When Richard Thaler won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2017 for the Nudge Theory — the idea that the architecture of choices shapes behaviour more reliably than mandates or incentives — veteran journalist Ashali Varma recognised something she had already been watching from the field. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's governance, she argues, has operated on precisely this principle: from Swachh Bharat's appeal to social norms rather than legal compulsion to the redesign of UPI payments to make digital transactions the path of least resistance.
The book is a curated collection of Varma's journalism, organised into eight sections covering Modi's leadership style, Congress governance, Pakistan's trajectory as a state, the ethnic cleansing of Kashmiri Pandits, the China factor, Islamic extremism, the Indian armed forces, and the hypocrisy of Western institutions and media. Varma writes from a distinctive vantage: she is an army brat from the lineage of Lieutenant General P.S. Bhagat, VC, co-author of the Henderson-Bhagat report on the 1962 war, and has reported across Asia, Europe and North America over a decades-long career.
The pieces have aged well because they argued positions when those positions were contested, not after consensus formed. Readers wanting a global journalist's close reading of Indian foreign and domestic policy across the Modi decade will find the range of the book unusual.
ABOUT THE BOOK: Did PM Modi know about The Nudge Theory for which two Economists won the Nobel Prize in 2017? From Swachh Bharat to UPI payments, to sanitation and to Jammu and Kashmir so much else has been achieved in the last decade in India. More, I would say, than in the last 70 years before, and in contrast, compare this with how China and Pakistan lost out...Check out this collection of astute articles from the pen of a veteran journalist who has watched, worked and reported from around the globe. CONTENTS Section I Leadership: PM Modi 17 Section II Congress Perfidy 73 Section III Pakistan A Rogue State 113 Section IV Ethnic Cleansing of Kashmiri Pundits and their Exodus 177 Section V The China Factor 197 Section VI Islamic Terror 253 Section VII The Armed Forces 273 Section VIII FOREWORD Hypocrisy of Western Institutions and Media 291 I have been a regular reader of Ashali Verma's blogs since some years. A much travelled army brat from the illustrious lineage of Lt General P S Bhagat, PVSM, VC, who authored the famous Henderson-Bhagat report on 1962 debacle, she has travelled extensively across the world as a journalist. She thus has a global exposure. Her writings reflect this wide lens of her understanding of global politics presenting a different perspective about Bharat. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is perhaps most written about and analysed leader of Bharat. Ashali is not someone who would write a book to gain some quick fame. It is her discovery of the leadership quality of Modi ji through the lens of famed Nudge Theory of Thaler that made her sit up and write this book. The book is written from the point of view of understanding his leadership qualities through his actions, his ability to get the best out of his colleagues and his vision about Bharat. Her selection of her own writings over last few years presents her analysis that has aged well. She avoids hyperboles, or rhetorical flourish and writes her views in a simple, easy way. Today, Bharat stands on the threshold of a reawakening to her destiny with Modi ji creating an unprecedented sense of positivity in people that should see him as Bharat's Prime Minister yet again; this book can serve as a good lens to observe, and observe Modi ji better. -Ratan Sharda Author, Editor, Freelance Columnist, TV Panelist Blog: secretsofrss.blogspot.com
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