9th December 2021
This is an important book on the life and politics of Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), on the Socialist Movement in India, the role of the ‘Left’ in the Indian National Movement, on the flavour of politics in general during the initial decades after Independence, the JP Movement and the Emergency, and on the misery of JP’s last days. It is a readable story of how JP lived and interacted with those around him.
Political biographies in India, as a genre, generally have two distinct characteristics. They often tend to be hagiographies, and they eschew personal, intimate details. Happily this biography is quite free from these traits. It discusses JP’s life and choices with a certain freedom and does not shy away from providing personal details.