'Critics missed the best part of Jaswant's book'

Bangalore, Aug 6: The best part of the book penned by Former External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh has been lost in the controversy surrounding the reference he has made to the mole in the Prime Minister's Office, panelists at an interative session opined.

Participating in the session held here yesterday as part of the launch of the book, 'A Call to Honour--In service of Emergent India,' in the city, they said the media and critics had missed out on the best part of the book which brought out the personality of the author.

Stating that the book did not really come in the category of an autobiography, they said the first half was engrossing, but the second, which dealt mainly with politics, took the sheen out of an otherwise well written book.

Mr Singh, who enthralled a select audience by reading a few passages from the book, described the six years he had spent as minister under the NDA rule as a ''time of transition.'' ''I share the experience of only a part of my journey. I am satisfied that India's image was transformed, both externally and economically during the regime of A B Vajpayee.'' He said ''We believed that we demonstrated animal spirit in what ever we did. Fire in the belly is what it takes for a nation to get strong. Our foreign policy was not just a crisis management technique. To overcome the nuclear apartheid, the country went ahead with the Pokhran-II and this was to expose those who had the weapon.

This was a conceptual and profound challenge and we achieved it,'' he added.

Former Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra Governor P C Alexander said the first chapter, which talked about Mr Singh's childhood, was the most fascinating portrayal of his home and early life. Unfortunately the so called autobiography abruptly ended in the first chapter itself.

''I felt let down when I found that Mr Singh had not written more on himself... on what happened to Jaswant after his ten years in the army and his life as a boy in the desert village of the Rajasthan. But still we can savour the native wisdom of the son of the desert,'' he added.

Well known academician and social worker Devika Jain remarked that the second part of the book (which dealt mainly with politics) 'left her cold.' Politics in the 1990s and thereafter had become the 'unbecoming of the political world.' ''Leaders like C Rajagopalachari and Jawaharlal Nehru had a view about liberalisation, but believed that India should produce whatever it needed within the country. But the country has come a full circle to support economic liberalisation. I want Jaswant to write about a honourable politician and governance that could be admired if it can happen,'' she added.

Leading English weekly 'India Today' Editor Raj Chengappa said ''it is a good book...it is a pity that only some aspects (the mole issue) of it had reached the public knowledge.

''Some sense has obliterated the real worth of the book. Mr Singh brought pragmatism to the Indian foreign policy. His comments in the book that after Pokhran-II one sixth of the humanity had found its part in the world is memorable,'' he added.

Energy Institute Director Rajendra K Pachauri too agreed that the first chapter was the best part of the book. The book brilliantly explained the perceptive account of the value system Mr Singh grew with and he is keeping it up. ''Media and people have gone into a dungeon and missed the best part of the book,'' he opined.

Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said the book was rich in literary content and Mr Shigh was proud of his roots. It was interesting to read Mr Singh's obsession with his roots and the paradigm shift in the social values seen today. The chapter on United States was facinatating as it explained its obsession to become stronger without caring about the feelings of the other nations. ''This shows Mr Singh's clear understanding of the US, which believes that it is not part of the global village,'' she added.

UNI

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