Messiah Modi: A Tale of Great Expectations

by Tavleen Singh

One of India’s most influential columnists, and one not averse to controversy, Tavleen Singh was among the few mainstream ‘Delhi’ voices to see the Narendra Modi wave coming in 2014. In Messiah Modi, she details her early support for Modi the candidate, followed by a helpless disenchantment with Modi the PM and the cabinet he headed.

She tells the story of his first term as it unfolded. From lynchings to demonetization up to Article 370, she gives an intimate account of her subject.

In the 2019 verdict, and her own inability to get it right, she sees that she and her ilk have been swept to the margins of India; the masses of India speak in one voice, and that voice chants ‘Modi’.

And yet, there is a marked difference between her enthusiasm of 2014 and her acceptance of 2019 as she examines whether Modi delivered on the promises he made in his first term. Is he the messiah so many hoped he would be? This is Tavleen Singh’s frank and forthright reckoning of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

296 pages, Hardcover

Published February 1, 2020

About the author

Tavleen Singh is the author of three books, Kashmir: A Tragedy of Errors, Lollipop Street: Why India Will Survive Her Politicians and Political and Incorrect. She spends her time between Delhi and Mumbai and writes four weekly political columns, in Hindi for Amar Ujala and Jansatta, and in English for syndication and an exclusive column for the Indian Express.

Reviews

[Umesh Kesavan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author's first memoir "Durbar" combined readability with reminiscences of some brave reportage. The second book -"India's broken tryst" was a diatribe against Sonia Gandhi which ends with hope in Modi. This latest book still has the hatred of Sonia Gandhi intact but gets ambiguous about Modi. This is not because of some espousal of lofty ideals like secularism but in typical Tavleen style, the reasons are personal. She hates Sonia deeply because Sonia scuppered her companion's Lavasa city project. After four years of "Har Har Modi", she is now confused because the Modi government cancelled her son's OCI status. In 1960s,we heard the slogan "The personal is political" across the world. Tavleen keeps reiterating it,albeit in negative ways.

[Divya Pal · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always savoured Tavleen Singh’s lucid and incisive writing about current events; hence the five star rating. Further, I have been an ardent admirer of Modi, but, like the author, have grown steadily disillusioned with his Hindutva agenda and inability to make sweeping changes in India. With the mandate that he has he can tame the slothful bureaucracy and get the economy going. He just seems to be receding into a shell. A more apt title would have been Failed Messiah.
Yet, the book is immensely readable. I wish the author could have restrained herself from pouring her pent-up vitriol against Sonia Gandhi and her progeny so frequently. Her visceral abhorrence of the “Dynasty” is rivalled probably by Arnab Goswami of Republic TV.

[Siddharth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book not only made me delve into the political dialogue that the author put forward but also into the background of the author as well. In one of the conversations with my near-one, I got to know that she was celebrated journalist of her time and it made me read this book with all the more intent.

Having said that, I loved the dialogue put forward by the journalist and found it to be equally weighted and by far tilted towards the betterment of the country. It is compelling me to look into Congress era of governance with more intent, as my knowledge on that is primarily based on folklore told by senior citizens. In the end, it's a political opinion of the writer and it will interesting to see how much of it will be accepted by the history.

[Varun Kannan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent and free flowing read. Would recommend it for those who closely follow the Modi government, and are keen observers of Indian politics in general.

[Somnath Chakraborty · Rating 2 out of 5]

An average read

I was not really impressed. Please keep in mind it I am not a bhakt. The criticism is only for the way the book reads. It is repetitive, full of writer's personal views and opinionsand most of those opinions are based on interactions with a small handful of people in her friends circle. It honestly felt as if I paid to read her diary. A big let down for I was having the impression that she will slowly and objectively present her case with facts and data rather than sharing her dialogues with unnamed sources and her own opinions.

[Pallav · Rating 4 out of 5]

This the first book of this author that i read . Every week i used to read her colums in indian express and i used to relate a lot to her also . In 2014 election , she upported modi and so did i and before coming to 2019 , there was a huge disspointment with the way things turned out . PARIVARTAN AND VIKAS he promised but still we are waiting for that parivartan and vikas . Things have not happened as we wanted [ by we i mean those supporters of modi who were not right wingers nor supporter of rss but were fed up with congress and wanted a change and gujrat model to imposed in india ] . What is most disturbing is crumbling of the fourth pillar of democracy that is media . Media has not been the same and that is why the modi government gow away with the horrendous decision of demonatization

Also this is not all pessimistic book , it also talks about some successes of the modi government in its first term like swach bharat abhiyan , jan dhan yojana , ujawala scheme etc and many schems were good but not proprely implemented like of adopting village etc . The last chapter tells us the reality that mr modi is our hope agaisnt hope . the opposition has been miserable and public is not at all ready to give congress another chance [ atleast not till shahzada is there ] hence mr modi is contiously capatlizing this waekness of opposition to his favour

we serously need alternative politics in this country

[Daksh Batra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tavleen Singh is one of the most entertaining political commentators and documenters to read. she has her very unique style of writing and expressing. she is blunt, to the point and extremely confident of her views. being a regular reader of Tavleen Singh's columns and read all her previous books, I would say is this book "Messiah Modi" is a decent read but not one of her finest or best works.

One of the best things about Tavleen's writing is she takes the reader on her journey in the past in a very chronological manner. The book talks about her journey through 6 years of NDA rule till 2019 and how her perception and views change about the Mr. Modi.

Where I felt this book fell short of the others is: one it's a bit repetitive about certain instances, second some of the chapters feel incomplete or are left midway through a story & third being that Tavleen is strongest at unabashedly expressing her opinions and I felt it left a lot on the reader to form an opinion and one didn't get much to read about her views and assessment.

In all, a good political read but being regular reader and admirer of Tavleen's writing, I expected much better.

[Divita Mathur · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rely on Tavleen Singh's books for a chronicled (and nearly objective) report of India's political climate. This one I imagine was not easy to write because she was a strong supporter of Modi the first time around and still is hopeful. Her constant plugs about how she knows the who's who of Indian elite, however, are increasingly distracting with every book. I totally see her point in describing her lifestyle - an exemplification of the rich English-only speaking Indian bubble that is very removed from the real India - as it lends credibility to her objectivity. But I wish she exercised brevity in those descriptions. I also wish she enriched her political commentary with more statistical/numeric evidence.

[Saswata Guha · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is really a story about her disillusionment with the current establishment. It is also perhaps a more balanced evaluation of the hits and misses although her rabid disdain for the Gandhi family tends to overpower her narrative on several occasions. The book is also repetitive in parts but by no means is it boring. In a truly Tavleen style, it is unapologetic and unabashed.

[Amit GR · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is no doubt Ms. Singh writes well, I enjoy her books. But, it is also clear that she is an angry and bitter woman who uses her book to promote her particular agenda of the hour. In this book, it’s to try and promote her boyfriend’s building site as well as promote her son who lied on his OCI application and later cried about being treated unfairly. It is clear that Ms. Singh believes that India should still have two distinct classes — the haves and the have nots and the blatant “holier than thou” attitude she writes about seems so invisible to her that the reader is left wondering if she is blinded completely to her own gluttony or if she actually just doesn’t care.

[B · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful and biased writing!

[Avid reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather than covering the subject, as the title suggests, this is more kind of travelogue of the author. Mostly felt disappointed that it doesnt cover the subject matter.

[Maittri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good things first: I was thoroughly engaged in the book. Tavleen Singh's writing is accessible and she manages to put her points across succinctly. This would be a good book for anyone who is a beginner when it comes to Indian politics and wants to ease into it. I liked the parts where she acknowledged her privilege and several others' who often give their opinions mingled with short sightedness and hypocrisy.


The issues I had with this text were the lack of thorough research and at times, objectivity. Singh's disdain for Congress feels personal, justified or not. One can argue that it's extremely hard to remain unbiased but it's a standard every journalist must aspire to, in my opinion. The book reads more like her journal than a piece that is meant to inform others of the political events. I would have liked more facts instead of other people's opinions and anonymous interviews.

I would give this book 3.5 stars. Like I said, it's a good book for beginners but more avid readers may look for information elsewhere.

Read for the Reading Women Challenge 2020 for the prompt Read a Biography