SynopsisThe story of Amit Shah’s political life, struggles, rise and triumph is little
known. For a leader who is often referred to as the Chanakya of Indian politics, who has dominated India’s fast-paced and complex political stage since 2014, has altered its electoral
map by leading the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to successive historic victories post the May 2014 general elections, there is very little that is recorded or narrated.
Yet, the curiosity that he continues to generate, the interest that he elicits from people across the spectrum is increasing by the day. Most of what is written about Amit Shah is based on conjectures, hearsay, assumptions and biases. The real Amit Shah, the once booth-worker and now national president of the largest political party in the world, the leader who can clinically plan a sharp electoral strike and with the same precision can discuss political philosophy, the master strategist who has pushed the BJP to an organisational pinnacle and yet talks of scaling peaks, a man who is unhesitant and forceful in his stand on nationalism and on anything which concerns India’s national interest, has remained in the shadows, in the margin, self-effaced.
The story of how he expanded the BJP into a pan-Indian party and the convergence of organisational science and ideology that has made the BJP a unique and formidable political entity is a story that needs to be told. This is an account of Amit Shah’s personal and political journey, an account of the ideological world that shaped him, an account of the party that he is leading and shaping today. It is for the first time that his story is being told—an authentic, noholdsbarred and detailed narration of one of the most influential leaders of our times.
To the political worker, to the observer, scholar and student of Indian politics as well as to the lay and interested reader who have no position but are intrigued by the unfolding of Indian politics since the summer of 2014, this book is bound to be a fascinating exploration through the political life and journey of one of its central characters.
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Binding: PaperBack
About the author
Anirban Ganguly is the Director of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation (SPMRF), the think tank of the BJP. He is the National Co-In-Charge of the Library and Documentation Department of the BJP and member of the Policy Research Department of the party. He has extensively worked in the areas of public policy, political research and ideological issues.
Dr Ganguly is also a scholar of civilisation, history, politics and culture and is a member of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), Ministry of Human Resources Development, Member of the Governing Board of Auroville Foundation (MHRD), Member of the Visva-Bharati Samsad (Court), Santiniketan.Between 2010 and 2013 he was Research Fellow at Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), New Delhi.
Dr. Ganguly regularly lectures in various leading Universities and Institutions across the country. Author of three books, ‘Debating Culture’—(New Delhi, 2013), ‘Swami Vivekananda— Buddha and Buddhism: a Mystic Link’ (Kolkata, 2014), ‘Education: Philosophy and Practice’ (New Delhi, 2011), he has also authored numerous papers, chapters and monographs on civilisational, political, educational and cultural issues. A consistent proponent of projecting India as a civilisationalstate, Dr. Ganguly is also a columnist with the New Indian Express and the Daily Pioneer.
