Praise for the Book
In [this book], Kidwai acts both as a political historian and a storyteller. Those interested in Indian politics will find Leaders, Politicians, Citizens an intriguing and indeed enjoyable introductory guide to the titans who have shaped Indias raucous, frustrating and fascinating political history.
Shashi Tharoor, Member of Parliament, and Chairman,
All India Professionals Congress
An unusual anthology Rasheed Kidwai, one of Indias sharpest political commentators, brings together his assessments of several public figures originally written as obituaries. These luminous profiles both inform and educate, apart from evoking nostalgia.
Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament and author
Rasheed Kidwais fascinating book provides a greatly readable and insightful window to understanding the lives of fifty Indians who have shaped the politics of India. As an insider to the tumultuous unfolding of events of modern India, he has the knack of effortlessly blending anecdote with history and fact with analysis. A must-read for anyone who wants to know Indias past in order to understand its future.
Pavan K. Varma, author, diplomat, politician
First published in India in 2022 by Hachette India
(Registered name: Hachette Book Publishing India Pvt. Ltd)
An Hachette UK company
www.hachetteindia.com
This ebook published in 2022
(Text) Copyright 2022 Rasheed Kidwai
Rasheed Kidwai asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be copied, reproduced, downloaded, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover or digital format other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
The views and opinions expressed in this book are the authors own, and the facts are as reported by him and have been verified to the extent possible. The publishers are not in any way liable for the same.
Sources have been referenced and quotes acknowledged to the best of the authors ability. Any inadvertent omissions brought to our attention in writing will be remedied in future editions.
Front cover images of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Balasaheb Thackeray, Sheila
Dikshit and Indira Gandhi courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Front cover images of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Sheikh Abdullah courtesy
Getty Images
Cover design by Gavin Morris
Paperback edition ISBN 978-93-91028-16-9
Ebook edition ISBN 978-93-91028-24-4
Typeset in Dante MT Std 10.5/14
by InoSoft Systems, Noida
Hachette Book Publishing India Pvt. Ltd
4th/5th Floors, Corporate Centre,
Plot No. 94, Sector 44, Gurugram 122003, India
For my wife, Dr Farah Kidwai
CONTENTS
Before I humbly invite readers to pick up this book, I feel I owe them an explanation. I was never on a dead beat, if you can pardon the expression. As a political reporter, I have loved going beyond the quotes politicians dished out and the tea and biscuits that were served as they did so. For me, it was always the conversations that were had away from politics that revealed fascinating aspects of characters which would otherwise have remained buried. What drew me to explore the personalities behind the politicians were the stories of human ambition, emotions, insecurities and, invariably, the motivations behind individual quests for longevity in public life. Every life is unique and this volume attempts to showcase that uniqueness.
But how did I first hit upon the idea of writing obituaries of politicians and other key figures who had passed on? I am grateful to my friends Richa Sharma and Sobhana Nair for coming up with the suggestion. Both Richa and Sobhana insisted that I had a knack for storytelling and profiling the lives of some of the most influential and, often, whimsical individuals who brought colour to Indian politics.
Still, writing the obituaries was not easy. Penning down an idealized account was out of the question. Every time I sat down to write about someone whom I had met on numerous occasions, followed closely, or read and researched about extensively, a range of moral and ethical questions clogged my mind. What if the dead could speak or read? Would they be vexed, pleased or bemused by my accounts?
This, of course, gives rise to a counterargument. Surely, those who had been part of our national life and contributed to the making of the nation deserve a documentation of their journey, even if the exercise is conducted in a subjective manner. My attempt has been to describe what I knew the person to be, to be as candid as possible, to avoid euphemisms and remain sensitive. While these goals sound good, they are impossible to achieve fully.
Most personalities covered in the book deserve a full-length biographical account, but the idea was for this volume to simply give the reader a glimpse of their lesser-known sides. Discerning readers will notice that the work is not only packed with national figures but also peppered with regional satraps. Leaders like N.D. Tiwari, Arjun Singh, Motilal Vora and A.R. Antulay dabbled in state politics as chief ministers. I must also concede that as a political journalist I have been more well-versed with Congress politicians as I mostly covered the activities of that party. Besides, the Congress played a pivotal role in India in the years after Independence, particularly up to the 1980s. To add to the flavour, a few lesser-known state-level politicians such as Babulal Gaur and Hazarilal Raghuvanshi have been included because their stories have a wide appeal.
My God-fearing wife, Dr Farah Kidwai, insisted that I be gentle with the deceased as they deserve the kind of remembrance that captures their essence rather than their follies or acts of indiscretion in a particular phase of their lives. She reminded me constantly that the dead were no more and could not speak for themselves. Thank you, Farah, for such sensitive and valuable advice.
Readers will notice the wide range of people represented in this compilation. Not all of them are politicians or elected representatives. Some are merely prominent personalities. While not all of them are well known, they all have, in their own way, left their mark in their chosen spheres. The idea was to tell their story in the most interesting way possible. It is up to my readers to decide if I have succeeded. All I can say is that I tried my best.
Since obituaries are not biographies, details such as important dates, affiliations, and the names of spouses and children have largely been excluded. Putting these profiles into some kind of order posed a challenge. My publisher suggested ordering them alphabetically by their surnames, keeping in mind the readers who may wish to easily locate profiles of interest to them. This is what has been followed.
I am grateful to the Telegraph (Calcutta), Mumbai Mirror , The Print , the News 18 blog, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Rediff, the India Today web edition, the ABP News blog, The Quint , The Wire and other publications for having previously published parts of some of the profiles compiled here.
I cannot thank three people from Hachette India enough, for playing a key role in this endeavour Poulomi Chatterjee, editor-in-chief and publisher, and editors Ansila Thomas and Anju Christine. They made significant and pertinent observations while discussing the final shape of the book. My thanks also to Sini Nair and others in the Hachette India team who make working with them truly memorable. This is my fourth book with Hachette India, after 24 Akbar Road: A Short History of the People Behind the Fall and Rise of the Congress , Ballot: Ten Episodes that have Shaped Indias Democracy and Neta Abhineta: Bollywood Star Power in Indian Politics . I am grateful to them for their faith in me.
