There is a personal bias when writing a review of a book authored by a good friend of almost half a century. Even more so when the author is an Indian and the reviewer a Pakistani. Mani Shankar Aiyar and I have periodically strongly disagreed on aspects of Pakistan-India relations. Yet our friendship has survived all the blizzards.
In a recent online discussion involving several other participants from both countries, Aiyar said, “Pakistan-India relations should be conducted on the Aiyar-Jabbar model: ‘Keep disagreeing, keep talking, keep listening!’”
The third volume of Aiyar’s autobiographical journey—A Maverick in Politics: 1991-2024—marks a rare hat-trick of robust, engaging writing. And the title is apt because the author is certainly an unorthodox political personality. But the word “maverick”, in actual usage, has also come to connote flippancy and amateurism. Whereas, both in the previous two volumes—The Rajiv I Knew and Memoirs of a Maverick—and in this book, Aiyar establishes the solemn gravitas which powered his entry into politics and sustained him through thirty turbulent years. He demonstrated the unshakeable dedication typified by missionaries who remain steadfast in their toil, regardless of whether they convert a million to their faith or fail to make even a single being see the light. A religious metaphor is ironic because the author wears his atheism on his sleeve even as he is imbued with rich humanism.
The writing, though substantive, is neither preachy nor pretentious. Words come candidly and evocatively. Narratives of episodes and themes focus on essence even as strongly personal perspectives shape content. For a Member of Parliament whose abrasive, blunt rhetoric often pungently pilloried others, requiring presiding Chairmen to expunge several words he uttered, Aiyar emerges as exceptionally self-critical, even frequently too harshly so. It’s a reflection of his core integrity and the ability to conduct unblinking self-appraisal. Partly offsetting this tendency is an infectious sense of humour that surfaces regularly and sometimes uses prickly barbs to hit with sheer wit.
As so well expressed in this book, Aiyar’s wife Suneet has always strengthened him with wise counsel, indomitable patience and love, fortified by three extraordinarily gifted daughters.
Also read: When Mani Shankar Aiyar couldn’t wish Rahul Gandhi happy birthday. And what Priyanka said
Relations between India and Pakistan
Perhaps no one else in India equals the missionary courage and zeal with which Aiyar, in this book in particular and in general discourse, urges improved relations between Pakistan and India—through uninterrupted dialogue. So consistently and sincerely is he committed to this goal that he again reiterates the case for continued engagement, undistracted by incidents, polemics or media hysteria.
He has paid a painful price for this commitment to peace-building because he is so unjustly accused by some of being a Pakistani agent. This author, as an unashamedly parochial Pakistani, wants to affirm the fact that one has come across few Indians as profoundly devoted to India as Aiyar. It is his infinite love for his country which clearly empowers his advocacy for unconditional dialogue. Viewed against the mantra of the BJP government’s warped allegations of terrorism by Pakistan against India, the author accurately points out on page 341 that: “No state has suffered so much from terrorism as Pakistan itself”. Understandably, he does not deal with the well-founded, widespread conviction in Pakistan that there is a covert Indian R&AW hand behind the futile attempts to sabotage Pakistan-China relations through insurgent-aided violence and terrorist attacks in Balochistan.
On page 72, he recounts a meeting with the President of Togo during a visit in the mid-1990s to Francophone West Africa to project India’s position on the popular turbulence in Kashmir. Alas, in this instance, he succumbs to a misrepresentation of Pakistan’s genesis by stating: “The president was initially surprised to learn that Pakistan was formed by its secession from India on religious grounds”. That is simply untrue. Prior to mid-August 1947, there never existed an Indian state in the form that was born on 15 August that year. So there was no question of a new entity “seceding” from another, already-existing nation-state. There were over 560 princely states, with some enjoying quasi-independent status, apart from British-ruled states. India was so named as a diverse South Asian region, not a single, pre-existing entity. Two entirely new political units, known as Pakistan and India, were created on 14 and 15 August.
Be that as it may, his missionary passion for worthy causes shines through in his recollections of services rendered both as a political figure and as a cabinet minister. To counter the frenzy being worked up about Ayodhya in 1992, he devised and personally led a long march termed the Ram-Rahim Yatra from the first week of October to about mid-November, covering thousands of kilometres. The yatra emphasised the multi-faith character of India and enjoins respect for the places of worship dear to each religion.
Also read: Only person in Congress who recalls Rajiv’s contributions to India is Mani Shankar Aiyar
An illustrious career
Appointed the first-ever Minister for Panchayati Raj between 2004-2009, he steered complex processes with over two dozen states, each with its own individual approach to devolution and financial re-distribution. Despite abiding resistance to the realignment of power in favour of the grassroots, Aiyar rightly takes pride in stressing that, with about 1.4 million women elected to different tiers, India outnumbers all other countries of the world in bestowing electoral status to the female gender.
As Minister for Petroleum between 2004-2006—in addition to the pipeline projects that have not materialised for a variety of reasons—he also promoted new holistic, conceptual approaches to energy development and use, conducting active oil diplomacy and exploring imaginative new options. As Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports between 2006-2008, the author identifies several actions he took to caution the government against excessive expenditures on hosting the Commonwealth Games. He urged the government to first make India a “sporting nation” instead of a costly sports-hosting nation. His planned new sports policy remained a draft when the ministry was taken away from him while he was on an overseas visit. As Minister for the Development of the North East Region, 2006-2009, Aiyar stated that “There was no ministry I enjoyed more than DoNER”. He highlights several innovative initiatives taken, and enormous effort invested in preparing the comprehensive document titled “Vision 2020”, which offered precise details on how the region could be transformed to “a position of national economic eminence in a few decades”. Unfortunately, his loss in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls abruptly ended the continued pursuit of that laudable vision.
His subsequent six-year tenure in the Rajya Sabha, 2010-2016, as a nominated member should not deflect from his enormous achievements in the Lok Sabha as an elected Member for three terms, notwithstanding his failures to win in four other elections.
Choosing to represent a far-flung rural constituency named Mayiladuthurai in Tamil Nadu, he diligently strove to provide disadvantaged poor citizens with a large number of basic facilities. He also campaigned hard with potential investors to bring home big projects for employment opportunities. Cruelly, his tireless work for constituents made no difference to his electoral fortunes. IK Gujral, who was one of India’s most illustrious leaders and prime ministers, is quoted by Aiyar as having told his wife Suneet on a social occasion: “Ask him not to waste his time (by touring his constituency for 40 consecutive days). I’ve never known of an MP getting re-elected because of his work for the constituency.” It implies that larger political and partisan factors, themes and issues prevailing in the public space, alliances of parties, endorsement by party chiefs, coalitions of local leaders, and the temper of the times can determine ballot counts far more than local projects sponsored by the incumbent representative. The defeats he suffered came from one or more of the other elements implicit in Gujral’s prescient observation.
Aiyar’s indefatigable research, regular participation in debates, and his persuasive articulation secured for him the honour of being declared “Outstanding Parliamentarian of the Year” for 2006. Concurrent to his work inside Parliament, and outside it, his prolific, highly readable writings—which made him at one time the highest-paid columnist in India—and his inimitable gift for speech and repartee, gave him a distinctive place in the public domain.
Also read: I told Rajiv Gandhi to visit Pakistan. It was like Prince Edward visiting France: Mani Shankar Aiyar
A complicated relationship
In three out of 15 chapters in the book, the author narrates how an MP has to relate in three contexts: with his constituency, with his state, and with the party. Each of these presented complicated challenges arising from political dynamics, the peculiarities of principal patrons, personalities and adversaries. Trying to navigate through these currents often felt like being in a canoe heading for the rapids. Across the book, and especially in the concluding reflections, Aiyar’s relationship with the Congress Party draws a mixed, troubling picture of appreciation and ambivalence, of apathy and abandonment. Given no camaraderie of empathy when his famous remark about Modi allegedly being a mere “chaiwalla” was twisted and misused to attack him, he rightly felt betrayed by the organisation in which he felt most at home. While he did briefly stray to the Trianamol Congress and consider running as an Independent, he returned quickly to the party once led by his favourite Rajiv, and stayed on, despite Rahul Gandhi’s decision to deprive him of his last remaining party position.
In about 60 pages of ruminations titled: “Decline…Fade-out…Fall: 2016-2024”, the author unduly roams through regret and remorse, remonstrating with himself for often saying the wrong thing in public or making an unwise choice or rushing to the edge. On page 303, he bemoans that: “…I had achieved nothing noteworthy to warrant writing my autobiography”—only to prove that his judgement can sometimes be very flawed! Honest self-criticism should not become self-demeaning. Aiyar carved out for himself a very specific, dramatic, unmistakably original niche in the Indian polity, forever willing to speak out, and write boldly and forcefully with unfashionable, even unpopular views only in order to present the truth as he sees it. And thereby encourage analysis and reform.
In the penultimate chapter titled “Musings and Reflections on a Long Life”, Aiyar proves how invaluable the ideal of an India that is authentically pluralist and secular. His searing critique of Hindutva—which poses a threat both to the internal health of the country, and a danger to its neighbours—is aptly accompanied by a quote from Rajiv Gandhi speaking in the Lok Sabha on 3 May 1989: “A secular India alone is an India that can survive. Perhaps an India that is not secular does not deserve to survive”.
The reviewer is a former Senator & thrice a Federal Minister of Pakistan, and an award-winning author. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)