Lessons from PV Narsimha Rao, a forgotten hero

For many years, one had the general impression that a job in a major media house in South Mumbai was a cozy, 10 AM to 5 PM life with no headaches to carry home. Life was set as one would collect the appointment letter. In fact, I also heard many saying that the job is like a PIB (Press Information Bureau) officer’s duty, just reporting what the ministers would say. Both the jobs were perceived to be like a stenographer’s work – faithful reporting. All these impressions are now not because of any job insecurity, but one gets the inside view of the functioning of PIB officers. Yes, I am talking about a book - INDIA’S TIPPING POINT: The View from 7 Racecourse Road– penned by my friend S Narendra, former Principal Information Officer and advisor to many PMs, including PV Narsimha Rao. It is a great read as interesting developments unfold as you turn the pages. Though the book mainly focuses on the liberalisation era, it also throws light on the several hitherto unknown facets of Narsimha Rao’s political career as the PM.

If I had the money, I would have taken this book for an OTT series, if not a political movie. India’s Tipping Point has all the drama, emotions, incidents of backstabbing and finally the own party literally forgetting the man who led the nation walking on a thin razor edge. But the beauty of Narendra’s book is that though seen as a detailed narration of the developments without much spice, the reader can feel the backstage or behind the scene ambiance.

For a long, successive opposition leaders have been speaking about unfettering the government media – AIR (or its Aakashwani now!) and DD. But when the same leaders, when in power, would not even whisper about a free electronic medium (during the pre-media liberalisation days). The kick that used to get used by the government media was something else. As Narendra writes, the Janata combine, with BJP as the biggest component, had promised to free the government media, they formed the BG Verghese committee for that and ultimately did nothing about it except though they blamed the Rajiv Gandhi government for (mis)using AIR and DD to promote the PM. Well, has the situation changed even now? Those of us who occasionally tune into the Aakashwani get to hear the news bulletins saying “The Prime Minister today said….” Or “Pradhan Mantri ne aaj kaha hai ki…..” as the debate to free the government media died a slow death.

History books are written and rewritten as it suits the ruling dispensation and before anyone attempts to narrate the Ram Janmabhoomi story (or history), one should read what Narendra says. All political parties and the Home Ministry had arrived at a signed declaration not to disturb the status quo on the dispute. But the BJP suddenly decided to run the Advani Rath Yatra which altered not only the Ayodhya developments but led to a massive bloodshed. Here, Narendra talks about the crisis that a government media officer had to face. The government had decided to issue a full-page advertisement in newspapers with the all-party declaration signed by the parties involved. It was the Diwali season. Around 5.30 AM the phone rang and Narendra picked up the receiver. He heard his I&B Minister P Upendra’s voice and greeted him “Happy Diwali, Sir”. Upendra blasted: What bloody Happy Diwali? Have you seen the newspapers?” Narendra realised that the ad appeared without the signatories’ part. The Minister wanted Narendra to take action against the executive who was responsible for the blunder. Narendra refused and owned up the responsibility and offered to resign. Praiseworthy, particularly because one comes across officials in responsible positions trying to find scapegoats to cover their backsides. Please read the book to know how the blunder crept in and how the crisis situation was salvaged.

Apart from team leadership, the government media officer also displayed some guts refusing to be caught in political traps. Arjun Singh wanted Narendra to plant a story against Narsimha Rao to spoil the low-profile Andhra politician to sabotage his chances of becoming the Prime Minister, post the 1991 elections. Narendra refused. Hats off. (This reminds me of another friend TC Ajit, a private sector PR professional, who had refused his corporate bosses’ order to carry a blank signed cheque from the company to be handed over to an editor in Delhi as a bribe to plant stories against a major corporate tycoon. More about it, some other time.)

Government information officer and creativity? Aren’t they just supposed to follow the instructions and merely statements? If you are under that impression, Narendra proves you wrong. Vakratunda Mahakaya...Yes, Narendra invoked Lord Ganesha for another government ad on scrapping the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) as the first step towards the economic reforms. Though Tiger is our national animal, the DAVP headed by Narendra used elephant as the visual and the tagline ‘Elephant Unshackled’. There was a hue and cry and Narsimha Rao asked Narendra to explain. His response was simple and convincing. Some Southeast Asian countries use the tiger mascot. He described all the strong attributes of an elephant – surefooted, graceful and impactful. And the animal is identified with Lord Ganesha. Narsimha Rao respected this professionalism as Narendra survived another conspiracy!

The reforms were certainly a bold step and we are all reaping its benefits today. India stands amid global uncertainties only due to the liberalisation and the competitive spirit that was introduced by the Rao regime. But what transpired during the reforms process is a good story that I dare not explain. Let Narendra do it with all the authority, insight and ringside view that he commanded. Narsimha Rao was in-charge of a minority government, a fragile one as The Financial Times described. Yet the government initiated bold economic reforms and despite widespread criticism, Narsimha Rao stuck to his guns and said the process was irreversible. A major factor that comes out of India’s Tipping Point is that Narsimha Rao did all that without chest-thumping and sans a whimper, let alone cribbing, about the opposition and criticism.

Narsimha Rao was a complex person, never impulsive. His career as the PM was also equally complex from Ram and Reservation tangles to Kashmir crisis, external affairs issues and scams. The most damaging was the one related to the Harshad Mehta scam in which the big bull claimed to have met the PM and donated Rs one crore for the Congress. He didn’t hurry for a panic denial which came out subsequently after much thought. The JPC ultimately cleared him. He gathered inputs from many sources. As his nature was, he deliberated a lot. He was not the one to hurry to curry as the British would say.

I am also not in a hurry to describe or review all that Narendra wrote! On his 200-odd pages, the writer demonstrates how history refuses to move in a straight line as Ambassador Lakhan Lal Mehrotra comments.

I for one thoroughly enjoyed reading India’s Tipping Point. But towards the end, going through ‘The Downhill Slide’, I felt a huge void in my heart. Why? I strongly recommend you read the book yourself, not from the last chapter but from page 1. You will realise how Narsimha Rao digested all criticism like the mighty elephant, remained unmoved. You will also brush aside all those political, nonsense talk about his body language. And for Narendra, one kadak salute for remaining firm, committed and thoroughly professional throughout his career serving both the Congress and non-Congress Governments. Finally, India’s Tipping Point is unputdownable!

(The columnist is a Mumbai-based independent media veteran, running websites and a YouTube channel known for his thought-provoking messaging)