Insider Perspective of History in the Making
Arun Bhatnagar
INDIA’S TIPPING POINT: THE VIEW FROM 7 RACE COURSE ROAD S. Narendra Bloomsbury India, 2023, 212 pp., 699.00
June 2023, volume 47, No 6

The author, S Narendra, formerly of the Indian Information Service, has comprehensively explored the extraordinary rise of PV Narasimha Rao (PVNR) from the grassroots, a journey that saw him become Prime Minister in June 1991 and the only one till then, from outside the Nehru-Gandhi fold, to complete a full term in office. He was known for his sharp analyses of political situations and was prominent in many an electoral battle.

It seems fair to say that even as India witnessed tipping points, such as its emergence as a full-fledged Republic in January 1950, and the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971-72 considerably before the launch of wide-ranging reforms (24 July, 1991), this should not detract from the critical importance of the expeditious steps initiated under PVNR at a juncture when the worst economic and financial crisis, post-Independence, had hit the country.

A quote at the outset of the narrative, from the Financial Times, London, in regard to abolition of the licence raj, is telling and says it all:

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