknowledgement, most of the stuff has been ghost written by Tharoor's researchers (the privilege of being a wealthy and influential parliamentarian). And whatever stuff could have been written/added by Tharoor himself, he repeats the same thing again and again, in his usual style of a garrulous-self suffering from verbal diarrhea, filling pages after pages and pretending to have provided additional information that his readers are unaware of."
"Ha Ha. Possible."
"Tharoor accuses Modi of problems that have been ailing our country for many years that have their roots in the previous governments, which Tharoor conveniently ignores. Tharoor taunts NDA government of carrying on many of the UPA schemes with new names, and points out the failings of those. Isn't it a paradox in itself?"
"True that."
"Culture, economics, governance, socio-political issues, and foreign policy - if you read this book, you would think as if Govt has done nothing right in the first 4 years."
"It appears that way…"
"Tharoor writes as if all the problems India is currently facing are because of the misgovernance and policy issues of first 4 years of Modi government and not because of the policy failures of his party's rules of the majority of the years post-independence. How hypocritical!"
"Hmmm…"
"Then if you agree with all my points, why the hell did you read this book?"
"Confirmation Bias?” I reasoned.
"Duh!!!"
"Why? What's wrong?" I retorted.
"Many. First of all, being a principal leader in the opposition, Tharoor's views are bound to be along with his party-lines, biased, skewed, and his analysis would be far from being objective."
"I agree."
"Secondly, the timing of the release of this book - few months before the general election. The objective is clearly trying to present to the so-called book-reading intellectual voters, a darker picture of the leader of the ruling party, highlighting only the many failings of his Government, to galvanize them towards the opposition, his own party. Isn't it?"
"I agree, too."
"Third, 50 chapters. 500 pages. Phew. As you can guess from his acknowledgement, most of the stuff has been ghost written by Tharoor's researchers (the privilege of being a wealthy and influential parliamentarian). And whatever stuff could have been written/added by Tharoor himself, he repeats the same thing again and again, in his usual style of a garrulous-self suffering from verbal diarrhea, filling pages after pages and pretending to have provided additional information that his readers are unaware of."
"Ha Ha. Possible."
"Tharoor accuses Modi of problems that have been ailing our country for many years that have their roots in the previous governments, which Tharoor conveniently ignores. Tharoor taunts NDA government of carrying on many of the UPA schemes with new names, and points out the failings of those. Isn't it a paradox in itself?"
"True that."
"Culture, economics, governance, socio-political issues, and foreign policy - if you read this book, you would think as if Govt has done nothing right in the first 4 years."
"It appears that way…"
"Tharoor writes as if all the problems India is currently facing are because of the misgovernance and policy issues of first 4 years of Modi government and not because of the policy failures of his party's rules of the majority of the years post-independence. How hypocritical!"
"Hmmm…"
"Then if you agree with all my points, why the hell did you read this book?"
"Confirmation Bias?” I reasoned.
"Duh!!!"
dnf-for-now
February 1, 2021I tried. I tried. I got half way through and then I just wanted to cry. Also, it was just A LOT.
Edit: I was crying because I started it before the election to educate myself and I ended up DNFing it when he got reelected. So it was just...a lot then.
Edit: I was crying because I started it before the election to educate myself and I ended up DNFing it when he got reelected. So it was just...a lot then.
February 9, 2019
Got this expecting a nuanced, well researched analytical read, but was swept away by the author's not so subtle political agenda. Abysmal.
December 2, 2018
Barring the occasional bits which are repetitive to the extent of being irksome, I think this is a rather well-written critique of the last 4 and the half years of the Modi government. Tharoor shows why he is indeed one of the most eloquent Members of Parliament and this book, though overtly political, only enhances his standing as one of the country's finest writers of non fiction.
3 and a half stars plus an extra half star for the timing of this book, which couldn't have been any better. Recommended reading.
3 and a half stars plus an extra half star for the timing of this book, which couldn't have been any better. Recommended reading.
February 19, 2019
What the author wants to say is:
a) If PM Modi has achieved something, that's because he just carried forward the initiatives of earlier governments
b) If PM has failed in something, that's because he discarded the initiatives of earlier govts and entire blame rests upon him
2 stars for bringing to the fore some of the challenging issues like mob lynching, excessive interference in the affairs of states, politicization of science, increasing censorship on the movies, literature and non-functional parliament etc which the mainstream media tends to neglect and proposing solutions for them.
a) If PM Modi has achieved something, that's because he just carried forward the initiatives of earlier governments
b) If PM has failed in something, that's because he discarded the initiatives of earlier govts and entire blame rests upon him
2 stars for bringing to the fore some of the challenging issues like mob lynching, excessive interference in the affairs of states, politicization of science, increasing censorship on the movies, literature and non-functional parliament etc which the mainstream media tends to neglect and proposing solutions for them.
September 11, 2019
It is nothing but a one sided diatribe written more out of compulsions that Dr. Tharoor faced from his own party due to his appreciation of some of the present regime policies. If we were to believe in Tharoor, he seems to have the best solution to all that ails the country today but it is left to anybody’s guess why his own party never paid any heed to them. A wasted effort nothing more!
December 4, 2018
This is a intelligent analysis by a credible and brilliant author Dr. Thaoor. I thought it would be overtly political criticism coming from politician from Opposition, but the sheer finesse in using Modi's own words/Speeches as a yardstick against which his performance is measured is the genius of this book. Lot of footnotes are provided for easy reference of the reader and as usual Dr. Tharoor shines all over the book. This book is brilliant and one can also read Why I am a Hindu? written in laymans language and not a scholarly work, it leaves you overwhelmed with the greatness of one of the World's oldest faith and its inclusive characteristics that have sheltered millions over the years. Thank you Mr. Tharoor!
March 9, 2019
Although personally I'm not exactly averse to Modi bashing and although Mr Tharoor is factually right in all counts and visibly so (with elaborate citations at the bottom of each page), he could have done well without writing a book on what can be easily read on his Twitter feed. The book is vehemently vindictive and quickly loses track and towards the end even reads like an anti-Modi election manifesto .
January 7, 2019
This book is not quite the normal Shashi Tharoor book - firstly it's incredibly one sided (though factually correct), and also has a tendency to blame everything (even systemic faults going on for decades) on the BJP administration. While I am fully in agreement with the fundamental premise of the book, it's not written by an author, but rather by a politician.
Read
March 11, 2019Not worth reading
April 24, 2021
I always had my reservations about this book. The book was published just before the elections. So, rather than being truthful, I was under the impression that this book might turn out to be a party pamphlet. Needless to say, even though the name suggests the failure of the ruling government, the book also encompasses the failure of the previous governments in many areas.
The book was very current in its information. Tharoor wrote a comprehensive list of the issues that India is facing and the insensitiveness of our PM Modi to them. However, the same could be said for his predecessors also. The point he tries to establish is that the shortcomings of Narendra Modi are more compared to his predecessors. Seeing the state of present India, I cannot disagree with his accusations. Islamic phobia, cow vigilantism, horse-trading of party members, botched fiscal and foreign policies are only the tip of the iceberg. In this book, things have been discussed in-depth and at length. All accusations are done with concrete proof. Party and religious zealots will find this book a bit difficult to digest. The hypocrisy of the government is the theme of the book. At some places, the book really felt like a party agenda, but majority of the places the book was neutral in its narration. It is really difficult to read this book with an unbiased mind, especially if you are a citizen of India.
This book needs time and effort from the readers side. It is not meant to be enjoyed with a smile. It will be a taxing read intellectually and emotionally.
The book was very current in its information. Tharoor wrote a comprehensive list of the issues that India is facing and the insensitiveness of our PM Modi to them. However, the same could be said for his predecessors also. The point he tries to establish is that the shortcomings of Narendra Modi are more compared to his predecessors. Seeing the state of present India, I cannot disagree with his accusations. Islamic phobia, cow vigilantism, horse-trading of party members, botched fiscal and foreign policies are only the tip of the iceberg. In this book, things have been discussed in-depth and at length. All accusations are done with concrete proof. Party and religious zealots will find this book a bit difficult to digest. The hypocrisy of the government is the theme of the book. At some places, the book really felt like a party agenda, but majority of the places the book was neutral in its narration. It is really difficult to read this book with an unbiased mind, especially if you are a citizen of India.
This book needs time and effort from the readers side. It is not meant to be enjoyed with a smile. It will be a taxing read intellectually and emotionally.
April 7, 2021
A mediocre stuff
The book consists of five sections, but except for the first section, the rest of the parts are just too mediocre. The book doesn't offer anything new, as it is merely a compilation of newspapers reports; which most of us already know. But maybe down the line, people may consider this book as a historical book as it summarises India's political scene from 2014-2018.
The book consists of five sections, but except for the first section, the rest of the parts are just too mediocre. The book doesn't offer anything new, as it is merely a compilation of newspapers reports; which most of us already know. But maybe down the line, people may consider this book as a historical book as it summarises India's political scene from 2014-2018.
February 19, 2022
Do you want to read a political manifesto of a maverick politician that runs into 500 pages of every-bit-politically-correct homilies? You are welcome to this book if you have nothing worthwhile to do. This book was written in 2018, with one year to go for general elections, in the fervent hope that Narendra Modi would be defeated. With huge amounts of cleverly interpreted data and gusts of hot air with lofty principles but no substance, Tharoor hoped to anticipate Modi’s ‘downfall’ which would have burnished his image as an astute politician having his ears to the ground. However, nothing happened eventually. With the declaration of the results, Modi retained power with a larger majority than before and Tharoor’s dreams crashed down like a pack of cards which made his arguments and this book irrelevant. It gives political observers some amusement at the shortsightedness of the author’s arguments with the advantage of hindsight.
Modi and his political party, the BJP, are spawned by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The basic theme of the book is Tharoor’s assumption that the RSS is a retrograde organisation that cannot be reconciled to good governance. It tries to divide the people along religious lines. Even though Modi is using high-sounding projects to unleash India’s inherent power, he is constrained by his association with this organisation. This is, in one sentence, what Tharoor elaborates as a glaring paradox using 500 pages of print. He predicted in 2014 that if this contradiction is not resolved, Modi will fail. Obviously, the RSS still guided BJP at the time of publication of this book, so Modi has failed. But the paradox is seen more in Tharoor as he argues in another section that the RSS was in a dilemma over whether or not to support Modi in the 2019 elections (p.82). This is contradictory to the earlier assessment of unbridled involvement. Tharoor also coins a new term, ‘Moditva’, as the ideology that guides the prime minister. This is claimed to be a combination of Hindutva, nationalism, economic development and overweening personal relationship.
Looking back after three years of its publication, we see that the book abounds with self-defeating arguments which the author’s poor foresight could not perceive. Criticising Modi’s quip that the government has no business to be in business, Tharoor questions the anomaly of his government owning and running airlines and hotels. This was well before Air India going Tata’s way. Often, we find the author handling data without any slightest hint of where and to whom it belongs. Incidents of rape reportedly increased by 12.4 per cent in 2016 due to Modi’s fault. Luckily, he does not find the prime minister responsible for the twenty per cent drop in rainfall that year! When it is time for giving a spin on plain truth, the author does it with unabashed ingenuity. Narrating the Godhra incident, the author notes that ’58 men, women and children were killed when a fire broke out on their train as it passed through the Muslim-dominated town of Godhra’. Yes, a fire somehow spontaneously broke out in the train, regarding the origin of which Tharoor has no clue. Can you visualize the wicked smile on his face after writing this deceitful sentence? This is the genre of India’s liberals.
The book seems to be a collective effort with inputs from several people because readers can observe subtle contradictions in many chapters. What is consistent in the entirety of the text is its double standards. If liberals criticize Modi on social media, it is ‘freedom of expression’. If his fans pay back in the same coin, it becomes a ‘virulent attack’. He claims that Modi is known in hostile social media circles as ‘feku’ (congenital teller of tall tales), but after some pages, laments that ‘those who speak ill of Modi is being jailed’. Does it mean that all those people who called him ‘feku’ were jailed? In many places, we see Modi being accused of ruining India’s economy. But on demonetization, the book notes that ‘a booming economy that boasted the highest growth rate in the world suddenly became a cash-scarce economy’ (p.336). So, unwittingly he admits that it was booming and with the highest growth rate in the world! No Indian liberal would dream of ending his essay without pandering to Muslim sentiments. A liberal politician doubly so. In a sweeping stroke of indemnification, Tharoor claims that ‘if the Muslim sultans had looted or exploited India and Indians, they spent the proceeds of their loot in India itself’ (p.97).
With his abortive UN career behind him, Tharoor thinks he is the guru of foreign policy and the government would do well if they care to learn a lesson or two from him. Strangely, he advises against a strong foreign policy and wants India to be perceived as a soft state. Our country had a disastrous foreign policy for the last thousand years which the author wants to continue and is sure to get duly crumbled up at the slightest challenge from across the border. Perhaps it is in these conditions that ‘strong’ men like him could thrive. Tharoor accuses that ‘an assertive foreign policy, especially towards neighbours, is an aspect of fascism’ (p.61). As is common in this book, we find a contradiction on p.428 when the author warns that ‘a country that refuses to suffer repeated body blows earns more respect than one whose restraint can be interpreted as weakness’. The book includes a near-comprehensive policy analysis of India’s relations with other countries, but keeps silent on the Israel – Palestine issue as Tharoor knows only too well that even the slightest complimentary remark on Israel would lose him precious Muslim votes in the next election.
The author takes special care to insert Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘glorious’ deeds for the nation in practically every chapter. No prizes for guessing the reason, as his party boss is the youngest scion of the Nehru family. But this runs into problems. Regarding sedition law, Tharoor quotes Nehru as saying that ‘the sooner we get rid of this provision, the better’. Nehru remained at the helm for seventeen years till his death, but did not find time to abrogate the law. Now, Tharoor holds Modi responsible for keeping this law in our statute books. Some of the author’s concerns smell of deep-rooted provincialism. For example, he worries about failure of population control schemes because ‘it increases the numbers of Hindi speakers’ (p.192). What he finds objectionable in the implementation of GST, apart from the claimed haphazard manner, is that it was made applicable to Jammu and Kashmir, thereby ignoring the state’s special status.
In a reverse sense, the book is a fine example of what should be avoided in a multi-ethnic society like India. Tharoor accuses Modi of total failure including the – in truth much successful – Swachh Bharat mission. The reasons cited are laughable. In a bout of insouciant elitism, Tharoor claims that ’45 per cent of north Indians found open defecation pleasurable, comfortable or convenient’ (p.284). Since the author’s political constituency is in the south of the country, he feels confident to abuse the northerners. His political intuition is demonstrated to be little developed when he mockingly asks whether Modi could amend articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution that granted special privileges to Jammu and Kashmir. Tharoor could not imagine even in his wildest dreams that exactly the same thing would happen hardly a year later. So much for his outlook!
Tharoor ingeniously employs selective emphasis of numbers to read what he wants from otherwise reliable data sets. With this clever trick up his sleeve, he can interpret data anyway he wants. He claims that Gujarat was in the eighteenth position in terms of literacy when Modi left office as the state’s chief minister. Pretty damning, isn’t it? But if you spend some time and look up the data, it can be seen that, of the large states, only Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu stood above it. The others are microscopic union territories with populations typically below 100,000. Another aspect of Tharoor’s game with data is selective focusing on figures of specific years. On p.361, he blurts out that ‘the current account deficit had risen to 2 per cent in the last quarter of 2017 and may well cross 2.5 per cent of GDP in Mr. Modi’s final fiscal year’. The true nature of this moral outrage is exposed if we lookup data elsewhere and observe that in the final two years of UPA government, of which Tharoor himself was a minister, the corresponding figures were 4.3 and 4.8 per cent! The author lampoons Modi for setting ambitious targets for solar power generation, but no concrete measures have been taken (p.364). The actual fact is entirely different. In 2014, the installed solar capacity was 2,632 MW, which skyrocketed to 21,651 MW in just four years, which is more than eight times in sheer numbers. The conclusion we can arrive at from all these is that Tharoor’s data is totally unreliable.
Even while listing out a litany of complaints, Tharoor makes richly adorned praise for Modi that is embedded inconspicuously in the text. It would be interesting to present here the glowing nature of the tribute. Tharoor concedes Modi to ‘excel at how to impress an audience’ (p.20), ‘never shied away from hard work’ (p.22), ‘independent and self-reliant’ (p.24), ‘compelling orator, the best modern India has ever seen’ (p.35), ‘capable of speaking across the political divide’ (p.40), ‘possessing real austerity and devotion to work’ (p.50), ‘given away most of his salary to charity’ (p.51), ‘a quick student, mastering a vast array of information and retaining it with impressive recall’ (p.64), ‘excelling at direct communication with the masses’ (p.83), ‘recognized the real problem in railways’ (p.382), ‘visibly effective salesman for India, and there is no denying the energy and dynamism he has brought to taking India’s message abroad’ (p.436). Whoa, even Modi’s ardent backers will not be able to list out such a long slew of high accolade.
As commented earlier, this book is just sterile eloquence, written as a political manifesto for the author’s 2019 election campaign and to provide a bucket list of salient issues that can be arraigned against the government. Harping on to a small time window, Tharoor has made this book irrelevant thereafter, unlike his other works. Grave predictions like ‘Modi’s term is lurching towards its inglorious conclusion’ expose this elitist politician’s scant grasp of the ground reality and utter ignorance of how people thought. To make up for that gaping hole in his skill set, the book is stuffed with a heavy dose of moral sermon. Imitating the author’s penchant for lesser-known, high-sounding epithets, I would describe this book as a ‘pretentious cant’.
The book is a waste of time and not recommended.
Modi and his political party, the BJP, are spawned by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The basic theme of the book is Tharoor’s assumption that the RSS is a retrograde organisation that cannot be reconciled to good governance. It tries to divide the people along religious lines. Even though Modi is using high-sounding projects to unleash India’s inherent power, he is constrained by his association with this organisation. This is, in one sentence, what Tharoor elaborates as a glaring paradox using 500 pages of print. He predicted in 2014 that if this contradiction is not resolved, Modi will fail. Obviously, the RSS still guided BJP at the time of publication of this book, so Modi has failed. But the paradox is seen more in Tharoor as he argues in another section that the RSS was in a dilemma over whether or not to support Modi in the 2019 elections (p.82). This is contradictory to the earlier assessment of unbridled involvement. Tharoor also coins a new term, ‘Moditva’, as the ideology that guides the prime minister. This is claimed to be a combination of Hindutva, nationalism, economic development and overweening personal relationship.
Looking back after three years of its publication, we see that the book abounds with self-defeating arguments which the author’s poor foresight could not perceive. Criticising Modi’s quip that the government has no business to be in business, Tharoor questions the anomaly of his government owning and running airlines and hotels. This was well before Air India going Tata’s way. Often, we find the author handling data without any slightest hint of where and to whom it belongs. Incidents of rape reportedly increased by 12.4 per cent in 2016 due to Modi’s fault. Luckily, he does not find the prime minister responsible for the twenty per cent drop in rainfall that year! When it is time for giving a spin on plain truth, the author does it with unabashed ingenuity. Narrating the Godhra incident, the author notes that ’58 men, women and children were killed when a fire broke out on their train as it passed through the Muslim-dominated town of Godhra’. Yes, a fire somehow spontaneously broke out in the train, regarding the origin of which Tharoor has no clue. Can you visualize the wicked smile on his face after writing this deceitful sentence? This is the genre of India’s liberals.
The book seems to be a collective effort with inputs from several people because readers can observe subtle contradictions in many chapters. What is consistent in the entirety of the text is its double standards. If liberals criticize Modi on social media, it is ‘freedom of expression’. If his fans pay back in the same coin, it becomes a ‘virulent attack’. He claims that Modi is known in hostile social media circles as ‘feku’ (congenital teller of tall tales), but after some pages, laments that ‘those who speak ill of Modi is being jailed’. Does it mean that all those people who called him ‘feku’ were jailed? In many places, we see Modi being accused of ruining India’s economy. But on demonetization, the book notes that ‘a booming economy that boasted the highest growth rate in the world suddenly became a cash-scarce economy’ (p.336). So, unwittingly he admits that it was booming and with the highest growth rate in the world! No Indian liberal would dream of ending his essay without pandering to Muslim sentiments. A liberal politician doubly so. In a sweeping stroke of indemnification, Tharoor claims that ‘if the Muslim sultans had looted or exploited India and Indians, they spent the proceeds of their loot in India itself’ (p.97).
With his abortive UN career behind him, Tharoor thinks he is the guru of foreign policy and the government would do well if they care to learn a lesson or two from him. Strangely, he advises against a strong foreign policy and wants India to be perceived as a soft state. Our country had a disastrous foreign policy for the last thousand years which the author wants to continue and is sure to get duly crumbled up at the slightest challenge from across the border. Perhaps it is in these conditions that ‘strong’ men like him could thrive. Tharoor accuses that ‘an assertive foreign policy, especially towards neighbours, is an aspect of fascism’ (p.61). As is common in this book, we find a contradiction on p.428 when the author warns that ‘a country that refuses to suffer repeated body blows earns more respect than one whose restraint can be interpreted as weakness’. The book includes a near-comprehensive policy analysis of India’s relations with other countries, but keeps silent on the Israel – Palestine issue as Tharoor knows only too well that even the slightest complimentary remark on Israel would lose him precious Muslim votes in the next election.
The author takes special care to insert Jawaharlal Nehru’s ‘glorious’ deeds for the nation in practically every chapter. No prizes for guessing the reason, as his party boss is the youngest scion of the Nehru family. But this runs into problems. Regarding sedition law, Tharoor quotes Nehru as saying that ‘the sooner we get rid of this provision, the better’. Nehru remained at the helm for seventeen years till his death, but did not find time to abrogate the law. Now, Tharoor holds Modi responsible for keeping this law in our statute books. Some of the author’s concerns smell of deep-rooted provincialism. For example, he worries about failure of population control schemes because ‘it increases the numbers of Hindi speakers’ (p.192). What he finds objectionable in the implementation of GST, apart from the claimed haphazard manner, is that it was made applicable to Jammu and Kashmir, thereby ignoring the state’s special status.
In a reverse sense, the book is a fine example of what should be avoided in a multi-ethnic society like India. Tharoor accuses Modi of total failure including the – in truth much successful – Swachh Bharat mission. The reasons cited are laughable. In a bout of insouciant elitism, Tharoor claims that ’45 per cent of north Indians found open defecation pleasurable, comfortable or convenient’ (p.284). Since the author’s political constituency is in the south of the country, he feels confident to abuse the northerners. His political intuition is demonstrated to be little developed when he mockingly asks whether Modi could amend articles 370 and 35A of the Constitution that granted special privileges to Jammu and Kashmir. Tharoor could not imagine even in his wildest dreams that exactly the same thing would happen hardly a year later. So much for his outlook!
Tharoor ingeniously employs selective emphasis of numbers to read what he wants from otherwise reliable data sets. With this clever trick up his sleeve, he can interpret data anyway he wants. He claims that Gujarat was in the eighteenth position in terms of literacy when Modi left office as the state’s chief minister. Pretty damning, isn’t it? But if you spend some time and look up the data, it can be seen that, of the large states, only Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu stood above it. The others are microscopic union territories with populations typically below 100,000. Another aspect of Tharoor’s game with data is selective focusing on figures of specific years. On p.361, he blurts out that ‘the current account deficit had risen to 2 per cent in the last quarter of 2017 and may well cross 2.5 per cent of GDP in Mr. Modi’s final fiscal year’. The true nature of this moral outrage is exposed if we lookup data elsewhere and observe that in the final two years of UPA government, of which Tharoor himself was a minister, the corresponding figures were 4.3 and 4.8 per cent! The author lampoons Modi for setting ambitious targets for solar power generation, but no concrete measures have been taken (p.364). The actual fact is entirely different. In 2014, the installed solar capacity was 2,632 MW, which skyrocketed to 21,651 MW in just four years, which is more than eight times in sheer numbers. The conclusion we can arrive at from all these is that Tharoor’s data is totally unreliable.
Even while listing out a litany of complaints, Tharoor makes richly adorned praise for Modi that is embedded inconspicuously in the text. It would be interesting to present here the glowing nature of the tribute. Tharoor concedes Modi to ‘excel at how to impress an audience’ (p.20), ‘never shied away from hard work’ (p.22), ‘independent and self-reliant’ (p.24), ‘compelling orator, the best modern India has ever seen’ (p.35), ‘capable of speaking across the political divide’ (p.40), ‘possessing real austerity and devotion to work’ (p.50), ‘given away most of his salary to charity’ (p.51), ‘a quick student, mastering a vast array of information and retaining it with impressive recall’ (p.64), ‘excelling at direct communication with the masses’ (p.83), ‘recognized the real problem in railways’ (p.382), ‘visibly effective salesman for India, and there is no denying the energy and dynamism he has brought to taking India’s message abroad’ (p.436). Whoa, even Modi’s ardent backers will not be able to list out such a long slew of high accolade.
As commented earlier, this book is just sterile eloquence, written as a political manifesto for the author’s 2019 election campaign and to provide a bucket list of salient issues that can be arraigned against the government. Harping on to a small time window, Tharoor has made this book irrelevant thereafter, unlike his other works. Grave predictions like ‘Modi’s term is lurching towards its inglorious conclusion’ expose this elitist politician’s scant grasp of the ground reality and utter ignorance of how people thought. To make up for that gaping hole in his skill set, the book is stuffed with a heavy dose of moral sermon. Imitating the author’s penchant for lesser-known, high-sounding epithets, I would describe this book as a ‘pretentious cant’.
The book is a waste of time and not recommended.
March 27, 2020
Hello everyone. Feels like it has been ages. This corona induced lock-down gave me an opportunity to complete this book. I would say that as a member of opposition, it was expected of him to rip apart our current PM and his government but the book has traced its path beyond that. One of the most wonderful thing about Mr. Tharoor is that he is a true intellectual that a country deserves as a law-maker because he graciously accepts criticism, openly applauds his opponents transcending party lines and openly haves a laugh about conservative ideas which tend to block our mental faculties in the name of tradition and culture.
The title gives away a lot of theme that can be expected across the tome. He has basically tried to show, using hard evidences, that Mr Modi effectively tells his audience that "Focus on what I say, not on what I do". The author has also conceded that our PM is an excellent salesman and that has helped our global image no doubt but he is quick to point this out that a salesman can only be as good as the product on offer and after the last term, apart from sales pitches, our beloved salesman has little to show for
Now, there are administrative failures which afflicts almost every prime minister in our country from Nehru to VP Singh. But there are egregious errors which are so repulsively shocking that once it consummates, people feel dazed and confused as to how can this happen? I won't be enlisting them all here but here's one to get the ball rolling:
We all know the 2012 nirbhaya rape case, convicts of which were recently hanged. It was a horrific event which was an epitome of grime and torture that any human psychology will ever have an opportunity to experience. It is said that the victim suffered a lot of wounds around her genitalia to which she eventually succumbed. Prime responsibility of these injuries have been attributed to a juvenile amongst the gang. I'm not going to debate the morality of treatment that should be meted out to the perpetrator but I'm going to tell you how did the government approach this. A juvenile Justice Act 2016 was passed by the incumbent government which voiced the popular viewpoint, "Anyone who had the audacity to conduct a woman in such a manner, shouldn't be treated as a juvenile". Government in this act declared that any juvenile under the age of 16-18 who would be convicted of any heinous crime will be tried as an adult. Let me put this revelation into perspective. As per NCRB(National Crime Records Bureau) of india, as of 2016, there were 44.6 cr children who were juvenile. Out of these, only 0.08% were booked for a cognizable offence. This means that only FIRs have been filed against them. It shouldn't be assumed that they have been convicted. Out of these 0.08%, 5.3% of these 0.08% kids are charged(this also doesn't mean conviction keep in mind) with heinous crime which includes, rape, arson, dacoity, murder etc. The question that comes up is that should this statistically isolated event(on the basis of records that are available of cases filed) be treated as an all encompassing justification for depriving every juvenile between the age of 16-18 their status of being a kid? Interesting question if you ask me
What is the agenda of our criminal justice system? Why has it been created? What are our expectations from it? Does our unfulfilled expectations from the system justifies its evasion like what happened in hyderabad? There are few pointers that I want to share with you people which are very important to the subject. I'm digressing a bit but I'm telling u this anyway:
1) The primary objective of criminal justice system is to ensure that the justice is meted out BOTH to the victim and the accused. Our criminal justice system aims to rehabilitate odd ones of the society and in the process cannot and should not give in to the popular demand of blood lust and retribution in the society
2) Our unfulfilled expectations from the system are not tenable arguments to demand for its revamp or its abolition because who's to say that popular demand always reflects sanity in the crowd?
3) A lot of criticism can be directed at me for not having felt the pain of loss of a dear one personally. You maybe right. But I sleep better when I know that these basic pillars of justice are known to me before such a misfortune falls upon me. Lack of awareness is a potent catalyst to give impetus to your basic animalistic instincts and i don't want to succumb to them
So this was just a glimpse of what and how events have unfolded in the book and a bit of my own message on the topic. You'll enjoy it as it is not a nonsensical criticism of the incumbent government. It is an informed and proper discourse on different subject which will help you to get a broad perspective on the governance of the our country
The title gives away a lot of theme that can be expected across the tome. He has basically tried to show, using hard evidences, that Mr Modi effectively tells his audience that "Focus on what I say, not on what I do". The author has also conceded that our PM is an excellent salesman and that has helped our global image no doubt but he is quick to point this out that a salesman can only be as good as the product on offer and after the last term, apart from sales pitches, our beloved salesman has little to show for
Now, there are administrative failures which afflicts almost every prime minister in our country from Nehru to VP Singh. But there are egregious errors which are so repulsively shocking that once it consummates, people feel dazed and confused as to how can this happen? I won't be enlisting them all here but here's one to get the ball rolling:
We all know the 2012 nirbhaya rape case, convicts of which were recently hanged. It was a horrific event which was an epitome of grime and torture that any human psychology will ever have an opportunity to experience. It is said that the victim suffered a lot of wounds around her genitalia to which she eventually succumbed. Prime responsibility of these injuries have been attributed to a juvenile amongst the gang. I'm not going to debate the morality of treatment that should be meted out to the perpetrator but I'm going to tell you how did the government approach this. A juvenile Justice Act 2016 was passed by the incumbent government which voiced the popular viewpoint, "Anyone who had the audacity to conduct a woman in such a manner, shouldn't be treated as a juvenile". Government in this act declared that any juvenile under the age of 16-18 who would be convicted of any heinous crime will be tried as an adult. Let me put this revelation into perspective. As per NCRB(National Crime Records Bureau) of india, as of 2016, there were 44.6 cr children who were juvenile. Out of these, only 0.08% were booked for a cognizable offence. This means that only FIRs have been filed against them. It shouldn't be assumed that they have been convicted. Out of these 0.08%, 5.3% of these 0.08% kids are charged(this also doesn't mean conviction keep in mind) with heinous crime which includes, rape, arson, dacoity, murder etc. The question that comes up is that should this statistically isolated event(on the basis of records that are available of cases filed) be treated as an all encompassing justification for depriving every juvenile between the age of 16-18 their status of being a kid? Interesting question if you ask me
What is the agenda of our criminal justice system? Why has it been created? What are our expectations from it? Does our unfulfilled expectations from the system justifies its evasion like what happened in hyderabad? There are few pointers that I want to share with you people which are very important to the subject. I'm digressing a bit but I'm telling u this anyway:
1) The primary objective of criminal justice system is to ensure that the justice is meted out BOTH to the victim and the accused. Our criminal justice system aims to rehabilitate odd ones of the society and in the process cannot and should not give in to the popular demand of blood lust and retribution in the society
2) Our unfulfilled expectations from the system are not tenable arguments to demand for its revamp or its abolition because who's to say that popular demand always reflects sanity in the crowd?
3) A lot of criticism can be directed at me for not having felt the pain of loss of a dear one personally. You maybe right. But I sleep better when I know that these basic pillars of justice are known to me before such a misfortune falls upon me. Lack of awareness is a potent catalyst to give impetus to your basic animalistic instincts and i don't want to succumb to them
So this was just a glimpse of what and how events have unfolded in the book and a bit of my own message on the topic. You'll enjoy it as it is not a nonsensical criticism of the incumbent government. It is an informed and proper discourse on different subject which will help you to get a broad perspective on the governance of the our country
July 13, 2019
Lots of data; sparks of wit; got tedious after a point.
August 19, 2021
I am from TN and my Hindi is just good enough to follow Hindi movies to some extent and I never cared to listen to Mann ki baat. So basically, I never understood the cult of Modi. I am have been on twitter for a long time now and it has in equal numbers detractors of Modi and devout supporters of Modi and I do follow a few accounts that are hard core Modi supporters. Except a few, most ppl are fans of BJP or Modi mainly for their anti-muslim stand. Looking at what is happening in Afghanistan and our perennial problem that is Pakistan, I am no fan of Muslims in general either. But can't support lynching and terrorizing ppl on our soil in the name of religion. Why this lengthy preamble? Basically, I wanted to understand the Modi Phenomenon and this book came free as part of my Prime membership at the right time.
It is a well researched and very well written one. Tharoor doesn't get into criticism of Modi ji on any personal angle. The book came out in 2018 before BJP was re-elected for a 2nd term. The writing is very very good ...of course, it is non-fiction but I think I have to mention that. To sum up what is being said what I presumed before reading the book was true. This BJP govt is all talk and mostly not much of execution. The performance of the govt in every aspect from foreign policy to economy has been analyzed with sufficient level of detail. It has been found wanting in most departments and has mostly been thriving on effective PR exercises. It is not Tharoor's personal opinion, it is all based on articles available on the net and every chapter has a no. of citations and it was fun checking out a few of them that I found interesting. It is a 500 pages book and the biggest in terms of pages that I have read this year. So I can assure you it holds your interest. Only thing is I would like to read a book that effectively contradicts what is being said but based on solid facts. Do recommend if you have something in mind
It is a well researched and very well written one. Tharoor doesn't get into criticism of Modi ji on any personal angle. The book came out in 2018 before BJP was re-elected for a 2nd term. The writing is very very good ...of course, it is non-fiction but I think I have to mention that. To sum up what is being said what I presumed before reading the book was true. This BJP govt is all talk and mostly not much of execution. The performance of the govt in every aspect from foreign policy to economy has been analyzed with sufficient level of detail. It has been found wanting in most departments and has mostly been thriving on effective PR exercises. It is not Tharoor's personal opinion, it is all based on articles available on the net and every chapter has a no. of citations and it was fun checking out a few of them that I found interesting. It is a 500 pages book and the biggest in terms of pages that I have read this year. So I can assure you it holds your interest. Only thing is I would like to read a book that effectively contradicts what is being said but based on solid facts. Do recommend if you have something in mind
May 10, 2019
Highly biased book by Modi-hater Shashi Tharoor. A third of the book is about failures of 57 years of Congress governments but Tharoor (in his wisdom) blames Modi for them. Another third is about Tharoor's wisdom on what India's foreign policy should be. Only the balance third is truly about Modi's failures or weaknesses, but here too, facts are twisted to favour Modi detractors like the Author. There was a point I wanted to write a retort to this book, but decided not to waste my time on Tharoor.
May 26, 2021
Curious Case of Confirmation Bias-2/5
Mr. Shashi Tharoor, a member of parliament from Indian Nation Congress party, wrote this book with keeping Mr. Narendra Modi as the motif of the book, who is currently the prime minister of India and is member of the opposition party and I must say, either one can love this book who is not a fan of Mr. Modi or one can hate this book who is a fanboy of Mr. Modi but to people like me who are neutral towards both of them, will give it an average rating.
This book is aimed totally at criticizing Mr. Modi and his government and count the failures that has happened so far, as if the UPA governance was spotless! *chuckles*
I have read multiple books by MR. Tharoor and enjoyed them all thoroughly, because they had a lot of insights for reader, and one feel enrich with knowledge after reading them, but sadly this book fails to do any of it, the only thing it does it incessantly blaming the NDA alliance and making readers realize that how twisted and megalomaniac Mr. Modi's mind is.
Also, it feels like I am not reading a book for most part of it, but a statistical report of what nots! The book feels repetitive and exhausting to read after a point. Everybody knows that NDA has it's share of failure and nobody is perfect and honest to the core, but how to enjoy a 500 pages long rant on a single person, clearly not a cup of my tea.
Mr. Shashi Tharoor, a member of parliament from Indian Nation Congress party, wrote this book with keeping Mr. Narendra Modi as the motif of the book, who is currently the prime minister of India and is member of the opposition party and I must say, either one can love this book who is not a fan of Mr. Modi or one can hate this book who is a fanboy of Mr. Modi but to people like me who are neutral towards both of them, will give it an average rating.
This book is aimed totally at criticizing Mr. Modi and his government and count the failures that has happened so far, as if the UPA governance was spotless! *chuckles*
I have read multiple books by MR. Tharoor and enjoyed them all thoroughly, because they had a lot of insights for reader, and one feel enrich with knowledge after reading them, but sadly this book fails to do any of it, the only thing it does it incessantly blaming the NDA alliance and making readers realize that how twisted and megalomaniac Mr. Modi's mind is.
Also, it feels like I am not reading a book for most part of it, but a statistical report of what nots! The book feels repetitive and exhausting to read after a point. Everybody knows that NDA has it's share of failure and nobody is perfect and honest to the core, but how to enjoy a 500 pages long rant on a single person, clearly not a cup of my tea.
July 5, 2019
As is true for most of his books, in this book too Tharoor talks a lot without saying much.
This book is just a collection of ideas which are too well known to deserve a separate book. Everyone who reads newspaper regularly knows everything that this book has to offer.
Problem with Tharoor is that he is a "second hand writer". What I mean is that he just collects in his books what is already established. There is no new hypothesis, no in depth analysis which could throw light on his distinguished understanding of the subject matter.
To make matter worse, while this book is obviously about paradoxes of Modi leadership, Tharoor often starts to list failures governance that are legacy issues of his own government. This again makes this book a generalised commentary on the state of the affairs instead of insights into the minds of Modi government.
Bellow average.
This book is just a collection of ideas which are too well known to deserve a separate book. Everyone who reads newspaper regularly knows everything that this book has to offer.
Problem with Tharoor is that he is a "second hand writer". What I mean is that he just collects in his books what is already established. There is no new hypothesis, no in depth analysis which could throw light on his distinguished understanding of the subject matter.
To make matter worse, while this book is obviously about paradoxes of Modi leadership, Tharoor often starts to list failures governance that are legacy issues of his own government. This again makes this book a generalised commentary on the state of the affairs instead of insights into the minds of Modi government.
Bellow average.
May 2, 2019
'The Paradoxical Prime Minister (Narendra Modi and his India)' by Shashi Tharoor is a well-researched and highly informative book. In it, Dr. Tharoor has minutely analysed and elaborately described the last five years of the Modi-led BJP government at the centre. While many would say that the author being a Member of Parliament from the Congress party (which at the time of posting this review is in Opposition) would lay out a biased perspective for the readers - that is not the case. All his arguments are armed with verifiable facts. He has also given Mr. Modi the credit where it is due - although there are hardly any areas in which the Prime Minister has given him the opportunity to do so. The author examines the paradox that Narendra Modi personifies - on the one hand he paints a picture of a developed and flourishing India, while on the other hand he remains deeply rooted in the regressive Hindutva ideology propagated by the BJP's parent organisation RSS, that probably is the biggest threat to the nation's advancement.
This book is not a personal attack on Modi ji as the title would suggest. It takes into account the key decisions and policies undertaken by the NDA government and sticks strictly to factual knowledge. Dr. Tharoor has critiqued in detail the catastrophic demonetisation exercise, botched roll out of the Goods and Services Tax, the crumbling autonomy of institutions, the prevailing communal disharmony in the nation since the far-right ideology rose to dominance, curtailing of press freedom, bigotry, horrifying attempts to change the Constitution, and several other significant elements.
Not only that but he has also offered remedial measures that could have been taken to improve the sorry state of affairs in the country. But it made me wonder why the previous Congress government did not adopt them since some of the problems presently being faced by India - though aggravated further by the BJP - have existed even when the Congress party was in power. Dr. Tharoor correctly concludes that India can never march ahead on the path of progress if its secular fabric is destroyed. This book has made me a lot more cognizant as a citizen than I might have been earlier.
I am relatively a novice to the non-fiction genre and whichever few books that I have read under it so far have been memoirs. So this book was quite different, and also my first by the prolific writer Shashi Tharoor. Yes, he uses big words at times but most often their meaning can be derived from the context. Reading the book therefore was not an intimidating experience and anyway it never hurts to enrich one's vocabulary. There were few parts in the middle of the book where it got too theoretical and I personally felt bored with it - but I am glad I didn't give up as thankfully it did not stay that way for long. Besides, as Dr. Tharoor has stated in the dedication: 'To the people of India who deserve better' - The Paradoxical Prime Minister is a definitely must-read to find out why. Truly, an eye-opener to the ongoing harsh reality.
This book is not a personal attack on Modi ji as the title would suggest. It takes into account the key decisions and policies undertaken by the NDA government and sticks strictly to factual knowledge. Dr. Tharoor has critiqued in detail the catastrophic demonetisation exercise, botched roll out of the Goods and Services Tax, the crumbling autonomy of institutions, the prevailing communal disharmony in the nation since the far-right ideology rose to dominance, curtailing of press freedom, bigotry, horrifying attempts to change the Constitution, and several other significant elements.
Not only that but he has also offered remedial measures that could have been taken to improve the sorry state of affairs in the country. But it made me wonder why the previous Congress government did not adopt them since some of the problems presently being faced by India - though aggravated further by the BJP - have existed even when the Congress party was in power. Dr. Tharoor correctly concludes that India can never march ahead on the path of progress if its secular fabric is destroyed. This book has made me a lot more cognizant as a citizen than I might have been earlier.
I am relatively a novice to the non-fiction genre and whichever few books that I have read under it so far have been memoirs. So this book was quite different, and also my first by the prolific writer Shashi Tharoor. Yes, he uses big words at times but most often their meaning can be derived from the context. Reading the book therefore was not an intimidating experience and anyway it never hurts to enrich one's vocabulary. There were few parts in the middle of the book where it got too theoretical and I personally felt bored with it - but I am glad I didn't give up as thankfully it did not stay that way for long. Besides, as Dr. Tharoor has stated in the dedication: 'To the people of India who deserve better' - The Paradoxical Prime Minister is a definitely must-read to find out why. Truly, an eye-opener to the ongoing harsh reality.
February 3, 2019
The book Paradoxical prime minister can be used as a fact check sheet of all the pitfalls or failures of Mr. Modi and his NDA government for the past 5 years of its rule.
Comprising of 500 pages and spread across five sections, Mr. Tharoor tries to scrutinise each and every promises Modi government made but failed to keep.
The rise of gaurakshaks, disputes in the name of religion and religious interests, uproaring number of cabinet ministers based on parties interests, demonetization etc being few among them.
Having read his two other books "An Era of Darkness" and "Why I am a Hindu", I found this book to be little dragging unlike the other two. With Mr Tharoor trying to do a shadow campaign for his own political party for the upcoming election with an overflow of his opinions on a long list of issues.
There is no doubt on the information being provided in this book and it is well researched with all the sources being provided as the footer in each page.
For people like me who don't have any particular political interests, this book can be a one time read with engrossed facts on Mr Modi and his actions.
Comprising of 500 pages and spread across five sections, Mr. Tharoor tries to scrutinise each and every promises Modi government made but failed to keep.
The rise of gaurakshaks, disputes in the name of religion and religious interests, uproaring number of cabinet ministers based on parties interests, demonetization etc being few among them.
Having read his two other books "An Era of Darkness" and "Why I am a Hindu", I found this book to be little dragging unlike the other two. With Mr Tharoor trying to do a shadow campaign for his own political party for the upcoming election with an overflow of his opinions on a long list of issues.
There is no doubt on the information being provided in this book and it is well researched with all the sources being provided as the footer in each page.
For people like me who don't have any particular political interests, this book can be a one time read with engrossed facts on Mr Modi and his actions.
January 14, 2019
As always Shashi Tharoor writes so well that it's very easy to read. This book is not just about Prime Minister Modi but his whole administration since the BJP came to power. Book is well timed as general elections are due in a few months time and the author would hope to sway some votes from the reading elite towards the Congress party (of which he is an MP). Would like to see some kind of response from BJP on the issues he has raised in the book many of which are valid and worth debating or reflecting on.
I guess it's only 3 stars because somewhere along the line I think he has lost his individual thinking and has started to sound like a party man. Inevitable I suppose.
Something else I happened to note is that his name is on header of every even numbered page, usually we tend to see chapter or section names on one page and the book name on the other header...He really wants every reader to make note of his name..
Still a really smart and erudite man with a golden tongue and I am proud to have him represent Thiruvananthapuram, my hometown.
I guess it's only 3 stars because somewhere along the line I think he has lost his individual thinking and has started to sound like a party man. Inevitable I suppose.
Something else I happened to note is that his name is on header of every even numbered page, usually we tend to see chapter or section names on one page and the book name on the other header...He really wants every reader to make note of his name..
Still a really smart and erudite man with a golden tongue and I am proud to have him represent Thiruvananthapuram, my hometown.
February 19, 2022
As always Mr. Tharoor has made me run to the dictionary for almost every paragraph. This book stands testimony to his ability to produce a competent political prose of high quality in language.
Though the content seems negatively biased targeting the personal life and traits of a national leader; to a neutral reader, this criticism would apply to any leader that India has witnessed in the past especially in their failure to deliver what was promised. It is highly saddening that over the 7decades of independence we are still struggling to become a stabilized nation in a country where politicians target each other more negatively than offering constructive criticism.
From a common man's perspective, we have ran out of options for a leader who would lead us into dream of a "Developed India" in a country where the ruling party fails and the others feed on its failure, irrespective of which party sits where as we fight for a breath 🫁 of oxygen down the streets of the capital.
Though the content seems negatively biased targeting the personal life and traits of a national leader; to a neutral reader, this criticism would apply to any leader that India has witnessed in the past especially in their failure to deliver what was promised. It is highly saddening that over the 7decades of independence we are still struggling to become a stabilized nation in a country where politicians target each other more negatively than offering constructive criticism.
From a common man's perspective, we have ran out of options for a leader who would lead us into dream of a "Developed India" in a country where the ruling party fails and the others feed on its failure, irrespective of which party sits where as we fight for a breath 🫁 of oxygen down the streets of the capital.
January 27, 2019
Extraordinary book .
An extraordinary personality has been analyzed in an extremely unbiased manner. Opinion about this paradox has been based on facts and figures. With a n increasingly biased media this book needs to be read by the citizens of India before they vote in next few months.
An extraordinary personality has been analyzed in an extremely unbiased manner. Opinion about this paradox has been based on facts and figures. With a n increasingly biased media this book needs to be read by the citizens of India before they vote in next few months.
January 2, 2020
Although the writing experience for Mr. Tharoor might have been an act in floccinaucinihilipilification, reading the book might not be so.
It is hard to rate this book from a non-partisan perspective as a political bias on such a topic is inevitable. The book very vividly describes the milestones of the first term held by our PM. While Tharoor very conveniently divides the book into five chapters, covering a plethora of aspects like foreign policy, economic reforms, and societal transformations, the Hindutva centered criticism is often held as the recurrent narrative. The latter aspect sometimes makes it resonant (and often redundant) with Why am I a Hindu, which is a better context for the criticism that he resorts to in this case. However, many important decisions by the current government (2014) are well referenced and described in a kiss-and-go flow albeit with customary Tharoorian expressions.
Secondly, the 'how it was/could have been better in UPA era' is a flavor that quite frequently dilutes the rather good objective criticism of the Modi government. This is probably what made the book incur the wrath of so many readers as being a paradox on the writer than that on the subject. On the other hand, some great points made by Mr. Tharoor refer to his comparison of our PM and his journey to the Napoleonic rise of some other word leaders like Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Personally, I'd have to loved if this was placed more adequately in context of international politics as to how personality cults have led to a compromise in the democratic functioning of various other democracies.
More importantly, the affiliation of the writer to a political party doesn't jeopardize the factual truth about the bad statistics of the current (2014-2019) government. That's why I'd like to recommend this book to every avid reader of Indian politics.
Kurzgesagt, reading this book is a good experience but not as great as Why am I a Hindu or perhaps other better reads like India Shastra or Great Indian novel.
It is hard to rate this book from a non-partisan perspective as a political bias on such a topic is inevitable. The book very vividly describes the milestones of the first term held by our PM. While Tharoor very conveniently divides the book into five chapters, covering a plethora of aspects like foreign policy, economic reforms, and societal transformations, the Hindutva centered criticism is often held as the recurrent narrative. The latter aspect sometimes makes it resonant (and often redundant) with Why am I a Hindu, which is a better context for the criticism that he resorts to in this case. However, many important decisions by the current government (2014) are well referenced and described in a kiss-and-go flow albeit with customary Tharoorian expressions.
Secondly, the 'how it was/could have been better in UPA era' is a flavor that quite frequently dilutes the rather good objective criticism of the Modi government. This is probably what made the book incur the wrath of so many readers as being a paradox on the writer than that on the subject. On the other hand, some great points made by Mr. Tharoor refer to his comparison of our PM and his journey to the Napoleonic rise of some other word leaders like Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Personally, I'd have to loved if this was placed more adequately in context of international politics as to how personality cults have led to a compromise in the democratic functioning of various other democracies.
More importantly, the affiliation of the writer to a political party doesn't jeopardize the factual truth about the bad statistics of the current (2014-2019) government. That's why I'd like to recommend this book to every avid reader of Indian politics.
Kurzgesagt, reading this book is a good experience but not as great as Why am I a Hindu or perhaps other better reads like India Shastra or Great Indian novel.
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