India under Indira

The prime minister introduced a political model where popular support mattered more than institutions

- BY PRATUL SHARMA

INDIRA GANDHI AND THE YEARS THAT TRANSFORMED INDIA By Srinath Raghavan Published by Penguin Random House India Price ₹899; pages 367

In his meticulously researched and sharply argued book Indira Gandhi and the Years that Transformed India, historian Srinath Raghavan offers a clear-eyed account of a tumultuous era in Indian democracy. Spanning the period from her rise to power in January 1966 to her assassination in October 1984, the book is the result of over 15 years of research, enriched by access to newly declassified files. The Indira period, he argues, left a lasting impact on the politics and economy of the country.

Raghavan writes with a scholarly and restrained tone, letting facts speak. He avoids the temptation to draw parallels, preferring to let readers see for themselves how the past may echo in today's politics. He states that Indian politics shifted fundamentally after 1967, when the Congress party’s dominance began to weaken and executive power became concentrated in the prime minister's hands.