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An Indian Political Life: Charan Singh and Congress Politics, 1957 to 1967
This volume traces the course of development of Charan Singh′s discontent in the Congress, which aided by the antagonism on the part of Nehru and his daughter towards him, and the decline of the Congress as the dominant party in Uttar Pradesh, led ultimately to his defection to form a new political party and, at last, to achieve his goal of becoming chief minister of UP.
Like the earlier volume, this book is based primarily on the author′s personal relationship with Charan Singh during his political career and early access to his massive political files and the author′s own personal interviews with politicians, other public persons, peasants, and others over 50 years, up to the present. It also provides an account of the chief ministership of Sucheta Kripalani--a political outsider catapulted to the top by the power struggles of fractious factions--and at the same time explores against the backdrop of regionalism in UP the considerable yet little-known role played by Charan Singh in issues of states reorganization for northern India.
This book is the second volume of a multi-volume work on The Politics of Northern 1937 to 1987.
Like the earlier volume, this book is based primarily on the author′s personal relationship with Charan Singh during his political career and early access to his massive political files and the author′s own personal interviews with politicians, other public persons, peasants, and others over 50 years, up to the present. It also provides an account of the chief ministership of Sucheta Kripalani--a political outsider catapulted to the top by the power struggles of fractious factions--and at the same time explores against the backdrop of regionalism in UP the considerable yet little-known role played by Charan Singh in issues of states reorganization for northern India.
This book is the second volume of a multi-volume work on The Politics of Northern 1937 to 1987.
- GenresPolitics
516 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 27, 2012
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January 23, 2026
One of the best written biographies of a short term president, that pulls no punches. The writer does not favour Charan Singh in any capacity and it shows the history of UP politics from the vantage point of one Kulak Leader.
According to Charan Singh, if you are in competition or above him in, then you can only be either corrupt, incompetent or a buffoon, while he himself is an idealist without compromise. Faults only exist in others, while people who call out the same in h don’t know anything. It is marvellous that the is able to bring about these points in a book that is frankly published by his own family. Not sure if they read it or were like we can’t make him look any better.
CCS politics were rooted not in real life or data about the real life, but anecdotes about what he thought an ideal life should be. His policies always had short term benefits and disastrous long term consequences; and would be usually caught in the wrong side by virtue of his over ambitious nature. Flip Flops and alliances were also clothed in his banal sense of idealism, which even his own immediate family members would sneer upon.
The book tries but fails to show the protagonist in any better light than the so called rivals, which speaks to a backward looking farmer leader. His short tenure in any capacity is still too long a time.
According to Charan Singh, if you are in competition or above him in, then you can only be either corrupt, incompetent or a buffoon, while he himself is an idealist without compromise. Faults only exist in others, while people who call out the same in h don’t know anything. It is marvellous that the is able to bring about these points in a book that is frankly published by his own family. Not sure if they read it or were like we can’t make him look any better.
CCS politics were rooted not in real life or data about the real life, but anecdotes about what he thought an ideal life should be. His policies always had short term benefits and disastrous long term consequences; and would be usually caught in the wrong side by virtue of his over ambitious nature. Flip Flops and alliances were also clothed in his banal sense of idealism, which even his own immediate family members would sneer upon.
The book tries but fails to show the protagonist in any better light than the so called rivals, which speaks to a backward looking farmer leader. His short tenure in any capacity is still too long a time.
Displaying 1 of 1 review