SHAKTI SINHA first got to know Vajpayee in 1980, and worked with him very closely for three and a half years in
the 1990s, as secretary to the leader of the Opposition (1996-97) and as his private secretary (1998-99). He was also the director of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. He is a distinguished fellow at the India Foundation and is currently serving as the honorary director of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Policy Research and International Studies, MS University, Vadodara.
Former prime minister of India and member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was an understated and a singular politician of the kind rarely seen in contemporary times. His patriotism was uncompromising, forged out of the paradoxes of his life: the sensitive poet who summoned nerves of steel to conduct the Pokhran-II nuclear tests; the man from humble beginnings who envisioned a project as titanic as the Golden Quadrilateral
highway network. Devoid of any political pedigree or patronage, he harnessed his diplomatic acumen to transform India's relations with the United States, which had long been mired in misunderstandings rooted in the Cold War. His calculated decisions led to key strategic and economic policy achievements.
In this book, Shakti Sinha, a close associate of Vajpayee, helps us understand Vajpayee as a decision-maker. The narrative focuses on the political challenges Vajpayee faced, and on his key initiatives in the strategic and economic fields during his first term as prime minister, which have had a lasting impact. Vajpayee fleshes out not only Vajpayee's political philosophy but also provides an insider's account of how the former PM thought and worked.
A fascinating account of Vajpayee's life as prime minister and a bold statesman. Shakti Sinha comes across as a keen observer and an able narratorThe most challenging period in India's most difficult decade has been amply captured by the author who had the ringside view that was the envy of manyThose interested in a fascinating period of India's recent political history will glean much from a careful perusal of this compelling, first-hand accountPrime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee ended India's prolonged handwringing on nuclear policy, rolled back Pakistan Army's aggression in Kargil, and made a bold new effort to promote peace in Kashmir and reconciliation with Pakistan. A close associate of Vajpayee, Shakti Sinha offers deep insights into Vajpayee's leadership in those turbulent yet transformative years
