Book Review: The Namo Story: A Political Life

Why was India Inc. on its path to becoming noncompetitive and costly by the end of the 1980s? What were the reasons due to which the country’s foreign exchange reserves were fast depleting close to 1991? What effect does the devaluation of the rupee have on exports and imports? How do trade controls influence the economy of the nation? How has the demon of ‘license raj’ affected the economy of the nation and the manufacturing sector in particular? Can there be ulterior motives behind building special economic zones (SEZs)? How does the nexus between politics and business govern the law of the land? Through an author’s note, an introductory note and eleven chapters, the beautifully chiseled tome under review provides succulent answers to the aforementioned disconcerting questions. In a nutshell, the work under review is a minute description of the clash of ideologies of a few powerful titans and the making of the Indian order as it stands today.

The first chapter sheds light on the political turmoil that India experienced in 1991, 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2009. The chapter builds a base which will help the reader in understanding the 2014 election waves and the results. It examines the main support bases of Mr Modi and dwells on the personality differences between seven great luminaries: Mr Manmohan Singh, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, Mr L.K. Advani, Mr Morarji Desai, Mrs Indira Gandhi, Mr V.P. Singh and Mr Narendra Modi. The second chapter traces the life of Mr Modi from his childhood days to his deputation into the BJP in the year 1987. The third chapter dwells on some of the major events like Mr Advani’s Rath Yatra (in which Mr Modi was the master planner of the Gujarat leg of the yatra). It contains a graphic description of Mr Modi’s journey from being by the side of Mr Advani at one point of time and later becoming an overpowering functionary of the BJP in Gujarat. The chapter then focuses on Ekta Yatra from Kanyakumari to Srinagar organized in 1991–1992. The focus then shifts to Mr Keshubhai Patel’s journey from being a farmer-turned-small-flour-mill-owner to becoming the chief minister of Gujarat. The chapter also examines the role played by Mr Shankersinh Vaghela who also went on to become the chief minister of Gujarat, albeit for a short duration. The fourth chapter dissects Mr Modi’s work as the full-time national secretary. The chapter dwells on events, incidences, practices and malpractices which led to the rise and fall of the BJP in the 1980s to early 2000s time frame. The chapter also contains a detailed account of the events and endeavours which led to the unbecoming of Mr Keshubhai, and the becoming of Mr Modi as the chief minister of Gujarat on 7 October 2001.

The fifth chapter is a detailed account of the pogrom which tore the secular fabric of the nation in 2002. The sixth chapter dwells on the role played by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Confederation of Indian Industry, the Vibrant Gujarat campaigns which attracted promises of investments amounting to ₹ 66,000 crores and 80 MoUs were signed circa 2004 which increased to investments worth ₹ 2,083,000 crores through 7936 MoUs in the Vibrant Gujarat 2011 summit. The chapter contains an account of the entry of Tata Nano, Ford Motors, Maruti Suzuki into Gujarat. The chapter also explains how a few archaic laws are harming the industries, the country and her citizens. The seventh chapter explores the psyche of the people of Gujarat and examines the effects of the fact that Gujarat lies on the border of two countries. The eighth chapter sheds light on the steps taken by a particular community to reconcile with the circumstances and move on ahead with their lives. The chapter also presents a few of the many important findings of the Sachar Committee (Rajinder Sachar Committee set up in 2005 by the then Prime Minister Mr Manmohan Singh). It is worthy to note that page 58 of Mark Tully’s Non Stop India says that some figures from the Sachar report were removed before it was tabled in the parliament. The ninth chapter dissects the personality traits of Mr Modi. The tenth chapter is a treatise on the business relations the industrialists from Gujarat have established with eastern countries. The eleventh chapter explains the methods employed by Mr Modi in order to consolidate his position.

The book beautifully explains Say’s law of economics, and concepts such as cartel arrangements. The author has unveiled the reasons because of which a law was passed in the middle of 1970s according to which the number of Lok Sabha and legislative assembly seats was frozen till 2001 and then in 2001, this freeze was extended till 2031. Kingshuk Nag has laid bare several myths and dissected half-truths and gross exaggerations related to a few well-known political figures. The book is different from other books in its genre because it explains how the actions (and non-actions) of the Congress and its leaders helped Mr Narendra Modi become what he is today. The book provides a bird’s eye view of development in Gujarat and a few other states in India. It examines the role played by Reliance, Essar, Adanis, Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation, Gujarat Gas in fashioning the present industrial configuration of the country.

The reader should apprise himself/herself with terms such as ‘bull run’ and ‘scrip prices on the bourses’ as these terms have been used in the book. The book contains startling facts. For instance, by large, people are of the opinion that Mr Modi had set up a tea stall and used to sell tea. The second chapter explains that Mr Modi’s father’s business was that of selling edible oil and he ran the tea stall for earning additional income; Mr Modi served free tea to troops whose train would stop at Vadnagar station during the Indo-Pakistan conflict of 1965 and he also wrote a biography of Lakshmanrao Inamdar (mentor of Mr Modi) bearing the caption Jyoti Punj, Mr Modi had organized the Lok Shakti Yatra: against the liquor mafia in the old city of Ahmedabad. The book speaks of a telecom minister against whom the CBI had filed criminal complaints but no action was taken against the minister because of absence of sanction from the president of India. The book also contains an account of a minister asking how long it would take him by road to reach the site when he was asked to inaugurate an ‘internet site’ by clicking a button! It provides information pertaining to the killer earthquake of 26 January 2001 in Gujarat, Godhra train incident of 27 February 2002, the harrowing ordeals people suffered in Naroda Patiya, Gulberg Society of Memaninagar, the Best Bakery case, the Bilkis Bano case, Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter (in which his wife was also killed), Israt Jahan encounter, Akshardham incidence of September 2002, the 21 bomb blasts which shook Ahmedabad on 26 July 2008. It brings forth the latent truth that the raids carried out by Mahmud of Ghazni in the eleventh century on Gujarat had and are still having a profound effect on Gujarat as a state and India as a country, even today in the twenty-first century (perhaps a research paper can be written on the aforesaid statement which might prove to be as pathbreaking as Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas? excogitated by Philip Merilees or Mary Ann Mabry’s research bearing the caption The Relationship Between Fluctuations in Hemlines and Stock Market Averages from 1921 to 1971). The book contains a vivid description of several painful incidences which left a lasting imprint on the young and fertile mind of Mr Modi.

The book has been written with a neutral perspective. It narrates the story of a person who has altered and is trying to change India’s political, economic, educational and industrial landscape for the better. It also dwells on the ideology of the movement known as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Jana Sangh (which later evolved into the BJP) and other similar outfits. It has practical examples of new and newer concepts in management such as reverse marketing, demarketing and prosumers. It is the story of an icon who is implementing a growth model that is resource and energy intensive such that substantial development is achieved. It is the story of a luminary because of whom history books will be written and history will be re-written. The book will be of great help to the champions of policy formulation, brand management, public relations and strategic management.

Perhaps a title such as The Name Story Till Now: A Political Life for the book could have been a good choice, the reasons being obvious.