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My Country My Life is an extraordinary self-portrait of India`s
leading political personality — L.K. Advani. The book narrates the
journey of Advani`s life in the context of the momentous political
developments in India in the last eight decades. As an immigrant who
was forced to abandon his beloved Sindh, which became a part of
Pakistan after India`s Partition in 1947, Advani gives a poignant
first-person account of that tragedy. With a career spanning six
decades as a political activist in post-1947 India, during which he
has been a ring-side viewer of and participant in almost all the major
political events in India, Advani is uniquely qualified to offer a
perspective on independent India`s evolution.
The book offers an insightful reflection on his association with the
RSS, which he joined at the age of 14, the birth and evolution of the
Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the profound influence of Pandit Deendayal
Upadhyaya on his thinking and personality, and his seminal
contribution, together with his senior colleague and leader Shri Atal
Bihari Vajpayee, to ending the Congress party`s dominance over India`s
polity by building the Bharatiya Janata Party as a viable alternative
for governing India.
Advani`s memoirs tells a gripping story of the fight against the
Emergency, the rise and fall of the Janata Party government, the
Ayodhya movement, formation of the NDA government and his eventful
stint as India`s Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. The chapters
on terrorism, Agra Summit, the Kargil war, the hijack episode in
Kandahar and his historic visit to Pakistan in 2005 are particularly
riveting. The book also makes a seminal contribution to the debate on
secularism, democracy, national integration, development and good
governance, which have been the defining themes of Advani`s political
career.
The importance and timeliness of the publication of his memoirs has
increased considerably since he has now been chosen by the BJP-led NDA
to lead the multi-party alliance into the forthcoming parliamentary elections.
My Country My Life is a testimony to what Advani`s admirers as well as
his critics have always known about him: he has the gift of clarity of
thought, strong convictions and forceful articulation. This is a
candid reflection on himself, his party and his nation that is likely
to engage readers in a tour de force with India`s leading statesman.
In a country where political memoirs, especially by those who are
still active in politics, are rare, this book is bound to be regarded
as a landmark.
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