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Madhavrao Scindia: A Life by Vir Sanghvi and Namita Bhandare. AS the title suggests, this book is a story of the life of Madhavrao Scindia (1945-2001), a charismatic leader of the late 20th century. Born at a time when one era was ending in the political history of India and another beginning, Scindia’s life in a way showcases this transition. The only son of Jiyajirao Scindia, the last reigning ruler of Gwalior, and Vijayaraje Scindia, the Jan Sangh matriarch and a powerful force in its offshoot—the BJP, Madhavrao was inheritor of a rich heritage that his forefathers had created for him.
The biography opens with a brief history of the Scindias. As the pages unfold, different facets of Madhavrao’s personality are unravelled. If on the one hand, we have the glimpse of a bright, well informed, Oxford educated, charming, upper middle class quintessential family man; on the other, we also get to know of Madhavrao who was deeply rooted in tradition as the Maharaja of Gwalior. Then, there is the image of Madhavrao—an honest, sincere, hardworking, liberal, democratic and secular politician of Modern India. The early life of Madhavrao was not much different from an upper middle class public school boy. As a matter of fact, Madhavrao, till the 70s, was essentially a product of his heritage. As his political career progressed, a gradual transition from being a Maharaja to a democratic citizen could be seen in his life. Nine times Member of Parliament, Madhavrao had initially started his political career with the Jan Sangh. However, soon he distanced himself from the party that had initiated him into politics to become one of the leading lights of the Congress. The abolition of privy purses, de-recognition of the princes, Emergency and its impact on the Scindia family in general and Madhavrao in particular are highlighted by the authors. Why did Madhavrao join the Congress? Was it because of the secular progressive ideology of the Congress which was in line with his own liberal thinking as against the obscurantist and religion-based ideology of the Sangh Parivar as was often explained by Madhavrao? According to the authors, the single most compelling factor that pushed him to the Congress was the steady deterioration of his relationship with his mother, the Rajmata Vijayaraje Scindia, with whom he had been exceptionally close. The success and failures as well as the struggles that accompanied Madhavrao’s long political career are also detailed in the biography. His achievements as the Minister of State for Railways in the Rajiv Gandhi’s government, his role in the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism and Human Resource Development Ministry under Narsimha Rao have also been taken up for discussion. Narsimha Rao’s inimical attitude towards Madhavrao, the intrigues and manipulations that led to his being charge-sheeted in the Hawala case are also analysed in detail. According to the authors, this popular political leader, who had earned the reputation of being the best managerial ministers, never could learn the art of manipulative politics. This stage marked the lowest ebb in his career and it appeared that he might be out of mainstream politics for many years to come. However, in the changed political scenario of post-Narsimha Rao Indian politics, Madhavrao made a dramatic come back as the most trusted adviser of Sonia Gandhi and deputy leader of the Opposition. Madhavrao had a bright political future ahead but destiny willed it otherwise. On September 30, 2001, Madhavrao died in a plane crash. The biography is primarily based on interviews with people who had known Madhavrao in some capacity or the other during his childhood, youth and political career, supplemented further with some secondary sources. As such the book is full of insights that can come only from people intimately connected with the subject. The fact that Sanghvi had known Scindia as a friend for almost a quarter of a century, his admiration for the subject definitely influences the perspective of the book. A degree of love and admiration for the subject is perhaps inevitable in a biographical writing. However, it is admiration, not sycophancy, which defines the work. The book rivets attention from start and makes an interesting reading about the life of Madhavrao Scindia as well as political history of contemporary India.
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Madhavrao Scindia, however, went on to chart out his own destiny which though deeply rooted in his heritage was to be politically very different from that of his parents. At a time when most of the Princes were shunning change, Madhavrao was quick to accept and embrace it and managed to establish a balance between his heritage and the demands of changed political situation.