It couldn’t have come at a better time. Accidental India: A History of the Nation’s Passage Through Crisis and Change by award-winning journalist and columnist Shankkar Aiyar looks at seven turning points in India’s history that were result of crises that had to be resolved.
The book proves that India’s transformation from the pathos of poverty to the breath-taking promise of prosperity has been serendipitous. In the book, he aims to analyse the major turning points in India’s recent history, from economic liberalisation in 1991 to the Right to Information Act in 2005.
‘‘The book argues that the turning points in the country’s history were not the result of foresight or careful planning but were rather the accidental consequences of major crises that had to be resolved at any cost,’’ says the author.
Launched on October 23 by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the event was attended by ministers, industrialists, bureaucrats and media heavyweights. Among them were Bajaj Auto Chairman Rahul Bajaj, New Indian Express Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla, Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel, Minister of State for IT and Telecom Milind Deora, UID Chief Nandan Nilekani, bureaucrats Pradeep Bhide, Raghu Raman and Rohit Kansal, Editor-in-Chief of Tribune, Raj Chengappa and many others.