Jairam Ramesh

A Chequered Brilliance - The many lives of VK Krishna Menon by Jairam Ramesh

VK Krishna Menon was an eclectic personality a man larger than life with immense ambitions that shaped the cradle of the future of India. Whether as a rabble rouser or Indian High Commissioner or as UN ambassador or Defence Minister Krishna Menon made swifter enemies than people seldom can. An irksome personality for his foes and friends alike with bipolar manic energy and depressing anxiety, leading to long term show more 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 and all aid or talk depended on him being kept outside the loop.

Jairam Ramesh’s biography of a man is a far cry for an introduction of Vishnu Krishnu Krishna Menon(as per Scotland Yard). The book skips the character building and at any point does not let us empathise with the chief protagonist and tries vainly to give nuance to both his successes and scandals with no clear intentions. It does add some value to anyone interested in the partition and 1962 war, would only recommend it to the die hard fan. show less

The book brings together all the experiences that Indira Gandhi had with nature in the field, and with nature conservationists, scientists, wildlife protection activists, etc., with many of whom she maintained a sustained and active correspondence and fruitful interaction, both within India and internationally. This resulted in many wilderness and biodiversity-rich areas being saved from dams and other massive development projects, and the constitution of many into national parks/ wildlife show more sanctuaries. She was the driving spirit behind many landmark efforts and undertakings like Project Tiger, which has brought Indian wildlife back from the brink. As the author says, Indira Gandhi was the main, sometimes the only, support for an embattled and battered forest service, but she was also critical of the crassly commercial and mono-cultural world view of the mainstream foresters. The author has done a great service by bringing together all this material in his inimitable manner, reminding us of the great debt that we owe to this great leader. show less