To explain the title of this book, the "neta-babu Raj" is a phrase used to denote "mindless bureaucracy" - neta meaning politician and babu meaning bureaucrat. The author, TSR Subramanian, is well-placed to describe that kingdom, having worked his way through the different levels of the Indian Administrative Service to become Cabinet Secretary (the most senior civil servant in the system).

However, the story he tells is pretty depressing. Much of it confirms the angry journalism of [Everybody Loves A Good Drought], from the other side of the picture - Subramanian even makes the same critique of drought relief. Subramanian is sharp-eyed about what is happening around him - one telling fact, for example, is that he regularly hears radio jingles in Hindi promoting family planning, but only on the English stations, right after the news broadcasts - where the elite could hear them and feel satisfied that Something was Being Done.

Subramanian conveys clearly the way that the neta-babu Raj ignores both the welfare of those they are supposed to serve, and the wider good for India (preferring turf wars). He has extensive experience of what he describes and a justifiably sad and angry response. However, the impact of the book is undermined by the fact that it is written as a memoir - at times this turns into a string of anecdotes, only a few of which are of wide interest. A book that focused on the issues and drew in his experience to demonstrate them would have been much more powerful. ( )