Book review | In praise of Modi

Express News Service

Ruling parties have immense powers to dispense favours and very few governments are exceptions to this rule. A deluge of published material on the two terms of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the market since he assumed power in 2014 but only a tiny segment passes the test of academic excellence or scrutiny. The Midway Battle by Gautam Chintamani is another attempt to give us a detailed account of the achievements of the BJP government under PM Modi. 

Noted film historian Chintamani’s first known foray into political writing was the biography of Union Minister Rajnath Singh and now he has come out with 400 pages of Modi’s battle that is taking India through “multiple changes” for its “rightful place amongst world leaders”. Written in a lucid and racy style, the writer has covered the government’s schemes extensively. His account is literally in the truest sense the official version of achievements of the seven years of Modi government since the BJP was voted to power. The book never questions or critically assesses the impact of the policies and decisions on the politics and economy of the country. But then, are heroes ever questioned for their wrongs or failures?  

The author not only claims that India has witnessed economic growth in seven years of Modi being in power but also goes on to assert: “One of the significant factors that distinguished the Modi government’s efforts was how it ensured that growth benefitted all sections of society”. Even a fleeting glance at the economic data would have disputed his claims. The PM has been presented as a superhero whose rise to the country’s chief executive is to usher in a “new place in the world, notwithstanding challenges, criticism and opposition, both at home and abroad”.

Taking exception to the labelling of the BJP’s guiding principle as ‘right-wing’, Chintamani asserts that the ruling party is continuing to be guided by Deendayal Upadhyay’s ‘Integral Humanism’. The PM is given full marks for his handling of the pandemic. Dwelling on the BJP government’s foreign policy, Chintamani pronounces that “India under Modi re-invented itself on the world diplomacy map”. 

The PM traverses the world stage triumphantly forcing the comity of nations to take note of the importance of his country that was missing before he came to power. However, Chintamani finds faults with the Opposition that questions Modi’s governance and policy. It’s a book that will find appreciation among diehard BJP supporters and Modi fans but may not be taken seriously by the academia.

The Midway Battle
By: Gautam Chitamani
Publisher: Bloomsbury India
Pages: 256
Price: Rs 699