Believer's Dilemma, Abhishek Choudhary's second volume on Vajpayee, covers one of the most tumultuous episodes in Indian politics, when Kamandal opposed Mandal (caste).
Before this volatile stage, Morarji Desai, who had the "Gujarati instinct for business" in addition to being a Gandhian, became prime minister of the Janata government. A non-Congress government had taken power for the very first time in the history of independent India. Additionally, it was the first time that Vajpayee's Ministry of External Affairs would have such a significant role in the administration.
The book begins with the rise of the Janata Party – an odd conglomerate of radical socialists and the right-wing Jana Sangh. Following Indira Gandhi's Emergency, this attempt drew these forces closer to the goal of re-establishing constitutional government and democracy.
During his tenure as India's foreign minister in the Janata Party government from 1977 to 1979, Vajpayee had to contend with the unyielding Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who refused to mention the 1971 India-Soviet Union Friendship Treaty during his visit to Moscow and opposed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) during his visit to Washington.
Additionally, both Desai and Vajpayee turned down Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Dayan's advances during their covert rendezvous at a run-down government mansion in New Delhi, much to Dayan's dismay.
When Indira Gandhi revealed the covert meeting with Dayan following her return to office in 1980, Vajpayee was embarrassed.
Choudhary provides a detailed description of Vajpayee's first day of work. Vajpayee quickly ordered the restoration of a portrait of Jawaharlal Nehru that had been removed from the ministry's corridors. "What happened to it?” The Janata Party leader is said to have said, "I want it back."
Choudhary continues by documenting Vajpayee's early and frequently controversial decisions as foreign minister, such as his efforts to advance Hindi in the ministry. Shortly afterward, Vajpayee gave the UN General Assembly his historic first Hindi speech.
The book goes on to chronicle Vajpayee’s tenure as Indian prime minister. The terrible Godhra tragedy in 2002, which claimed the lives of 59 Karsevaks and sparked widespread hatred and violence against Muslims, was one of the saddest events of these five years. An elaboration of the depressing and tragic political stories from those horrific times showcases Vajpayee, the prime minister, as both cunning and enigmatic.
Choudhary also describes the political churnings in the days leading up to the mosque's ultimate destruction in Ayodhya as well as Vajpayee's vague position on the endeavour. On December 5, 1992, Vajpayee travelled to Lucknow with Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi to speak at a public gathering.
Vajpayee responded, "Asha hai, aur ashanka bhi," when asked if he hoped the Babri Masjid will be secure tomorrow. Following the demolition, Vajpayee noted that "the outcry was an overreaction, for which he blamed the left-liberal press and intelligentsia: 'It is inaccurate to say that the mosque has been demolished; it was a disputed structure that was being used as a temple."
Choudhary inevitably portrays a story of how moderates turn into midwives to extremism while chronicling Vajpayee's journey. Nonetheless, it is a book worth read.
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