Book Summary: "A Chequered Brilliance: The Many Lives of V.K. Krishna Menon" - Jairam Ramesh

V.K. Krishna Menon, the protagonist in Jairam Ramesh's latest meticulously researched offering to biography buffs and cognoscenti of various stripes, was undeniably one of the icons who made the idea of India come alive on the national and international screens. Walt Whitman's famous line, "I am large, I contain multitudes", suits him. As Lord Mountbatten remarked in 1956, "You will certainly have a great place in history when it comes to be finally written."

Given this enviable branding, it is only expected that there will always remain a magnetic pull to delve deeper and mine his fascinating, compellingly inspirational life and times more extensively, even though his tomes are already available in the public domain. We now have 700-plus pages of fine print and photographs from Ramesh, which reportedly took only 15 months to assemble.

The stylistic curating of the book is its primary differentiator in what may be described as a reasonably jam-packed Krishna Menon genre. It is positioned as more of an epistolary novel, in the words of the legend himself and those of his contemporaries, as he evolved, as he achieved, as he stumbled, with the author being consciously non-judgmental, playing the empathetic sutradhar's part with finesse, resisting the temptation of indulging in 'psychohistory'.

Another notable differentiator concerns his assumption of the role of a knowledgeable aggregator, which emphasizes the substantial new source materials that have recently emerged in archives across diverse nations, including India, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Russia, France, China, and Australia. He has thus far examined only a limited quantity of these materials, which remain accessible for the intellectual pursuit and diligence of committed researchers, influenced by Ramesh's unwavering dedication.

Grab your copy by clicking on the below link:

Hard Cover: https://amzn.to/4gC8l8m

Kindle: https://amzn.to/3ZWJ7u5

Book publication date: December 2019.

Brief about the Author:

Jairam Ramesh

Jairam Ramesh is a Member of the Parliament of India, representing Andhra Pradesh in the Rajya Sabha. Before his new assignment, he was the Minister Of State (independent charge) in the Ministry Of Environment and Forests in UPA-II.

Jairam Ramesh also served as the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and the Minister of State for Power in the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government. He was also Advisor to the Finance Minister from 1996 to 1998, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission from 1992 to 1994, and Prime Minister in 1991. He has served in the Planning Commission, Ministry of Industry, and other economic departments of the central government.

He was entrusted with numerous special assignments, such as reorganizing India's international trade agencies in 1990 to implement the technology missions during 1987-89, reorganizing the CSIR in 1986, and analyzing energy policy during 1983-85. He was also invited to join the official delegation to the WTO meeting in Seattle in 1999. Born on 9 April 1954 at Chikmagalur in Karnataka,

Jairam Ramesh studied public management at Carnegie Mellon University from 1975 to 77 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) technology policy, economics, engineering and management as part of the newly –established inter-disciplinary Technology, Bombay (IIT-B), Mumbai in 1975. In 2001, IIT Bombay presented him with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

During his stint as the Union Minister of Environment & Forests, Jairam Ramesh pioneered the Green India initiative. He has authored several key government reports in diverse areas: energy, technology, capital goods, industrial policy, and telecom. He has been a founding member of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, promoted by the Wharton School, London Business School, and Kellogg School of Management. He is a member of the International Council of the New York-based Asia Society. His column on economics and public policy, 'Kautilya' in The Times of India, is very popular. He is also the author of the book 'Making Sense of Chindia', which describes the forces of globalization and liberalization and assesses international relations in today's world. Shri Jairam Ramesh has also anchored many popular television programs on business and the economy, including Business Breakfast and Crossfire. Under his dynamic leadership, the Ministry of Rural Development is expected to carry forward its pro-poor and pro-people initiatives on the road to inclusive growth and development.

A Chequered Brilliance:- Book Review

Exordium:

The reader is provided with intricate facts, cutting through positive and negative folklore clutter. Overarching it, all is the ardent hope that the man who is now remembered only for the debacle of 1962 or for his histrionics at the United Nations will emerge as one of the most formidably intellectual men of his generation, with stellar achievements and a mind-boggling canvas.

Overall, the expectations have been met satisfactorily. The book provides considerable justice to one of the most compelling, consequential, and controversial political figures, who has been referred to by various names, including Rasputin, Mephistopheles, Lucifer, Svengali, Evil Genius, The World's Most Hated Diplomat, Sombre Porcupine, The Formula Man, among numerous other notable epithets.

Krishna Menon is eloquently and sensitively portrayed as a supercharged, brilliant ascetic living on nothing but tea and buns. Although tormented by debilitating physical and psychological challenges, he did not let them get the better of him. For almost two decades in the 1930s and 40s, he was singularly responsible for creating and sustaining a climate of opinion favouring Indian Independence in politically significant sections of British society.

He initiated the idea of a Constituent Assembly with his mentor at the London School of Economics, Harold Laski, even sending in a draft Constitution, and went on to play a key role in the transfer-of-power negotiations, in close concert with Lord Mountbatten and Jawaharlal Nehru, as their valued sounding board, in the months leading up to the dismantling of imperial power. Having ensured that India continued in the Commonwealth between 1947 and 1950, he was a high commissioner with an impact in London despite being stung hard by the audit-generated Jeep scandal, which refused to go away for a protracted nine-year period.

The memorable and impactful interventions regarding Kashmir at the United Nations are remembered with great admiration. During the peak of the Cold War, Krishna Menon played a pivotal role in addressing numerous complex issues that transcended geographical boundaries and appropriately garnered widespread acclaim from the highest levels of global leadership.

Nevertheless, where an oversight appears to exist, undoubtedly unintentional, it effectively recalibrates the ongoing blame discourse surrounding the India-China conflict of 1959-1962. Regarding collective memory, this period was indisputably among the most arduous in the country's modern history. The author strives to ensure that Krishna Menon is acknowledged and affirmed as a central leader whose legacy should not be marred by this severe reproach.

This oversight may have arisen due to the stringent adherence to a chronological format that has structured and, in a manner, constrained the book's narrative. References to the characters involved in this conflict persistently emerge in various chapters of Part V at disparate time points, admittedly within differing contexts. Yet, they fail to illuminate the disjointed discourse effectively. The lingering animosity may continue to overshadow the author's diligent efforts.

During the 17 years that he was prime minister, the only person Nehru shared uninhibited intellectual camaraderie with was Krishna Menon. His induction into the Union cabinet as defence minister had everything to do with this much-misunderstood bond. Unfortunately, here, he performed the worst and was forced to exit. Nehru could not keep him back despite his stolid support.

The China imbroglio continues to be a drag, the fingers having written and moved on.

Epilogue:

VK Krishna Menon was an eclectic individual, possessing a larger-than-life persona and profound ambitions that significantly influenced the trajectory of India's future. Whether in his roles as a political activist, Indian High Commissioner, UN Ambassador, or Defence Minister, Krishna Menon garnered adversaries more rapidly than most individuals typically experience.

An irksome personality for his foes and friends alike with bipolar manic energy and depressing anxiety, leading to long-term solutions and problems at the same time, a man with as many hits as misses and will long be remembered as the only person during the Cold War who used to get USA and USSR to vote together against him, a man so hated by the Soviets the Chinese and the Americans that any aid or talk depended on him being kept outside the loop.

Jairam Ramesh's biography of a notable figure significantly differs from a comprehensive introduction to Vishnu Krishna Krishna Menon (according to Scotland Yard). The work notably neglects character development and fails to facilitate empathy for the principal protagonist while attempting unsuccessfully to provide nuance to his achievements and controversies without a coherent purpose. This text offers value to those interested in the Partition and the 1962 War; however, I would only recommend it to ardent enthusiasts.

Learning:

This is a compelling biography of one of India's most controversial and consequential public figures. V.K. Krishna Menon continues to command our attention not just because he was Jawaharlal Nehru's confidant and soulmate but also for many of his political and literary accomplishments. A relentless crusader for Indian independence in the UK in the 1930s and 1940s, he was a global star at the United Nations in the 1950s before being forced to resign as defence minister in the wake of the India-China war in 1962.

Meticulously researched and based entirely on new archival material, this book reveals Krishna Menon in all his capabilities and contradictions. It is also a rich history of the tumultuous times in which he lived and which he did so much to shape.

Viking Books