An Indian Dynasty: The Story of the Nehru-Gandhi Family

by Tariq Ali, Salman Rushdie (Introduction)

Details the personalities of the family that effectively created and continues to rule modern India, surveying the personal ambitions and the intrigues behind their rule and focusing on Indira Gandhi

Genres: History, India, Nonfiction, Politics

318 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Tariq Ali (Punjabi, Urdu: طارق علی) is a British-Pakistani historian, novelist, filmmaker, political campaigner, and commentator. He is a member of the editorial committee of the New Left Review and Sin Permiso, and regularly contributes to The Guardian, CounterPunch, and the London Review of Books.

He is the author of several books, including Can Pakistan Survive? The Death of a State (1991) , Pirates Of The Caribbean: Axis Of Hope (2006), Conversations with Edward Said (2005), Bush in Babylon (2003), and Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity (2002), A Banker for All Seasons (2007) and the recently published The Duel (2008).

Reviews

[Gabyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly informative.
Tariq does a great job of bringing together the complex underpinnings of Indian history since independence. Personally, I studied Indian history (CBSE) but my education did not cover post independence history so events surrounding the Babri Masjid and the Operation Blue Star were unfamiliar to me.
The book sheds light on the challenges of running a country with so much diversity and, looking to our new crop of leaders, what characteristics might make for a successful leader. It also shows how far backwards we've gone in terms of cultural and religious tolerance, which were central beliefs of J. Nehru.
In short I loved this book, and it has encouraged me to seek out more books about the Nehrus and the other founding fathers.

[Hemanshu Das · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first book on the Nehru-Gandhi Order.... This was partly cause of my reluctant attitude towards history but more so cause of my (un-)interest in Indian politics. But ever since I've read it, my interest has grown my leaps and bounds.

The book has been very well compiled portraying both personal and political lives of Nehru and Indira Gandhi in the right way. Never did I feel that he had talked a little too much or too less of either of them. The daughter-father relation was written about great clarity and insight. Also, it shed light on d unsuccessful marriage of Indira and Feroze Gandhi(though I would like to read about it). The book is very convincing and insightful of the facts provided till 1970s I suppose.

I feel Tariq Ali either was biased or didn't write in-depth about the years leading to the Emergency of 1975 and the relationship shared with the mother-son duo of Indira and Sanjay Gandhi. The author's portrayal of Sanjay,in my view, was a rather opting a safe approach rather than taking a aggressive stance on his doings and actions.

The Blue Star operation and the cause of Indira Gandhi's assassination was well documented and also the the successful transition to Rajiv Gandhi taking over responsibility was aptly written about.

All in all the book was successfully in arousing my interest in NGO and that to me should be outright aim of a book. So, very few complains except the writing on the Emergency of 1975. For that I did read "The Evil Inside" by Rani Dube.

:GOOD READ:

[Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look at the Nehru/Gandhi dynasty (with the Mahatma thrown in, in the middle). Tariq Ali writes clearly and pointedly and as he was able to interview many of the protagonists in person, his reporting is quite authoritative. Although there is a fair amount of detailed political analysis, much of the book can be read as history, from the time of the Raj to the mid 80s when Rajiv Gandhi was still in charge. The various international relationships depicted in this work are also of considerable interest. Essential reading for anyone interested in political science in the 20th century...

[Marko]

I have the german edition: Die Nehrus und die Gandhis

[Mathangiee · Rating 5 out of 5]

great. a bit speculative at times but still v good overall. v interesting, especially the Nehru chapters.

[Rahul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worthy 3.5. An intimate account (the great, good, bad, ugly) of the family at the center of Indian politics for almost a 100 yrs, from the early 1900s to 2014.

[Pedro Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Siempre quise entender sobre la "pasividad" de Gandhi ante las injusticias y represión de países Europeos ¿Qué le hacía mantener su cordura? ¿Qué nivel de espiritualidad tenía?

Leí este libro por una recomendación y, aunque no superó mis expectativas, es un buen libro.

[Megha Kaveri · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much has been said about the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty all through our years of study in various sources. Text books, reference books, news extracts etc. But this book by Tariq Ali is one of its kind which gives a clear account of the dynasty and how things started and gradually picked up speed.

We come to realise that may be it was the circumstantial situation that might have forced the concept of dynasty and nepotism down our throats. Absence of choices, lack of trustworthy people etc are valid reasons for a person to have acted the way they did.

However, the dark truth remains that once the purpose is over it is always prudent to discard the makeshift shelter and focus on building a solid one. Sadly the INC had forgotten it long back. I am sure even of they hadn't, they had and still have a good set of sycophants and chamchas to do it for them.

An excellent read to know about the Great Indian Dynasty

[Judith Smulders · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning book on the history of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty of India. Incredibly full of depth and extensive in its amount of subjects (ranging from social issues to secularism, economy, international alliances etc.) It shows the complex nature of Indian politics and demographics as well as how Indian politics under the Nehru-Gandhi family became increasingly abusive of human rights and democracy (especially under Indira Gandhi's reign).

[Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivas · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unexpectedly rivetting book giving a much better account of post-independence India than I have been able to gather from most other sources. He tries to separate the "legend" behind Nehru and Indira from the people they were. Good supplementary reading to India after Gandhi by Guha, which sorta seemed to completely neglect these people's personal lives.

[shiv · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very well-written book that covers detailed aspects of the Nehru clan and makes you ponder if the Indian democracy is everything but a democracy.