Yesterday evening I have finished reading the book Half--Lion, How P.V. Narasimha Rao Transformed India written by Vinay Sitapathi. Author Sitapati is a political scientist, lawyer and a journalist, who teaches at Ashoka university, while writing for Indian Express, he is doing is PhD in Politics from Princeton University.

This book by the author, though not a biography in real sense, but having covered major aspects of PVNR and his life, it is meticulously researched and honestly told political biography, is a must -read, for lovers of politics and PV, in particular. In Fact, the various foot notes , citations and reference material makes it a great read. A good attempt has been made by the author, to introduce the legacy, of PVNR, while setting the context of his Govt, and his political thinking. I wouldn't hesitate to say that it is an amazing book where the writer has done good work collecting personal papers from his family members. The book combines political philosophy, and provides sympathetic portrait of one of the most misunderstood and maligned leaders in contemporary Indian history.

True to his name , the author " half- lionises " PV, a strongly left-oriented socialist, land reformer in his Chief Ministerial days, and sent to political wilderness before Rajiv' s assassination, his life seems full of contradictions. As we all know, the Congress has denied him a funeral in Delhi and a place along his party Heroes. He was considered as usurper to the Nehru- Gandhi throne, virtually castigated him as a conspirator in the destruction of Babri- Masjid in 1992 and to this day party holds him responsible for the erosion of its base in Hindi heart land and the fact of the matter is that the grand old 131 year party has erased him from its history. But honestly speaking, for the first time, some thing has come out with facts and figures, about Babri, vis a vis his role, and that chapter dealing with this is really very interesting, where he has dispelled all the doubts while proving beyond doubt ,that he did his best in this regard. Sitapati was more forgiving PV's role in demolition of Babri, which many consider to be the darkest hour of his tenure. Recounting in great detail the turmoil leading upto Dec 1992 , his indecision over whether to dismiss the State Govt , to impose Central rule, his misreading of BJP and VHP ,and the author here concludes that history has Judged Narasimha Rao harshly.

As I said earlier, though it is not a biography , but it takes the reader through his life from the early years of VANGARA in Karimnagar Dist. of TS, through his time in power to his humiliation in retirement .

Infact, sometime back, a relative-cum-friend of mine one Mr SantoshBabu, immediately after reading the book observed that the author had left over some important issues, which seems to be correct,. I have been disappointed that very important man who was associated with him from 1960s from his MLA days of Manthani, to PM Late V Rajeshwar Rao, Member Rajya Sabha and late AVR KrishnaMurthy, who was his Private Secretary also did not figure anywhere in the book. But apart from these minor issues, it is a must read book.