From Indira's 'pro-Hindu' turn to Modi's 'new phase'

Veteran journalist Neerja Chowdhury speaks about her new book, How Prime Ministers Decide, which was recently awarded the 2024 Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman for Non-fiction

- Ronnie Kuriakose

How Prime Ministers Decide, Neerja Chowdhury digs deep into her decades-long career as a political reporter to bring up a captivating glimpse into the inner workings of India's highest political office.

The work featuring the legacies of six pivotal leaders – Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, V P Singh, Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh – is part biography and part political analysis, and a compelling study of leadership. It was awarded the 2024 Ramnath Goenka Sahithya Samman (Best Debut Non-fiction) by The New Indian Express Group.

Chowdhury says she was inspired to write the book upon realising that "the real story of how decisions were made at the top was very different" from public perception.

While many believe that the prime minister is "the most powerful person and can do anything s/he wants", she explains that this is not entirely the case. "The PM has to contend with all kinds of pressures – lobbies at work, nationally and internationally, pulls of caste, community, religious pressures from within one's own party..."

Also, no prime minister inherits a clean slate, she says. Each must navigate "the baggage of the past" while steering the nation forward.

Kitchen cabinets and coteries play a key role. Sometimes, Chowdhury says, they include individuals from outside the official system. For instance, Kapil Mohan and Anil Bali of the Mohan Meakin family (famous for their Old Monk rum).

"They were close confidants of Indira Gandhi," she says.

Indira Gandhi's crisis management