The first of its kind

This is at the same time an absorbing and a frustrating book that, in the end, does not quite measure up. It is defective in structure for it tries to do too much (being personal biography, national history and ministerial memoirs), and is far too selective on each count. It is absorbing for its (too few) glimpses of behind-the-scenes happenings, but also because it becomes a little easier to understand the author, who can strike you as both ponderous and pompous, even as he is able and well-read.

The book frustrates because Jaswant Singh is always spare with the essentials. We are not told how he came to believe that he should enter politics and give up a career in the army, or what he hoped to achieve in politics, except perhaps "reach Delhi". The political choice he made, the Jana Sangh, is also not explained""though there is good indication of his sense of nationalism in the discussion of why and how India came to be called India, how he sees Hinduism, and his response to the burning of a Muslim home outside his school compound in 1947.

One wonders also at the origin of the loftiness that underlines the focus on grand themes and the big picture, and the accompanying lack of respect for the briefing documents given to him by India's diplomats before important meetings, and his refusal to read them. An official who worked with him in the finance ministry recalls a meeting where Jaswant Singh as finance minister gave a broad approach to a problem, and when invited to go into the details, dismissed the meeting by saying "Spare me the numbers!"

That must be the most original approach any finance minister has shown. With no prior background in economics, Singh struggled to find the right idiom but sensed that India was at the cusp, and seized that theme. He describes how he opened up access to foreign exchange while the RBI governor was escorting him to a meeting with businessmen. What he does not dwell on is how he set Vijay Kelkar on a far-reaching course to change the approach to India's tax system. In a discussion with this reviewer, Singh had emphasised how the tax system must start dealing with tax-payers as citizens with rights and people who should be treated with respect""so no raids, no prior assumption of thievery, none of the police methods that are routine. It was a refreshing change that has not lasted.

Among the highlights of his period in office, he says the hijackers of IC-814 asked for $200 million but makes no mention in the book of whether any or no money was paid. Most readers would therefore assume that some money was in fact paid. The denial comes only after the question arouses debate. His handling of the letter that has caused controversy is equally incomprehensible: if someone in the government was divulging to the Americans the most sensitive information on nuclear-related meetings and decisions, why did he not seek a meeting with Narasimha Rao and warn him of the "mole"? And since there has been the inevitable speculation as to who was doing the leaking, several reputations have got besmirched. Surely, Jaswant Singh's responsibility now goes beyond giving the name to the Prime Minister. The account of his parleys with Strobe Talbott is slightly more revealing, but Talbott's is clearly the better and more detailed account.

The book has some partisan overtones in its discussions of contemporary history. That is understandable, but out of place in a book of this kind. After all, a partisan account of events on Singh's watch could be unflattering too. Surely, it was folly to go into a summit with Gen. Musharraf with no agreed agenda. Certainly, Singh dropped his guard when agreeing with his Pakistani counterpart on a "draft" at Agra that, fortunately, was shot down. And whatever made him go to Kandahar, it was a national humiliation for him to be on the same plane with the criminals whom India was freeing in the bargain that had been made.

For all that, Jaswant Singh needs to be complimented for being the first Indian politician to write his memoirs in this fashion. One wishes more would follow his example.

---

A CALL TO HONOUR
IN SERVICE OF EMERGENT INDIA

Jaswant Singh
Rupa & Co
Price: Rs 495; Pages: xx+426