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PRE-ORDER NOW - Published: 13/06/2024
The finest biography of an Indian prime minister that I have read' Ramachandra Guha'Doubles as a history of Hindu supremacism; it won�_Tt be bettered for a long time�_T Pankaj Mishra Charismatic, sensitive, detached yet quietly ambitious, India�_Ts fabled twelfth prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was a man of unusual gifts and some dangerous flaws. His unintended entry into politics came in 1948 when he was an underground organizer of the proscribed Hindu-revivalist group, the RSS, one of whose adherents assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. In 1957, he became the first RSS swayamsevak (volunteer) to win a seat in India�_Ts parliament, the Lok Sabha. Soon, he became popular for his fiery speeches and maudlin poetry, bridging the contrasting worldviews of India�_Ts first prime minister, the liberal Jawaharlal Nehru, and Vinayak Savarkar, the leader of the conservative Hindu Mahasabha. In 1998, he became prime minister and steered India to a multi-party democracy. But his premiership also paved the way for Hindu revivalism and the rise to the power of the BJP. Abhishek Choudhary�_Ts Believer�_Ts Dilemma is a riveting account of the long career of one of the most influential and enigmatic Indian politicians, from his origins in Gwalior to his membership of the RSS, from his co-founding of the BJP to his premiership and its aftermath.Binding: Hardback