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BAAHUBALIS OF INDIAN POLITICS: From Bullet to Ballot
They are considered Robin Hoods by some, and dons and mafiosi by others. They are elected democratically. But they survive through the power of their bullets. They are the Baahubali politicians of the world’s largest democracy—India.Across the country and over the decades, there have been people who either got into politics through money and muscle power or gained either or both after their entry into politics. Their careers have been pockmarked with criminal activity, and they have not hesitated to use their muscle and money power to get ahead. Nearly all of them have been imprisoned at some point in their lives—and quite a few are still serving prison terms or awaiting justice. Based on research and reportage, this book brings to the readers the origin, rise and fall of Baahubali politicians across the country—from Arun Gawli to Raja Bhaiya and from Mohammad Shahabuddin to Mukhtar Ansari and many more… Through their stories the author shows how money and muscle power continue to exert a malignant infl¬uence on politics in India.
187 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 10, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
April 4, 2021
Due to the positive image created by the movie series Bahubali, I was expecting a list of political heroes of Indian politics from "BAAHUBALIS OF INDIAN POLITICS: From Bullet to Ballot" by Rajesh Singh book. But this book gives us 11 real characters of Indian politics who reach on top using the wrong means. And then the actual meaning of the title made more sense to me.
The book is based on 11 notorious characters who used their power to the extreme that they reach mainstream politics. Many of these characters started as Robinhood or messiah of poor or Dalits or tribesmen. On another end, few were more deep-rooted in the criminal world. They knew staying mainstream crimes won't be a long-running game, they took use of their power or support of their follower and became MP or MLAs or higher up in political parties.
My observations
1) Author has gathered good information about each Bahubali. Each of them got around 15-25 pages. I knew looking at their life's events this is not even the tip of the iceberg, but the author has done a good job.
2) Language is easy and writing is smooth.
3) You can find many of these characters on Google as well, and probably more in-depth. This book can reduce your efforts of Googling.
I found the book a one-time read. I will give 3.25 out of 5 to this book.
The book is based on 11 notorious characters who used their power to the extreme that they reach mainstream politics. Many of these characters started as Robinhood or messiah of poor or Dalits or tribesmen. On another end, few were more deep-rooted in the criminal world. They knew staying mainstream crimes won't be a long-running game, they took use of their power or support of their follower and became MP or MLAs or higher up in political parties.
My observations
1) Author has gathered good information about each Bahubali. Each of them got around 15-25 pages. I knew looking at their life's events this is not even the tip of the iceberg, but the author has done a good job.
2) Language is easy and writing is smooth.
3) You can find many of these characters on Google as well, and probably more in-depth. This book can reduce your efforts of Googling.
I found the book a one-time read. I will give 3.25 out of 5 to this book.
December 18, 2020
There are exceptional movies, such as Shawshank Redemption or the Dark Knight, which can really stimulate your mind. And then there are "time-pass" movies - think 'Meri Jung - One Man Army' that you put on when you want to relax.
I had picked up this book thinking it would fit into the latter category. I was wrong. It falls in a third category: a school kid who was just gifted a video camera by his parents, and decided to make the next blockbuster. Sadly for the kid, he has no experience or knowledge of making movies. In case that metaphor was too difficult to follow, the kid is Rajesh Singh and the movie is this book.
There is no structure, no clarity in writing. Some paragraphs are 1.5 pages long, and extremely dull to read. Author has no clue at the beginning of a paragraph as to what it's supposed to convey to the reader by the end of that paragraph: it's a surprise, could be anything - even the author doesn't know!
It feels like the author has just learnt how to use end/footnotes, but has no clue how to use them properly. Forget appropriate use of endnotes, the author doesn't even cite his sources. One wonders as to what is the credibility of whatever he has stated. And at places where he does bother to cite, it's often a secondary source - another book on criminals & politicians, news reports, or worse, wikipedia.
Arre bhai, wouldn't it make more sense for a reader to read those books which you essentially just summarise, rather than reading a summary of it in your chapters? The author needs to introspect and ask, what is his contribution to the story, the conversation? All he has done is summarised works of other people, and added some stuff of his own the source of which is unknown (and thus, unreliable).
There are also big logical gaps in conclusions drawn by the author (at points where he does bother to draw any, that is). Overall, it's only a superficial analysis. This could had been a spectacular book had the author been more scholarly, gone for a more in-depth understanding of what he is saying, cited the sources wherever he made his claims and overall wrote in a gripping manner. To illustrate how bad the writing is, consider this paradoxical sentence he uses to describe the situation of Brijesh Singh:
"It was a do-or-die situation for the latter, who bided his time."
Was it really a do-or-die situation, if he could bide his time? Get some clarity man.
Lastly, the author seems to be frustrated with the judiciary but lacks any proper understanding of criminal law. At multiple places he says courts acquitted X for want of evidence (which is like saying "he died because of death") in a tone clearly critical of the judiciary, not estimating the failure of the administration overall to bring forth a good case. He cites random websites to refer to caselaws, instead of citing the actual judgement (in case you are wondering, Mr. Singh, just give the Appeal/SLP/Crl. Case No. after fetching it from the court's website, instead of relying on second-grade unreliable websites who often do not have full text of the judgement).
I'd have no hesitation if a kid decided to tear the pages of this page and make paper planes out of it. That would be a more satisfying use of the 200-odd pages than making someone read the incoherent, unorganised walls of texts.
I had picked up this book thinking it would fit into the latter category. I was wrong. It falls in a third category: a school kid who was just gifted a video camera by his parents, and decided to make the next blockbuster. Sadly for the kid, he has no experience or knowledge of making movies. In case that metaphor was too difficult to follow, the kid is Rajesh Singh and the movie is this book.
There is no structure, no clarity in writing. Some paragraphs are 1.5 pages long, and extremely dull to read. Author has no clue at the beginning of a paragraph as to what it's supposed to convey to the reader by the end of that paragraph: it's a surprise, could be anything - even the author doesn't know!
It feels like the author has just learnt how to use end/footnotes, but has no clue how to use them properly. Forget appropriate use of endnotes, the author doesn't even cite his sources. One wonders as to what is the credibility of whatever he has stated. And at places where he does bother to cite, it's often a secondary source - another book on criminals & politicians, news reports, or worse, wikipedia.
Arre bhai, wouldn't it make more sense for a reader to read those books which you essentially just summarise, rather than reading a summary of it in your chapters? The author needs to introspect and ask, what is his contribution to the story, the conversation? All he has done is summarised works of other people, and added some stuff of his own the source of which is unknown (and thus, unreliable).
There are also big logical gaps in conclusions drawn by the author (at points where he does bother to draw any, that is). Overall, it's only a superficial analysis. This could had been a spectacular book had the author been more scholarly, gone for a more in-depth understanding of what he is saying, cited the sources wherever he made his claims and overall wrote in a gripping manner. To illustrate how bad the writing is, consider this paradoxical sentence he uses to describe the situation of Brijesh Singh:
"It was a do-or-die situation for the latter, who bided his time."
Was it really a do-or-die situation, if he could bide his time? Get some clarity man.
Lastly, the author seems to be frustrated with the judiciary but lacks any proper understanding of criminal law. At multiple places he says courts acquitted X for want of evidence (which is like saying "he died because of death") in a tone clearly critical of the judiciary, not estimating the failure of the administration overall to bring forth a good case. He cites random websites to refer to caselaws, instead of citing the actual judgement (in case you are wondering, Mr. Singh, just give the Appeal/SLP/Crl. Case No. after fetching it from the court's website, instead of relying on second-grade unreliable websites who often do not have full text of the judgement).
I'd have no hesitation if a kid decided to tear the pages of this page and make paper planes out of it. That would be a more satisfying use of the 200-odd pages than making someone read the incoherent, unorganised walls of texts.
April 6, 2021
Politics and muscle power have always been hand in gloves with each other. Howsoever, the politicians deny their clandestine association with the musclemen, it is known to even a child that they are closely associated. But what if these musclemen become politicians? The image that comes to mind would be that of a full-throttle action-packed movie with an unbelievably powerful muscle man politician. The book 'Bahubalis of Indian Politics' by Rajesh Singh bring to the spotlight the real picture of the political jugglery.
Bahubalis of Indian Politics
Unbelievable reality:
A politician under police custody being admitted to a hospital hires a floor of the hospital. Despite being under police custody he runs a parallel government in the hospital. Does that sound like a half baked fiction? If so, you are wrong. This is a reality, stranger than fiction. A politician flagrantly boasting about chopping off heads, another contesting the elections while cooling his feet in the prison - the scenario gets stranger with each story.
We would be flabbergasted to think about which era we are living in. The author has narrated the reality plainly without any filters.
Brave author :
The courage shown by the author in portraying the grim reality of rotten politics is commendable. He has shared the incidents in no uncertain terms. The author has brilliantly brought the victory of good over the evil message through the books. He deftly involves the readers in the real yet fictional world of the muscle men. The author has chronologically stated the events that clearly shows how these hooligans got what they deserve.
Overall the book is for the readers who are looking forward to political thrillers, though it is the original version.
Bahubalis of Indian Politics
Unbelievable reality:
A politician under police custody being admitted to a hospital hires a floor of the hospital. Despite being under police custody he runs a parallel government in the hospital. Does that sound like a half baked fiction? If so, you are wrong. This is a reality, stranger than fiction. A politician flagrantly boasting about chopping off heads, another contesting the elections while cooling his feet in the prison - the scenario gets stranger with each story.
We would be flabbergasted to think about which era we are living in. The author has narrated the reality plainly without any filters.
Brave author :
The courage shown by the author in portraying the grim reality of rotten politics is commendable. He has shared the incidents in no uncertain terms. The author has brilliantly brought the victory of good over the evil message through the books. He deftly involves the readers in the real yet fictional world of the muscle men. The author has chronologically stated the events that clearly shows how these hooligans got what they deserve.
Overall the book is for the readers who are looking forward to political thrillers, though it is the original version.
March 2, 2021
𝗕𝗔𝗔𝗛𝗨𝗕𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀: 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁
by Rajesh Singh
Publisher: @rupa_publications
The Family Man; Mirzapur; Bhaukaal; some series with which almost all of us are acquainted. The badass police officers who are tailing gangster, notorious criminals and corrupt politicians. Baahubalis Of Indian Politics is one such book, accounts of politicians who came into power through unfair means and continued these malpractices, the monetary power or muscle power, stories of familiar names like Arun Gawli, Raja Bhaiya, Mohammad Shahbuddin, Mukhtar An sari and other such leader who, through their monetary and muscle power, exert malignant influence on politics in India. And after they win elections this becomes more prominent; 'power tends to corrupt'.
11 well researched stories, penned with vivid details, narrating the stories of eleven notable 'Baahubali' politicians of India who made their way into politics either through money or muscle power, hence the name from ballot to bullets. People have varying ideas about these 'Baahubalis', some consider them Robin Hoods and some consider them to be dons and mafias. They never hesitate to misuse their power, they have long criminal records, they have served prison time and some are still imprisoned.
This turns our query towards an important topic, the mass mentality is to either crib about the issue at hand or to sweep it beneath the carpet and pretend as if everything is all good and rosy. People question in loud voices–"Why? Why is it so important to vote? It doesn't matter whom we vote, they all are cheats." It does matter, and we should vote.
by Rajesh Singh
Publisher: @rupa_publications
The Family Man; Mirzapur; Bhaukaal; some series with which almost all of us are acquainted. The badass police officers who are tailing gangster, notorious criminals and corrupt politicians. Baahubalis Of Indian Politics is one such book, accounts of politicians who came into power through unfair means and continued these malpractices, the monetary power or muscle power, stories of familiar names like Arun Gawli, Raja Bhaiya, Mohammad Shahbuddin, Mukhtar An sari and other such leader who, through their monetary and muscle power, exert malignant influence on politics in India. And after they win elections this becomes more prominent; 'power tends to corrupt'.
11 well researched stories, penned with vivid details, narrating the stories of eleven notable 'Baahubali' politicians of India who made their way into politics either through money or muscle power, hence the name from ballot to bullets. People have varying ideas about these 'Baahubalis', some consider them Robin Hoods and some consider them to be dons and mafias. They never hesitate to misuse their power, they have long criminal records, they have served prison time and some are still imprisoned.
This turns our query towards an important topic, the mass mentality is to either crib about the issue at hand or to sweep it beneath the carpet and pretend as if everything is all good and rosy. People question in loud voices–"Why? Why is it so important to vote? It doesn't matter whom we vote, they all are cheats." It does matter, and we should vote.
February 8, 2021
Indian Politics is a matter that needs no introduction to anyone. India, being the biggest democratic nation, its political system has seen its fair share of ups and downs, good and bad.
"Bahubalis of Indian Politics" by Rajesh Singh is an account of the stories of 11 notable 'bahubali' politicians of our country who have entered into the world of politics either through monetary/muscle power or have acquired the above after they entered into the political spectrum.
Though the stories of these politicians, the author have tried to bring into light the intricacies of the political arena in India and the factors that hold a great authority in its workings. Even though the career of these people has been tainted by criminal charges/accusations, they have always found their way back into the world of politics.
I really appreciate the amount of effort the author has put into this book. His account has instilled a curiosity in me to explore more about the Indian political system and its mechanics. The researches and their sources cited by the author are something I would like to look into a bit more to get better clarity on the things.
The one thing I struggled with a bit was the narrative. I found it slightly erratic and lacking in flow.
However, if you are someone who finds interest in politics or political happenings, you can pick this one up.
"Bahubalis of Indian Politics" by Rajesh Singh is an account of the stories of 11 notable 'bahubali' politicians of our country who have entered into the world of politics either through monetary/muscle power or have acquired the above after they entered into the political spectrum.
Though the stories of these politicians, the author have tried to bring into light the intricacies of the political arena in India and the factors that hold a great authority in its workings. Even though the career of these people has been tainted by criminal charges/accusations, they have always found their way back into the world of politics.
I really appreciate the amount of effort the author has put into this book. His account has instilled a curiosity in me to explore more about the Indian political system and its mechanics. The researches and their sources cited by the author are something I would like to look into a bit more to get better clarity on the things.
The one thing I struggled with a bit was the narrative. I found it slightly erratic and lacking in flow.
However, if you are someone who finds interest in politics or political happenings, you can pick this one up.
February 23, 2025
Picked up this book out of curiosity after watching Gangs of Wasseypur, just for a casual read.
January 4, 2026
Love the context, didn't like the structure, feeling more grateful for the government
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews