Democracy in India

by Ruchir Sharma

On the eve of a landmark general election, Ruchir Sharma offers an unrivalled portrait of how India and its democracy work, drawn from his two decades on the road chasing election campaigns across every major state, travelling the equivalent of a lap around the earth. Democracy on the Road takes readers on a rollicking ride with Ruchir and his merry band of fellow writers as they talk to farmers, shopkeepers and CEOs from Rajasthan to Tamil Nadu, and interview leaders from Narendra Modi to Rahul Gandhi.

No book has traced the arc of modern India by taking readers so close to the action. Offering an intimate view inside the lives and minds of India's political giants and its people, Sharma explains how the complex forces of family, caste and community, economics and development, money and corruption, Bollywood and Godmen, have conspired to elect and topple Indian leaders since Indira Gandhi. The ultimately encouraging message of Ruchir's travels is that, while democracy is retreating in many parts of the world, it is thriving in India.

Genres: Politics, India, Nonfiction, History, Travel, Economics, Travelogue

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Ruchir Sharma is the Chairman of Rockefeller International and Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Breakout Capital – an investment firm focused on emerging markets and partnered with Rockefeller Capital Management. Ruchir came to Rockefeller from Morgan Stanley Investment Management, where over a 25 year career he rose to become Chief Global Strategist and Head of Emerging Markets, managing close to $20 billion in assets. As a global investor and author, he travels frequently to different countries, meeting with political and business leaders. From his extensive travels and field research, Ruchir developed a pioneering system of 10 rules for identifying promising economies, which he captured in a 2016 New York Times bestseller, The Rise and Fall of Nations. Recognized that year by Barron’s as “Wall Street’s New Global Thinker,” Ruchir was a New York Times contributing opinion writer from 2016 to 2021 and is currently a contributing editor for the Financial Times.

Reviews

[Rajat Ubhaykar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book since I had enjoyed reading Ruchir Sharma's previous books: Breakout Nations and The Rise & Fall of Nations. Sadly, this one turned out to be a tepid, shallow account of election speeches and hotel room travails from the perspective of well-networked 'limousine liberals', with a lot of name-dropping thrown in for good measure, and absolutely nothing new to offer in terms of insights into India's political economy. If you're fairly acquainted with how Indian politics has evolved over the last three decades, there is nothing new you will learn from Democracy on the Road. Feel free to give it a miss.

[S.Ach · Rating 3 out of 5]

When your publisher calls you, and pleads with you to write another book as soon as possible, as your previous books have been hailed high by public intellectuals and well accepted at home and the world selling many many copies beyond expectations, and sadly, you have nothing new to offer immediately and try your best to convince him that it takes time to write a well-thought-out book and your publisher is still adamant and then, you jokingly tell him that you just have your old diaries to offer and your publisher shouts ecstatically that even your old laundry bills would do and you go ahead and share the curated forms of the diaries of your early journalistic days, where you were just a newbie in the political journalism latching on to some of the industry veterans while they chase to get sound bites from the who's who of Indian political fraternity then, this book is the resultant.


Why Mr Sharma, why?

[Trushna Khivasara · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I got out of the book:
- A feel for India's diversity by states, religions, rural vs. urban, etc.
- A high-level understanding of how elections in India work, factors that drive voter dissatisfaction and election results
- A glimpse into how the country is changing - slowly, but surely - not as a whole, but one region at a time; not in a magical sweep, but as a patient climb uphill

What I'd hoped to, but didn't get out of the book:
- Information on actions of different governments and it's measured impact
- Discussion of informed, opposing view-points on what is the best development path for India, nationally or regionally
- Role of media (journalism, not social media) in shaping the political debate in the country

A more detailed review:

As someone with little knowledge of the Indian political system outside of long-forgotten high-school civics and history lessons, I appreciated the ease with which the book takes you through 25 years of India's major political events - helping the reader draw out major themes, and identify trends. The book is a quick and easy read, and will help you appreciate the diverse nature of local issues, especially rural issues that are harder to get a feel for, from the comfort of your couch (albeit, this is my first ever Indian political read, so if there are better books catered towards this goal, then I am yet to discover those).

However, as someone trying to gain a deeper understanding of the work of different governments at national or local levels; and its on-the-ground impact assessment beyond just the marketing-tactics, I was left wanting for more.

I saw a complete lack of data in everything - from the group's estimates of polling results, to the real impact of government's development or welfare-driven agendas. I had also hoped to get a sense of how news and media (not social) shape the country's perception of its leaders and the political debate, and didn't get so much as a glimpse into it.

While I didn't mind reading through endless descriptions of hotels as a reflection of development of a particular town or city, I found large parts unnecessary and repetitive. Major takeaways and insights could've been the same if the book was cut in half.

Even so, 4-starts since something less tangible about the book kept it interesting till the end, and made it hard not to finish. Also liked the ending summary which was realistic, yet optimistic.

[Sumedh Mool · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars actually.

I was stoked to read this book when it was announced given its intriguing premise and good reputation of the author because of his past work.

To my disappointment, this book has been nothing but a huge let down. Ruchir offers absolutely no insights that he may have generated travelling across length and breadth of India. His analysis most of the times is similar to what you get in newspaper editorials.

Anyone who has even average knowledge of politics in India would hardly find anything new in this book.

Also, his bias towards the Congress Party is unmissable. He offers absolutely no examples or data when criticizing the Vajpayee govt. Now, I am no right wing supporter, but you expect a fairly neutral pov from the author who is known for his objective analysis in his previous works.

I guess Ruchir should stick to writing on economics (his previous 2 books are amazing). Politics is definitely not his forte.

[Vinayak Hegde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent memoir by Ruchir Sharma covering about 25 years of different election campaigns across the country (ending just before the 2019 elections that brought Modi back to power for a second term). The book has aged well. It is filled with insightful anecdotes, incisive observations and lucid commentary as he takes us through the various political campaigns across the spectrum from Jayalalitha in the south to Gehlot in the north to Mamata in the east to Pawar in the West. He talks to ordinary citizens across political divides about their well-being, relationship with the government and different political leaders. What we hear is how India is constantly changing and how local issues often dominate national issues, the fallibility of welfare delivery mechanism and a dysfunctional and incompetent state.

The author has been leading a group of journalists and pollsters on these trips across 25 years. He intersperses his story with witty and enlightening observations about different personalities across the political spectrum with often behind the scenes commentary missing from TV stations or opinion columns. He has written the book with an economics and policy gaze (based on his background as a journalist) and I found his observations about different policy and policy implementations very informative. He often exposes a rarely seen side of politicians whether it is Mamata, Sonia, Sachin Pilot, MK Stalin or Narendra Modi. At the same time, he exposes the duplicity of the Indian voter who is supposed to be rational but often votes on caste affiliation or on emotive issues.

Though the book sometimes seems like of a chronicle of a dysfunctional system and a broken polity, there is also the optimism of a functional democracy which is clearly evident through the book. The only nitpick of this otherwise magnificent book is that it doesn't cover the south as much and gives the Northeast part of India a total miss. Overall an excellent, enlightening and if I may so entertaining book about Indian politics, policy, politicians, bureaucracy, elections and the mindset of Indian voters.

[E.T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 A very readable election travelogue across 20+ years in India. The 20 “limousine liberals” included prominent journalists like Pranoy Roy, Shekhar Gupta and analysts like Dorab Sopariwala and Surjit Bhalla among others.
A travelogue usually includes conversations with commoners, but this one had more observations/insights and commentary by the author. On the plus side, they were able to get access to top politicians in every election. But this also felt like typical Indian namedropping and show-off at times especially combined with the Taj/Oberois etc they preferred wherever possible.
I liked that the author stayed away from twisting facts to fit his theories and some insights were v.good - “pre politically-correct” is a term that will stay with me. It refers to ppl who discriminate bcoz who are not aware/enlightened. However I was baffled that Advani’s praise for Jinnah counted as “moderation” towards Muslims. Is the author insinuating against them ? Maybe he is a little pre-politically correct himself :)
Finally, treat this as an introduction to elections over the years and move on to books with better research and details by Milan Vaishnav, Prashant Jha, Ullekh NP, Shivam Shankar Singh, Roy+Sopariwala and Tiwari+Pandey.

[Brick&rope · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always a gamble when an author goes out of their comfort zone to write about alternative passions.

It is easier to say what this book is not. Democracy on the Road is not a scholarly study of different elections in India's past. It is not a psephologist's analysis of what has or has not worked in Indian elections in the past. It is certainly not an assessment of which state or central governments have performed better on macro economic criteria. It is not a travel guide through moffusil India. It is not a behind-the-scenes gossip column on elections past.

But in small part, it is all of those things.

Ruchir Sharma takes the reader on the road along with his band of 'limousine liberals' to cover tens of elections, both state level and general, in India over the last 25 years. Composed of media personalities from mostly (bot not entirely) English language media, the troupe takes to the road in a caravan of Volvos and Innovas over the years, attending rallies of leaders large and small, interviewing potential voters in town squares, staying in grubby motels, fighting extreme heat, kuchha road, perennially late politicians, mechaniccal failures and stomach upsets to cover thousands of kilometers in an attempt to get the 'pulse' at the ground level, of what the political breeze is like. Democracy on the Road breezily takes the reader through the journeys.

I must admit, I have always admired Ruchir Sharma for his economic analysis, his erudition, his no-nonsense pragmatic view of the world, and his clear view of economic history. This book showed a whole other side of him, the dirt-under-the-fingernails political junkie, ever ready to travel to some remote corner of the country to find out how different castes are going to vote. While he isn't necessarily as astute with political injunctions as he is with economic data, he has the knack of peppering his stories with interesting anecdotes and side stories that show private quirks of some of the largest leaders in the Indian political landscape. Some of the anecdotes here will stay with me for a long time ... the troupe's meeting with Amit Shah, or with Vijayakant, Didi Mamata Banerjee scolding the audience when they got restive at her distraction, there are gems here that helped me understand these leaders a little bit better.

But more than anything else, what shines through for me here is the passion of Ruchir as a true junkie of Indian politics. Someone who loves to talk politics, who can trade you story for story deep into the night, ever ready with a "you know the time when ..."

Of course, weeks before the general elections now, in a polarised country, questions about the book are likely to be much more simplistic - "so, who does he support? Who doe he think is going to win in 2019?" There are no answers to those questions. But for me the take away was well summarised by two ideas. First, that in Indian elections, emotions has consistently trumped economics. As Ruchir says, talking of Chief Ministers of Indian states -

Even when their state has been growing faster than 8% - a rate that normally puts an economy in the 'miracle' class - their chances of re-election improve only slightly, from one in three to 50:50. Often, voters in mofussil India do not feel a dramatic lift even from a rate of growth that makes the Mumbai stock market bubble and the capital elite assume that everyone feels the fizzy good times. Growth helps at the margin, but even spectacular growth is no guarantee of victory - particularly when the rural majority is not feeling the boom.

And second, the lasting impression I carry is of India that is too diverse to be soundbite-able in a simple sentiment. To restate a quote at the very end of the book -

Hindustan Unilever's CEO Sanjiv Mehta recently told me that his company divides the twenty-nine Indian states into fourteen sub-regions, the twenty countries of the Middle East and North Africa into only four, because its research shows consumer tastes, habits and languages are far more fragmented in India.

That, to the me - city-dwelling, English media consuming, car owning me - is the bottom line. India is too diverse. The self-annointed pundit sitting next to you in the plane has no way of knowing which way the rest of his country brethren (and sisters) are going to vote. So, pinch of sal, everybody.

[VENKATRAMAN C K · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique book and a fast read. It vividly brings to ficus that the more India changes the more it remains the same. Which is both good and bad. The book is also very timely with the next general elections months away and we have a latest updated perspective of people’s voices .

The book is unique as it chronicles 25 years of road journey by the Author and his companions ( many if them known journalists and economists) to key states and “swing” constituencies to try and figure out results of State and General elections .

The book is full of stories of local colour , local political views across the country .

Some big themes emerge as key drivers of voter behaviour - anti incumbency, community and caste, expectations from Govt to solve all problems and inflation. While economic development is on everyone’s mind but not a determiner of electoral success.

I like a line from the book that says “the only way to manage such a plural, heterogeneous combination of States that form India is to let the States manage themselves”.

Indeed, India is a federal democratic republic by its very DNA and not as a political choice .

[Hrishikesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Politics is India's favorite spectator sport" - goes the popular aphorism. I read Ruchir Sharma's "Breakout Nations" 8 years ago, and I have long admired him for the depth & study that he brings forth. Ergo, I was quite eager to pick up his latest.

However, in "Democracy on the Road", he bitterly disappoints. Given Ruchir Sharma's rich knowledge & experience, I expected a good, robust commentary on the political economy - which this book fails to provide. It is a hard lesson: a good political commentator, a good economist does not make.

Fact is, much of our political perceptions are shaped by who we are. Ruchir Sharma belongs to - a phrase that I have adopted from him - the group of "New York Indians". His observations, therefore, are appropriately distant and removed from reality, and meant for an audience that is equally removed.

Also, if any reader is unaware of Ruchir Sharma's predilections (as I was), this book dispels all doubts. He is clearly one of the "old boys", and it shows in his writing. A lot of what is written is the same old, रटी-रटाई; there isn't much that is new or fresh.

Ruchir Sharma has given a narration of his experiences leading up to the various elections he has discussed. But there is no analysis presented. What little that can be begrudgingly termed as "analysis" here is shallow and obvious. For those who are even moderately informed about the nuances of the Indian electorate, there is nothing that this book provides.

You'll get to know what Ruchir Sharma ate when he met whomsoever he met. You'll get to know the state of the hotels where they stayed while traveling on the road. But that's pretty much about it.

It's a book written 5 years too late, and the returns are not commensurate with the time invested in it.

[Shikha Agarwal · Rating 1 out of 5]

poorly written book with no analysis

Seems this book.is written because author wants to write a another book..

there is no deep dive in indian politics, no serious questions asked.. its just a travelling note from author..

i have respect for Ruchir for his 2 previous book but his command over the subject is totally missing..

[Abhishek Dafria · Rating 5 out of 5]

The world's largest democracy will see 29 states, 7 union territories, 900 million eligible citizens gearing up for a drama-filled general elections in a few weeks. And for any political analyst, understanding all the nuances of India's politics and predicting a winner with complete certainty is as difficult as counting all the stars in the universe. Under this backdrop, Ruchir Sharma's Democracy on the Road drops in our lap at the perfect time. It is a diary of sorts, a journey that Ruchir Sharma has taken over the last 25 years with fellow journalists and political analysts, across the country, navigating the bumpy roads connecting small towns and whizzing past the growing network of highways connecting the big cities. The book is a glimpse of the vastness of India, its diversity, its cultural mix, its entrenched caste system that does not easily go away, and its politics.

Starting with Congress chief Sona Gandhi's first rally, Ruchir Sharma covers in this book all the major state and general elections that he had been a part of, when he and his colleagues would land up in the concerned state and try to gauge the mood of the public, the issues it was facing, the satisfaction levels with the current government, and the progress made over the last five years. Ruchir Sharma's narrative does not dwell too much on statistics but rather tries to recapture the excitement around those elections and the general mood of the voters. He drives home the point on how each State has its own local metrics that would win or lose the seat for the current incumbent, which may be radically different from the parameters looked at by the State next door. He gives a fair picture of the different political players that have had a big role to play in Indian politics over the last 25 years, and talks about them as individuals and as caretakers of their respective constituencies in an unbiased tone that is refreshing to hear in a time and age when it seems that having a bias is mandatory.

And while Ruchir Sharma does not allow any one political party or person to steal away too many pages of his narrative, he does not hold back in giving the voters their due. He holds them in the highest regard, explaining in detail to the reader how the voter has grown over these years, and how the voter is fully aware of the power he wields. It is the voter, and the voter alone, who decides the fate of the political parties. It is by the will of the voter that such a vast and diversified country has a smoothly functioning democracy, which acts as an example for many other countries. Ruchir Sharma's book was an absolute joy to read and with him, I explored India in a way that I have never done before. Time for you to do the same!

[Bhaskar kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ruchir Sharma attracted the reputation of an astute mind and able narrator with ‘Breakout Nations’ and ‘Rise and fall of nations’. In ‘Democ on the road’, he fails to live up to the hogh expectation. It is an easy and fluid read as I finished this tome in less than 2 days, but with each passing pages, the narrative becomes somewhat repetitive and dull with some notable observations scattered here and there. Four takeaway observations from the book remains: 1) Neither welfareism nor development alone is able to get you re-elected to the office. You need to pass all the sub sections in the checklist which includes caste, community, aura et al along with the above factors.
2) Each state is different in terms of dynamics of caste, communities and religion apart from local issues. What works in one state will in all probability not work in the other.
3) politicians never retire and cant be written off. They only shuffle between obscurity and limelight.
4) India still votes on caste and community lines particularly on the provincial level and this factor is not going to be changed soon.
Nevertheless it is a useful addition to your library.

[Shashank Anumandla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives a view on voters expectation and politicians views/ideologies of major states like UP, Bihar, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharastra and MP.

It seemed to be more about winning elections and less about welfare/development/Govt's duties. In some states it is about caste, in other states, its about ideology, loyalty, etc. each state has its own divider. At the end of the day its all in the hands of the voter, for the quality of politics/politicians to improve - the quality of the voter needs to improve. Just as a basic market principle - supply comes from the demand. Politicians are beings emerged to satisfy the wishes of the voters.

[Aditya · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is as easy for me to award 5 stars to non-fiction books as it is to not award them to politically charged Indian books. Democracy on the road is one that falls in both these categories but deserves each of the 5 stars very well. It describes the game day faces of almost all mainstream politicians without resorting to any sort of caricaturing. It is also the first book that sort of established for me that freebies although very savoury when handed out, turn sour in the long run without doing anything good in any scope beyond immediate-term. Must read for all aspiring politicians and journos.

[Benny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Election in India is a complicated affair at both the national level and the state level. Most foreigners who don't know India well will think that it's a battle between the Congress Party and the BJP. The truth is that neither of the parties are popular enough to command a majority in India and they are forced to forge alliances with local parties. These local players tend to pander to their own castes, depending on the states that they are in and the corresponding composition of each caste in that state. Additionally, non-caste based fault lines can also be found in West Bengal(Marxism), Tamil Nadu(pulling power of celebrities) and other places, making it a challenge to predict the outcome of any election without properly outstanding the dynamics of the many Indias.

This book is a perfect guide to a world where alliances are as fickle as a spinning bottle, as yesterday's conniving opponent could become your most trusted partner of tomorrow. It is a fascinating book that has deepened my understanding of India, a kaleidoscope of diverse nation-states.

[Sumit Bhagat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the breezy tone of this book and the premise of this motley crew of journalists hitting the road to understand how India votes. Ruchir provides an interesting overview of select elections over the last quarter of a century or so which makes for good bedtime reading. However, one thing that the book definitively lacks is that it fails to pack a punch with any incisive political, social or economic commentary and comes across more as a simple memoir than anything deeply analytical or insightful. A pleasant read, nonetheless, but falls slightly short of the richness I had expected from it.

[Lokeshvnkatesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've always been interested in the nuances of poll prediction. If you want a light read that isn't loaded with stats and studded with notable instances. More of a memoir than an analytical study.

[Akshat · Rating 3 out of 5]

For an enthusiast of Indian politics, this book was thoroughly intriguing. I got to live through the book, experiences which I may otherwise not be entitled to due to a multitude of factors including the necessary contacts/networks and constraints of time.

The book is written well and flows smoothly across the decades. In particular, I liked Ruchir's style of writing which kept me consistently captivated.

I was nevertheless left with a feeling that Ruchir was writing pushing a predisposed narrative in mind and any research collected was largely to support and lend credibility to that narrative.

On page 187, Ruchir had written about a Rahul Gandhi rally in Samastipur, Bihar where he felt that Rahul had 'tried to connect in the fumbling way of gentry trying to speak the language of the street', which I felt was quite ironic as the book left me with a similar initial impression about Ruchir, wrong as it could well be.

[Nishant Kumar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent book in which the author covers his journey of covering elections along with his peers . It's more of an experience expressive book.

[Mitul Choksi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. Quick read. Great insights. Thoroughly entertaining

Good book. Quick read. Great insights. Thoroughly entertaining.
I suggest you buy it if interested in Indian elections.
Jai Hind

[Riva Sinha · Rating 3 out of 5]

An insipid book. Although they are useful insights into Indian elections , it is not compelling. Instead of being about elections, it is about what he and his team did during elections. All through the author tacitly criticises right wing groups and the communists. His Congress leanings are discernable if not obvious. We can still ise this book to see how the elite sees the elections

[Karthik Ram · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book doesn't do justice to its interesting premise and stellar star cast. More attention than necessary to hotels where the LLs stayed. Most disappointed by a couple of factual errors (Eg: Shivraj Chouhan replacing Uma B, Nilekani contesting elections in 2009) and its poor understanding of South Indian politics.

[Mitesh · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is more of a travelogue describing the author's travel experiences pre-elections (state and national) in the past 25 years. While I was expecting at least some political analysis, there was barely any. It turns out to be a collation of travel memories and behind-the-scenes gossip among the elite columnists. Also, there is some bias observed in the tone and commentary where the author appears to be leaning towards Congress and criticizing the BJP governments. Now that the outcome of the 2019 elections is out, his end to the book clearly points out he wouldn't have expected this outcome. What I particularly did not like was the repeated reviews of the hotels the traveling team stayed at, the #kms traveled for each journey and such other insipid details that have no bearing on the narrative. The only insight I got was how the 'liberal/ elite' media views the Indian elections. Avoidable.

[Sayali Chandorkar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book #9 If considered a leisure read - about Ruchir Sharma reminiscing his time following elections across India (Kashmir & NE conveniently ignored) and giving us a quick revision of the last 25 years -the book is half-decent and well written. But it's hard not to be disappointed by the lack of depth in a book written by a renowned economist and author. It would be unreasonable to expect a book on Indian politics to be unbiased, but gushing over Rahul Gandhi's handsomeness and comparing Modi to Putin is a tad much.
PS - The production quality on the audiobook was so doordharshan-like - at one point, bang in the middle of talking about state policy, the narrator abruptly repeats a word and goes "dono options de diye hai kyunki dono pronunciations hotey hai."

[Nikhil Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a travelogue of Indian democracy for the last 25 years. The author presents his memories and insights from the road, showing the quirks and tussles of Indian politics, the changing political geography of India and invariably chaotic drama of Indian elections.

[Sumanth J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Extremely laborious read.

[Parth Agrawal · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading the other two books of this author, I was expecting it to be an intellectual paradise as in both the other books, he had been at his explanatory best. It dawned upon me much letter that the other two books were argumentative in nature while this one was a memoir. He was trying to make a point by explaining the economic pattern he observed and how did those theories tick those nations and their economies while in this one, he has documented his visits that he has and his team of journalists have bene undertaking since he was in his early twenties. There are quite a fascinating stories in this book but I suppose it would make a very exciting read for an election-buff while I myself have always been interested in the broad pattern of the electoral process and not in each and every single incident that takes place while the grand gala plays out

This book wasn't a total disappointment for me though because at the end, the author has concluded the narrative by outlining the general patterns that he observed in his trips. Let me enlist some of them here which I found particularly amusing:

1) In other countries, elections have been more and more about economic promises and delivering upon the market reforms while in India there are many examples where anti-incumbency trumped even when the leaders fulfilled the economic promises of the people. Glaring examples being Mr. Manmohan Singh, Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu and Mr. P V Narsimha Rao

2) Funnily enough in India, possibility of people missing out on the effects of a double-digit economic growth exists but the same set missing out on the effects of double-digit inflation rates is remote. This raises a very important question about the inherent inequalities that exist in the economic system in India such that people miss out on success story while consider themselves to be the protagonist of the failed story

3) Author took an interview of a DM in UP regarding the challenges that he faced. He highlighted the examples which actually phrased like this- "People not only expect the government to do everything, they also expect them to do even those things which they are ought to do themselves". Expectation mismatch is the running story of India irrespective of linguistics, caste, religion etc

4) Community attachment and presenting oneself as the one who really belongs there and will be working towards the benefits of those community members irrespective of whether their demands are justified or not is the winning mantra for any leader to win locally but it comes with its own set of problems as no community, whether categorised on the basis of caste, religion, linguistics, creed, etc will be able to muster enough numbers to make a lasting impact upon the national discourse. N T Rama Rao once famously remarked that "Centre is a myth. State is the reality. India is too heterogeneous to be categorised under a single umbrella of popular nationalism"

India is an enigma that is not meant to be solved like a puzzle because humans try to solve anything only to control the outcome that stems from it. It encourages pursuit from the curious only to make them realise that the journey of exploration is what matters as this isn't something one should aspire to control. The most apt line to describe India would be-

" Disorganised, chaotic, always on the brink, yet somehow, it miraculously manages to smile and move forward"

[Neeladri Sarkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hot on the heels of the upcoming General Elections, this books makes for a compelling read for anyone interested to know how elections have panned out in the past in the manner that they have while predicting what the future could hold for the nation.

It tells the stories of Ruchir Sharma's crew comprising the likes of Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy, Shekhar Gupta and Dorab Sopariwala to name a few, covering close to thirty elections over the past 25 years. This includes a host of State Elections and the General Elections in between. As the crew hops from one state to the other to cover the polls, 5 major themes emerge:

1- Political success is not very closely related to economic success. The latter often does not bring about the former. The path of development will not solely guarantee votes; at the same time following the path of providing only freebies will also not guarantee success(Ashok Gehlot and Chandrababu Naidu are prime examples). Maintaining the right balance is crucial.
2- State Assembly Elections are fiercely fought on local issues and hence any attempt to link a state result as a referendum of the Centre's performance will possibly not provide the right indication.(Read UP 2017)
3- The Indian voter has started giving the incumbent a chance. However, that has rarely extended beyond 2 terms. Barring the states of West Bengal and Gujarat, all states have not kept the same people in power for a very long period(MP and Chattisgarh recently witnessed this). Thus, surviving beyond the second term is becoming an extremely difficult task for any political party.
4- While predicting an election, it is imperative to look at the rural picture. If you miss that, chances are you'll predict the outcome incorrectly.
5- No matter what political parties proclaim, almost all of them are firmly socialist in nature and India is extremely far off from operating a free market economy. It is the pull towards socialism that often keeps them in power.

These themes have been depicted by a wide variety of election stories which involve witnessing election speeches and interviewing politicians, bureaucrats and the voters. While approximately fifteen states have been covered here, I was a bit disappointed to not find the Delhi Elections of 2016 being reported. It would have been interesting to know what went behind that historic result.

The book also highlights a few aspects so central to India that the author wonders if they would ever be tackled. These include the caste system, religious divide, the apathy of the politicians etc. It is as if India is destined to find its way amidst the chaos that these things bring about.

Although the book ends on a positive note stating that democracy in India is alive and kicking(largely due to the power of voting), there is a word of caution by the author. Drawing parallels to Erdogan's rule in Turkey, Ruchir Sharma highlights the pitfalls of having a strongman in power(at all levels) who needs to be checked and held accountable at all times for democracy to prevail.

[Anish Malpani · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was nostalgic reading this. And I don't even have the right to be that nostalgic. I haven't lived in India for over twenty years. I have visited often but not been connected enough. And I'm about to go back and start something there. So there is this aura or voodoo of "the return" that will be met with as much scorn as support. Or more likely, who cares anyway?

This book was somewhat the beginning of starting to read more about India. I "get" India but I don't think I get it enough. This book chronicles the recent past of India's journey through politics. It's a bunch of journalists, led by Ruchir, frolicking around in their Innovas, visiting big and small towns, villages and states, trying to understand how the population votes. It's very detailed with a lot of names, and enough perspective and stories to make it a nice read.

While I sometimes got lost with all the names of politicians, my key takeaways were clear. India seems to be a country of 29 different countries with different cultures and languages. Nothing new there, but even the governance at the state level is so much more important than at the federal level. And if anything, more autonomy at the state-level should lead to more growth. The rural story versus the urban story is starkly different and there should be no assumptions made about either based on the other. Democracy in India works, but in a weird balancing kind of way. Incumbents have to be wary as the population demands change. Economic development doesn't necessarily guarantee a second term. The rural game is still a very caste versus religion game.

Ruchir's perspective on Modi was interesting. What stood out was how Modi was driving a more centralized federal government versus hinting earlier at a something more decentralized. This is less about BJP and more about Modi. There is something emerging about single individuals in politics versus the nepotistic Gandhi dynasty. Even though Ruchir tried to be balanced about Modi, I think, in the end he's more anti-Modi than positive, and to be fair, that's a valid perspective. He ends the book in 2018 by commemorating the resurgence of the Congress or and a potential threat for the Modi reelection. In essence, it seemed to me that if you asked Ruchir in 2018 who would win the 2019 election, he would have bent towards the Congress. It's just a harrowing fact that his intuition was horribly wrong as Modi won by a landslide. Maybe India is not against incumbents. Or maybe the winds will change again.

All in all, the book was a difficult read at times because of the details and the army of names and stories. But, I would recommend it if you want to get a better understanding about politics in India.

[Ankit Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Democracy On The Road
A 25 - Year Journey Through India
By Ruchir Sharma

We are In 2019 Year, A year With General Elections Just Few Days Left from Now.
In India General Elections Are Proceed In A Very Interesting And Dramatically Way , As All The National Parties Are Busy In Engaging candidates And preparing Plan of Action of What Is Need To present In Front of Voters To Get Positive Responses. And Getting Larger of Votes To Win The Battle of World Largest democracy, India.

By Reading First Few pages of The Book, Author Ruchir Sharma Explain How He Get Interest in Political Cover Up, chasing election campaigns across every major state In India.

This Book Come In A Perfect Time Where Elections Countdown Already Begins, What I Like In This Book Is Authors Dedication To Present His Research Work on How In India Elections Proceed And Done. The Book Covers of Around 25 Years of Journey By Author To Know And Get Maximum Knowledge on About Indian Elections And Politics. In My Opinion The Book Is Perfect if You Really Interested To Know How Or Nation Faces A Elections Whether It State Level Or A National Level , Through I Personally Like The Views Express By Author And Research Work Done By Author on Such A Great Topic Line Political System And Elections In India.

Author Truly Present The Truth of our Elections In A Book As How The Caste Matters While Choosing Candidate As Well Positive And Negative Faces of Elections.
This Book Is Truly A Encyclopedia on our Elections System And Indian Political Changes , Author Ruchir Sharma Really Very Much Engaged Himself To Get Maximum Knowledge And Structural Core of Elections In India And Through This Book He Present His Complete Research With A Little Bit of Twist And truth of our democracy.

After Reading Book I Am Sure Every One Will Know The Democracy System of our Nation As This Is A Truthful And honest Efforts of Author To Provide Enhanced And Each And Every Aspect of out Nations Elections In Most effective Way .

So My Recommendation For This Book Is Must Be Read To Know Your Nations Democracy In A Very Interesting Manner And A Personal Experience’s of Author And His Wonderful Research Work On This Topic Line.