Tavleen Singh's new book DURBAR gave rise to great expectations because it is one of those rare books written about Rajiv Gandhi era, but sadly the book does not live up to the expectations. It is superficial and gossipy, not expected of Tavleen, it looks like a Shobha De quickie. It is more of Tavleen's ego tripping in which she claims to have become a member of the "inner circle" of Delhi Durbar; partying with the high & mighty of Delhi including the Gandhis. But this insider status of hers, does not bring out any significant inside information, buried secrets, or in depth understanding of anything.
Rajiv Gandhi era remains one of the most significant, yet, least understood periods in India's political history and leaves many questions unanswered, one of which is; Despite the overwhelming mandate of 400+ Lok Sabha Seats, why & how did Rajiv Gandhi managed to make such a mess of himself? The question has not been convincingly been answered by anybody including Tavleen Singh. Many others like Mani Shanker Aiyyar who claim to have been in his "Kitchen Cabinet" have never been able to explain it.
I have been following Tavleen right from Mid 70's when she started her journalistic career and later on became a regular reader of her weekly column. I disagreed with her sycophantic defense of Man Mohan Singh just because he happened to be a Sikh like herself & I criticised her heavily on twitter. She blocked me. But she herself in due course changed her opinion about MMS.
I still admire her a lot, especially for her gutsy & brave decision to fight it out and bring up her son as a single mother against all odds after that Pakistani politician who she fell in love with, ditched and dumped her. Today her son Aatish Taseer is a fine young man and a fine writer.
Was RG really so naive as portrayed to be? Blame is laid on his coterie of advisers, but Arun Singh was an honest,sincere and decent guy, Arun Nehru was a super smart,crafty,brilliant strategist, VP Singh was honest & politically savvy who went on to become PM, then who? I cant think of RG relying on maverick Mani, or Steno Vincent George to mess up things! RG made so many mistakes, some of which are still costing a lot, but he also made many breakthrough decisions which catapulted India straight from Bullock cart age to Rocket age which his mother could never do!
Tavleen Singh's first person account of operations against Sikh Militants in Amritsar and anti-Sikh riots in Delhi are superb.
Her account of Emergency, Sanjay Era, Indira's exile under Janata regime, the rise&fall of Janata Party, are very cursory,superficial and run of the mill. She plays down the role played by Pakistan in Khalistan movement and militancy in Kashmir.
I expected a Scholarly, in-depth research and analysis of the Rajiv era, but this book has failed to do that. The book is a quickie for the Gen-next readers who have no clue to what happened in RG times which is treated as a mere footnote in India's history which it is not.
Rajiv Era is a very important landmark in India's socio-political history post-independence. I hope, someone someday will do justice to the era.
Rajiv Gandhi era remains one of the most significant, yet, least understood periods in India's political history and leaves many questions unanswered, one of which is; Despite the overwhelming mandate of 400+ Lok Sabha Seats, why & how did Rajiv Gandhi managed to make such a mess of himself? The question has not been convincingly been answered by anybody including Tavleen Singh. Many others like Mani Shanker Aiyyar who claim to have been in his "Kitchen Cabinet" have never been able to explain it.
I have been following Tavleen right from Mid 70's when she started her journalistic career and later on became a regular reader of her weekly column. I disagreed with her sycophantic defense of Man Mohan Singh just because he happened to be a Sikh like herself & I criticised her heavily on twitter. She blocked me. But she herself in due course changed her opinion about MMS.
I still admire her a lot, especially for her gutsy & brave decision to fight it out and bring up her son as a single mother against all odds after that Pakistani politician who she fell in love with, ditched and dumped her. Today her son Aatish Taseer is a fine young man and a fine writer.
Was RG really so naive as portrayed to be? Blame is laid on his coterie of advisers, but Arun Singh was an honest,sincere and decent guy, Arun Nehru was a super smart,crafty,brilliant strategist, VP Singh was honest & politically savvy who went on to become PM, then who? I cant think of RG relying on maverick Mani, or Steno Vincent George to mess up things! RG made so many mistakes, some of which are still costing a lot, but he also made many breakthrough decisions which catapulted India straight from Bullock cart age to Rocket age which his mother could never do!
Tavleen Singh's first person account of operations against Sikh Militants in Amritsar and anti-Sikh riots in Delhi are superb.
Her account of Emergency, Sanjay Era, Indira's exile under Janata regime, the rise&fall of Janata Party, are very cursory,superficial and run of the mill. She plays down the role played by Pakistan in Khalistan movement and militancy in Kashmir.
I expected a Scholarly, in-depth research and analysis of the Rajiv era, but this book has failed to do that. The book is a quickie for the Gen-next readers who have no clue to what happened in RG times which is treated as a mere footnote in India's history which it is not.
Rajiv Era is a very important landmark in India's socio-political history post-independence. I hope, someone someday will do justice to the era.
