Contributions of Rajiv Gandhi re-explored in a book

Published by Pentagon Press, Resurgent India: Glimpses of Rajiv Gandhi’s Vision of India was launched by M Hamid Ansari (hon’ble vice president of India), in the presence of Veerappa Moily (hon’ble minister for petroleum & environment). The book is an endeavour to discover the true significance of the contributions of Rajiv Gandhi in different areas of national life.

Speaking about the book, its author PDT Achary (former secretary-general, Lok Sabha) said, “Rajiv Gandhi is perhaps one of the most misunderstood prime ministers in Indian history. It is important to first understand the heart and mind of one of the nation’s most influential leaders in order to be able to understand his ambitious policies in their entirety. Rajiv was clearly a man ahead of his time. While we are still living in a time period of five-year plans, his policies envisioned two decades. I hope I have been able to capture the essence of his futuristic vision and provide a balanced perspective of the media trial that he underwent during his tenure.”

This book analyses and objectively evaluates the contributions made by Rajiv Gandhi in many areas of national life during his prime ministership. The prologue takes us through the major phases in India’s history and highlights the continuity of its cultural and political traditions, beginning from the Indus Valley Civilization to the later part of the 20th century. The epilogue, besides narrating the post-1989 political developments characterized by instability caused by the coming and going of governments in quick succession and the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, provides a perspective on the latter’s personality and his performance as also the implications of his death for the political future of India.

The main theme of Resurgent India is an objective evaluation of Rajiv Gandhi’s contributions to the nation. The various accords he brought about on Punjab, Assam, Sri Lanka, etc., are some of his major achievements in finding solutions to those intractable problems. The author traces the history and the genesis of these problems and highlights in an unbiased manner the facts and situations that have not yet come to the public attention in any striking way. He analyses Rajiv Gandhi’s involvement in the difficult and complex process of bringing about these agreements. The genuineness of intentions and the absolute sincerity displayed by Rajiv Gandhi in making these agreements have been convincingly highlighted in the book.

Rajiv Gandhi had an active role in ushering in the ‘computer age’ that enabled the country to make a giant leap in information technology, taking telephones to the farthest corners of the country, formulating the strategy to expand the frontiers of scientific research and redefining the role of universities to achieve this object, liberating India’s education from the curse of mediocrity, and formulating legislations for the protection of the environment. He established a new equilibrium in India’s relationship with the superpowers and corrected the asymmetry in the overall foreign policy. He conducted foreign policy with great confidence and panache.

Rajiv Gandhi’s political style had a certain refinement that was a reflection of his own personality free from ideological dispositions; he forced his countrymen to sit up and gaze at the fast-changing world with all its wonderful achievements and to internalize the radical changes taking place in all fields of human endeavour. He made them dream of the 21st century and a strong and vibrant India. This was the essence of his politics. The book captures this and presents a positive picture of his ideas, approaches, thoughts and achievements. The book is printed by New Delhi based Avantika Printers Pvt Ltd.

The role of Pentagon since its inception in 1999 has been to understand the prevailing scenario and to relentlessly endeavour to empower people with knowledge. Their vision is to bring about peace and stability in the region by providing detailed and insightful analyses for better understanding of the prevailing issues. This has resulted in Pentagon Press producing relevant literature with quality publication and rich content value, for which they are sought after by academicians, policymakers and civil society stakeholders. In light of this, they were conferred with Best Publishers Award twice. Their recent book Thought for Change by former president of India APJ Abdul Kalam has been a bestseller.