A Conversation with Sanjaya Baru

Sanjaya Baru is a veteran journalist and the author of the bestselling book The Accidental Prime Minister, an insider account of Indian political life and a superb portrait of the Manmohan Singh era. In his latest saga chronicles the dramatic events of a unique period in the history of modern India that heralded an economic revolution and transformed the nation. We caught up with the author to chat about his latest book and know more the year that shaped India as we know it today. An excerpt from an interview with the author.

Q. In the book you focus on the year 1991, one that saw the emergence of new political leadership. Why is this year so critical in the contemporary history of this country?

Sanjaya Baru: 1991 is seen as a turning point for India, not just in the realm of economic policy but also in Indian politics and foreign policy. It was the year of Rajiv Gandhi's assassination and the end of the Cold War. The economic crisis of 1991 occurred within this political and geopolitical context.

Much has been written, especially by economists, about the reforms of 1991. We now also have an authoritative biography of PV. However, no one has written about the political economy of 1991, especially the events that led to the crisis that summer. This book fills that gap.

Q. In the book you refer to PV Narahimsa Rao’s as India’s first ‘accidental prime minster’, why?

Sanjaya Baru: No one expected PV to become PM till virtually a month before he did. His elevation as Congress President and even the Congress getting more than 200 seats in the Lok Sabha were a consequence of Rajiv's death. If Rajiv Gandhi had lived the Congress may not have won that election. So in many ways the events that led to PV's election as PM were a series of accidents.

Q. What about his politics and policies, how were they a departure when compared to those of Nehru-Gandhi dynasty?

Sanjaya Baru: My book does not offer an overall assessment of PV's tenure as PM. This book focuses narrowly on the dramatic events of 1991. True, those events shaped his legacy. The economic crisis and the end of Cold War forcedIndia to change its economic and foreign policy.

Q. In the book, you extensively talk about ‘Nehruvianism’, India’s economic model post-independence. You also speak of bad economic management being one of the chief reasons for 1991 crisis. What went wrong?

Sanjaya Baru: Nehru's economic policies had relevance for the 1950s & even the 1960s. India did not change its policies in the 1970s, while other Asian economies did. The 'bad economic management' I refer to is about the mistakes that Rajiv Gandhi and V.P. Singh made during 1985-90. Their policies caused the crisis.

Q. How did PV manage to dismantle the license permit Raj within a month of taking office? How did he garner political support for his policy changes?

Sanjaya Baru: PV's biggest achievement was to use the first hundred days in office to do whatever he wanted to, before the political opposition built up. He also secured the implicit support of the BJP for the entire first year in office. This helped.

Q. You mention that 1991 was a historic year in many ways, and that this was the year when good politics forced out bad politics. What do you mean by this?

Sanjaya Baru: This observation pertains in particular to the Congress Party. By 'good politics' Imean traditional Congress politics that we saw through the Nehruvian era. The 'dynastic' family and coterie rule began with Indira Gandhi and continued through Rajiv's tenure. It was revived after Sonia Gandhi took over the party. The PV years were like the Nehru years, when the party organization and regional leaders were active and powerful.

Q. While researching this book did you discover things, which reinforced certain perceptions you had about PV, what were they?

Sanjaya Baru: I was impressed by the high regard so many people I spoke to still have for PV. Few articulate it publicly.

Q. This book is a departure from a traditional biography in the sense that this is the story of the year 1991, with PV as the protagonist of the tale. What do you think is principle role of a biographer? Is it different from that of a historian? Do you think it is truly possible for both biographers and historians to stay truly objective, or does personal bias eventually creep into the work?

Sanjaya Baru: This book is not a biography. It tells the story of a year that was historic for India. PV and Chandrashekhar played an important role in shaping national policy that year. I do think a good biographer has to be a good historian, because people live within an historical context. I do not claim by book to be either a biography or the work of an historian. I have tried to narrate a story, like a professional journalist would, and that is what I was in 1991.

Q. What message do you want to relay to the world through this book, what was your purpose behind writing it?

Sanjaya Baru: This book has been written primarily for the generation born in and after 1991 to tell them how PV shaped the India they have grown up in.

Q. What’s next for you?

Sanjaya Baru: I have been bitten by the writing bug! I will continue to write.