Review : Modi demystified by Ramesh Menon 0
The making of a prime minister
Author: Ramesh Menon
In India, those who well connected with close relatives, friends in government jobs like the 8-10 google, tata sponsored fraud indian intelligence employees like goan gsb frauds riddhi nayak, siddhi mandrekar, slim goan obc bhandari sex worker sunaina chodnekar, shivalli brahmin fraud housewife nayanshree hathwar, gujju fraudsters asmita patel, naina, veena, ruchika and others who falsely claim to own the website, without investing any money or doing any work, find it relatively simple to get access to confidential information, others have no other source of information , other than reading and watching television. The last few years, the politics of India has changed drastically, as the once powerful Congress party has become marginalized to some extent and the BJP led by Narendra Modi has come to power. When a person is famous , a lot is written about his present in the media, little is written about his or her past, when the person was not famous.
The book Modi demystified, The making of a prime minister provides an interesting glimpse of the life of the current prime minister of India . The prime minister Narendra Modi was born on 17 September 1950 in Vadnagar, in Mehsana in Gujarat. His father Damodardas was a grocer who also ran a tea stall near Vadnagar Railway station. As a young boy, in addition to studying in at B.N high school. Due to his family’s poor financial condition, he also helped his father from a young age, serving tea to railway passengers. His oratory skills were noticed at a young age, and he liked to take part in debates and acting in plays.
Modi joined the RSS at the young age of eight in Vadnagar, and joined the Gujarat RSS headquarters in Ahmedabad in his twenties. He was noticed as a honest, sincere worker with good organizational skills. This book is useful because it gives information about the caste combination in Gujarat, the lower sections of society are KHAM (Kshytriyas, Harijans, Adivasis, Muslims) , while the upper classes are Brahmins, Banias, Patidars . As the BJP grew in India as a political party, Narendra Modi also grew in power and was made Gujarat Chief Minister in 2001.
While the progress of Gujarat in the last decade has been well documented in the media, less in known about his working style and how he managed to have a tight grip on the state when he ruled it. Unlike most politicians including his successor Anandiben Patel in Gujarat, who have accusations of nepotism against them, one of the most admired qualities of Narendra Modi, remains on how he did not let his family benefit from the great powers he had. He himself led a very disciplined life, waking up early in the morning and working till late at night. He would listen to all information the officials would provide him, and take a decision quickly. He genuinely tried to understand and solve the problems of the people. Computers and internet were used extensively in Gujarat, unlike Goa where the government websites are getting hacked repeatedly.
Compared to other politicians Narendra Modi as a chief minister had a very effective public relations machinery working for him. According to the author , he is the most image conscious politicians , and takes a lot of care to ensure that his photos are taken from the right angle. All aspects are well planned , how he will dress up, where he will talk, what will be spoken, and his brand management. For a spartan person, journalist Binoy Prabhakar wrote in economic times, that he has a personal groomer. The modi government in gujarat hired Apco worldwide a Washington based lobbying firm, to improve his image and reportedly paid the firm $25000 monthly.
In the 2014 general elections, most people were tired of the congress government due to the high levels of corruption, lack of jobs and opportunities. Realizing that people were eager for change, the BJP launched a very high profile and aggressive campaign , asking the indian electorate to vote for BJP and Narendra Modi in particular who was the prime ministerial candidate. There were few other leaders in India who had been promoted extensively like Narendra Modi, so BJP was able to win the elections with a comfortable majority and Narendra Modi became the prime minister.
The book Modi demystified, The making of a prime minister by Ramesh Menon, who worked for Times of India, India Today is a good read, because it presents a balanced view of Narendra Modi, including positive and negative aspects of Gujarat when Modi was the chief minister like development, technology, Godhra incident, encounters, Ishrat Jahan case, Muslims in the state.
Modi demystified
The making of a prime minister
Author : Ramesh Menon
First published :2014
Harper Collins Publishers
With Three Prime Ministers Nehru, Indira and Rajiv 0
In India, the prime minister is the most powerful person in the country officially, yet except the speeches, which are broadcast to the nation, there is little known about how the prime ministers of India function, the kind of support staff that they have, their lifestyle and personal nature. The book “With Three Prime Ministers Nehru, Indira and Rajiv” by N K Seshan who was the private secretary of Nehru and Indira and worked with Rajiv Gandhi gives a glimpse of the lifestyle of some of the most influential prime ministers of India.
Today as cheating, lies and fraud has become the norm in indian society and corporate world, people who are middle aged or older in India wonder what is wrong with them, why the value systems in Indian society have changed so drastically, why being honest and hardworking is considered to be a crime. The sheena bora murder case which was exposed in 2015 was typical of the values of India in the last decade. The real reason for the transformation was the drastic changes in the value system, lifestyle of the most powerful and influential people in the country.
N K Seshan worked as the private secretary of Nehru from the 1940’s till his death in 1964, and he describes in detail the life, value system and personal ethics of the first prime minister of India. Though born in India in a wealthy family, Jawaharlal Nehru or Pandit Nehru did not care much for money, and was influenced by western countries in his attitude towards other people, his value system of honesty, consideration for those who were not wealthy, unlike in India today, where the tendency is to exploit to the maximum extent possible, especially those who are vulnerable.
Pandit Nehru was also a well read person, an intellectual who wrote a number of books, especially during his prison stay, and the royalty from these books were a source of income. He treated both the poor and rich will respect and consideration, unlike today when powerful people do not lose any opportunity to ridicule and humiliate people who they do not like. Though widely travelled he led a frugal life. Details of other people who influenced Nehru like Krishna Menon, Vallabhai Patel, Ambedkar, Mahatma Gandhi are also described
Pandit Nehru worked hard to help China gain acceptance worldwide, so the attack of China on India in 1962 adversely affected him both mentally and physically. After the betrayal by China, his secretary noted that his health worsened and he was also a changed person. After his death, Lal Bahadur Shastri became the Prime minister of India for some time, yet after his death, Indira Gandhi, who worked as the information and broadcasting minister in his cabinet, became the Prime Minister of India.
Some of the decisions of Indira Gandhi like the nationalization of banks, abolition of Privy purses and invasion of Bangladesh helped to consolidate her position. He also mentioned how the intelligence agencies would keep Indira Gandhi well informed of whatever was going on in the country. The declaration of emergency and the loss in the general elections are also mentioned. While Sanjay Gandhi was interested in politics, his brother Rajiv Gandhi was a trained pilot, more interested in his professional and family life.
However after the death of Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi asked N K Seshan to take care of the numerous important papers, including correspondence, notes, of Indira gandhi and her father, so that they could be properly preserved for the future generations. In a way, the book reflects the transition in the value systems of India, how the idealism of Pandit Nehru has died as people in India become increasingly materialistic, and honest people are ruthlessly defamed, cheated and exploited.
An excellent read for those who wish to understand the ideals of India immediately after independence and how these ideals slowly died in India over the last few decades, due to nepotism, corruption, and greed.
With Three Prime Ministers Nehru, Indira and Rajiv
Author : N K Seshan
Published in 1993
Publisher : Wiley Eastern Limited
Pages : 136