India Before Modi

'Sitapati's book is a wonderful read - like a fast-paced novel. The dramatis personae come alive on the page... [Readers] will relish the lively political storytelling, and learn a great deal about today's Indian political scene.' -- Survival 'India Before Modi is a thoroughly researched and engrossing book. It is a triple treat. It provides a riveting dual biography of Vajpayee and Advani, an indispensable guide to the long arc of Hindu Nationalism, and an insightful take on the making of modern India. It is a considerable achievement.' -- Professor Pratap Bhanu Mehta, former president of the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi-and Vice-Chancellor of Ashoka University, 2017 to 2019 'An illuminating and fluent narrative that charts the rise of the BJP: a story, as Vinay Sitapati tells it, which had less to do with grandiose ideology, more with a canny understanding and ruthless manipulation of electoral politics by the party's two founding shapers, A.B. Vajpayee and L.K. Advani. Sitapati's account reveals the BJP's impressive investment in winning power by electoral means -- and the equally impressive vacuum at the movement's heart, when it came to the exercise of democratic power.' -- Sunil Khilnani, Professor of Politics and History, Ashoka University, author of 'Incarnations: A History of India in Fifty Lives' 'A masterful storyteller and brilliant scholar, Sitapati delivers a truly insightful account of contemporary Indian politics and the characters that have shaped it .... there is much to learn and to argue within this book. An absolute must-read.' -- Yamini Aiyar, President and Chief Executive, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi 'This is a masterly study: well researched; clearly written; and full of rich insights. It is essential reading for anyone interested in understanding the origins of the BJP and the shape of contemporary Indian politics.' -- Atul Kohli, David K.E. Bruce Professor of International Affairs, Princeton University 'Sitapati once again highlights the crucial role of individuals in explaining big political outcomes, this time through his deeply researched study of the long partnership of Vajpayee and Advani in the rise of the BJP. ... Especially now, when their successors Narendra Modi and Amit Shah dominate both the BJP and India's political scene, this focus on how individual character, talents and strategy make political power is especially welcome.' -- Steven Wilkinson, Nilekani Professor of India and South Asia, Yale University