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Leaders,Politicians,Citizens
BALASAHEB THACKERAY. SHEILA DIKSHIT. A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM. NAMDEO DHASAL. S. JAIPAL REDDY. These are just some of the 50 dynamos whose lives and times are captured in this collection of profiles of some of the most prominent actors in independent India's political theatre. Game-changers Pranab Mukherjee, P.V. Narasimha Rao and Jyoti Basu; crowd-pulling swashbucklers Sheikh Abdullah and Laldenga; crusaders such as Kanshi Ram and Maulana Hussain Ahmad Madani; mavericks Chandraswami, Amar Singh and Ajit Kumar Jogi; charismatic leaders like Madhavrao Scindia and Mufti Mohammad Sayeed; possessors of star power, including Jayalalithaa, Vinod Khanna and M. Karunanidhi; and skilful navigators like Ahmed Patel and V.C. Shukla - all find place in this incontestable list. Traversing ideologies and bringing into focus the human facet of governments, Leaders, Politicians, Citizens presents a compelling history of Indian democracy and provides riveting insights into the evolution of its political culture.
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24 Akbar Road
In India???s constantly changing political, social and economic milieu, the Congress party has stayed one step ahead by constantly reinventing itself to stay in touch with peoples??? aspirations and the political realities of the day. Normally, a political party is known for its commitment to specific economic, social and political issues, but in the case of the Congress, ???ideology??? does not seem to matter in equal measure. In most cases, the Congress???s concept of ???continuity with change??? has helped the party tide over many crises. However, even though it is always adapting and changing, the Congress can by no stretch of the imagination be viewed as an ideologically-neutral organization. Over the years, the grand old party has developed an ideology of its own, albeit in a rather flexible and amorphous manner. This book tracks the story of the contemporary Congress ??? its key characters, its ideology, its failure and its success, in the years after the Emergency. Using the Congress seat of power at 24 Akbar Road as his vantage, author Rasheed Kidwai draws a compelling account of the rule ??? both backseat and forefront ??? of the various Congress leaders, from Indira Gandhi to Rahul Gandhi, who have helped steer its course.