Accidental Prime Minister

This book felt like act 1 of a Shakespearean tragedy. Alas, or fortunately, the tale ends in this book on the cusp of the mighty falling. The author, Sanjaya Baru, a one time media adviser to Prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh uses the tell all to (in his words) humanize Dr Singh and tells the tale of his (and the PM's) time in the PMO from roughly 2004 - 2008. I thought it was a good effort at storytelling, regardless of the political hay that has been made of it. Mr Baru tells the tale as a set of professional and personal interactions between him and Dr Singh, which I thought was appropriate for this sort of book. There are a few instances near the end where he recounts events he could only have known about second hand/ from afar, but his commentary on events seems candid and honest. Has he aggrandized his own role in the key events he narrates? I suspect he might've done, but not overly. Has he given a good account of his time observing the PM? Absolutely! To anyone who followed the political narrative in the heady days of the UPA 1 government, this book merely confirms what we all suspected rather than reveals anything new. I found it a riveting account and read it in a day, flat. The PM is revealed to be what everyone suspected, and I felt if anything that the book was far more generous to him on the subject of the failures of UPA 2 than he deserves. History is brutal in the short term, but much kinder in the long term, and for all the savage press Mr Baru and Dr Singh have got, I suspect it will be kinder to both the book and the man. As a candid account like this goes, whether it is forgotten or remembered in the long run is immaterial. India in general, and the Delhi 'durbaar' of the Gandhi family in particular are far too finicky about image and the repercussions of the truth to allow recent history to be accessible to us, the people. In giving us a peek into the echo chamber of 7 Race Course Road and Raisina Hill, I think the book has served well.

Sanjaya Baru, the Indian PM's media adviser from 2004-2008, had a unique ringside view of how Mr. Manmohan Singh, the venerable PM worked with the bureaucracy and the political establishment. This book is s short memoir describing some of the key events during this period. Limited by the Official Secrets Act, and his personal loyalty to the PM, the book nevertheless offers some valuable insights into the PM's mind and style. The book is divided into 13 thematic chapters, which are also somewhat chronological. It starts with how Mr. Baru was invited to join the PM, how he developed his relationship with the PM, the problems he faced along the way, and his eventual evolution into a trusted adviser. This autobiographical content is interwoven with material about policy initiatives taken by the PM and how some of these panned out. A richer strand is of the difficult relationship between the PM and the party President, Mrs. Sonia Gandhi. The book offers a number of cameos to show how this relationship worked, the problems that arose, and the compromises that were made. Though Mr. Baru's loyalties are clear, he does makes an effort to be even-handed. The picture you get is of an honest PM, hobbled by inner Party politics, watched fearfully by dynastic hangers-on, and hamstrung by lack of a political background. Another rich vignette is that of the relationship between the Left and the Congress. Dr. Singh's work was hampered by the schisms within Left - he took advantage of some and was undone by others. Again Mr. Baru is even handed, though his irritation with Mr. Prakash Karat shows through. The book also suffers from some flaws: Mr. Baru has to leave out big chunks - some due to Official Secrets Act, and others due to his limited access to Dr. Singh's mind or how some of the games were played out. Another flaw is language - though Mr. Baru is a journalist and quite in command of English, some of it appears to be a little stultified. Maybe he has spent too much time writing the PM's speeches - it is difficult for him to write short sentences or use active voice. He also quotes longish passages from the speeches - is this narcissistic or a necessity? Nevertheless, an excellent book overall. It also deserves less sensationalism and more reading. I wish more bureaucrats would write more often about how our Government works! The edition I read was Kindle. Good layout on Paperwhite, though the speech text appears to be much smaller than the main text, and is difficult to read.

This book has the following pros and cons: 1) Strong and gripping narrative. The author can really put you into the action , the body of each of the characters. 2) You get to learn about Nuances about MMS , his views and his policies that never saw the light of day. Cons: 1) Very clear case of bias by the author, author doest cover fully cover all the view points or narratives. Just takes a partisan view on many many policies of MMS. 2) The author was the media advisor to Manmohan Singh, however his role in the book often takes that of political strategist, or political advisor also which is really strange and might also be uncalled for.

Sanjaya Baru has been an editor, economist, and professor at the University of Hyderabad and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore. He was the media advisor to Manmohan Singh during UPA regime(2004-2009). As both belong to the field of economics, Manmohan Singh as an economist was well known to Sanjaya Baru, but being very close to PM during (04-09) as his 'eyes and ears' and trusted aide made a powerful impact on Sanjaya Baru about Dr.Singh's image and personality. This book is about Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister and his PMO. The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh as the back cover says, 90% of the book is about the making of Dr.Singh as Prime Minister and the remaining 10% is about Unmaking. Dr.Singh neither belong to a political background nor won an election, he's been a Rajya Sabha member through his entire life. As an introvert and shy, he lacks public charm and eloquence in public meetings. He is not an extrovert to be confident and good at social situations, doesn't have the support of people as he is a Rajya Sabha member, Congress had formed its first coalition government and Sonia Gandhi is the ultimate boss as she made the government work under the party. Despite all these challenges and troublemakers in the party and in the left, he made India run by its highest growth rate, maintained coalition through the entire tenure and tried hard to improve relations with Pakistan to make borders irrelevant and cleared the nuclear apartheid of India. But at the end of UPA 2, he had become an object of ridicule because of scams under his leadership. As the author says ' In politics, it is all right to be loved or hated, but one should never become an object of ridicule'. He was very touched and felt sad about the situation of Manmohan Singh and with the encouragement of his friends and few editors he started to write about the time when he is in PMO. I loved the way he narrated the entire tenure of UPA1 , I thought the book will be in chronological order but it clearly justifies the sentence 'The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh'.As chapter by chapter, he tells us about how both met for the first time, get to know personally during the time in PMO and how the PM overcame personal and political challenges. The author explains about bureaucracy turf wars in PMO, people belonging to pro-Manmohan and Anti-Manmohan and how bureaucrats in PMO undermined him just because the author doesn't belong to All India Services. As a curious being, if you discover a small thing about working of any system, you will feel amazed. I have gone through the same feeling when I read the following sentences about bureaucracy and the working of media in our country. "In India's bureaucratic pecking order, officers of the Indian police service(IPS), are regarded as lesser mortals by the high flyers of the Foreign service, the IFS, and the real wielders of power, the IAS". "It was a popular saying that in india's power structures only three institutions mattered - the PM, the CM and the DM(district magistrate). " In the age of live television saturday morning was not prime time and a pre-lunch event(press conference) would enable the Opposition parties to dominate the airwaves at prime time in the evening. The head lines in the evening news bulletins would not be about what the PM said, but what his critics were saying. This would give TV journalists headline material and print journalists enough time to file their reports for the next day's papers. Hence the government's press conferences or press addressing are usually held in evening time". "Never convene a press conference without a headline in mind. One must never allow the media to hijack a press conference and focus on whatever they choose to, ignoring the main point that the prime minister had in mind". Manmohan Singh during his last press conference as PM on 3 January 2014 says the following words:- 'I honestly believe that history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media, or for that matter, the opposition parties in Parliament'. The purpose of the book is to tell the people of India about Manmohan Singh and what a kind of person he is. Personally, he has his flaws of not asserting his authority and being submissive to party President but as the author expresses his feelings in the words of Mao Zedong- '70:30 principle' -- no human is perfect, but if they are 70 percent good and 30 percent bad that is okay and Dr.Singh passes this 70:30 test easily. This book was great, excellent narrative style enjoyed every page of it. I think the purpose of the book is fulfilled. A compulsory book to read for those who are interested in contemporary politics.

Interesting book

I think this book gives a new perspective to Manmohan Singh and will help establish his legacy. Enjoyed it and look forward to seeing the movie now. I wish the author focused more on the PM and not so much about himself or establishing his credentials.

Lovely book. Must read for anyone interested in Indian politics. This book is not about India in General. Mostly about Manmohan Singh, congress party, Sonia Gandhi etc. After reading the book I have more respect for Manmohan for his abilities. More convinced that he lacks political skills and a strong spine. Even more distaste for Gandhi family and congress party in general. The later 2 (Gandhis and Congress) proved to be loathsome survivors rather than statesmen. They tried to project several good things done by Manmohan Singh as Rahul's victories. It was obvious to everyone how that was not the case. That's what 2014 elections proved.,£ Manmohan lacks spine, especially post 2009 elections, was something obvious from the book. Great read. Author is smart, articulate and makes the points well. Never did I feel bored. He kept a good pace. Would highly recommend the book.

India does not have a culture of contemporary history writing. This is a welcome beginning. Sanjay has set the bar very high for responsible, reasoned, respectful, reflective analysis. No rancour, no salaciousness, no exaggerations, no extrapolations. This book has moderated my rapidly rising distrust of Indian journalism.