A Girl who becomes the President
Camil Parkhe
Monday, December 08th, 2008 AT 1:12 PM
Tags: Rashtrapati Pratibhatai Patil (Marathi), book review, president
Close...
Title: Rashtrapati Pratibhatai Patil (Marathi)
Author: Chhaya Mahajan
Publisher: Rohan Prakashan
Pages: 156
Price: Rs 150
Five decades ago, a college-going student was encouraged by her family members to seek nomination to contest the State Assembly election in Maharashtra. Y B Chavan, the first chief minister of Maharashtra, offered her Congress ticket and the girl won the poll. Pratibha Patil later also won the distinction to be the first woman President of India.
Rashtrapati Pratibhatai Patil, a Marathi book written by Dr Chhaya Mahajan, chronicles the journey of a girl born in a conservative family from Jalgaon to the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
Pratibha Patil holds many firsts in her 50 years long public life. She was among a handful of women politicians in Maharashtra and in the country who had proved their political leadership in various capacities. She was only 27 and without any political legacy in her family when she entered Maharashtra State legislature in 1962. A loyalist of the Congress party, she held important political posts including that of a cabinet minister in the Maharashtra government and the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha before she suddenly went into political hibernation. The political pundits had almost written off when after the return of the Congress at the Centre, she took over the gubernatorial post in Rajasthan.
The book, which is based on a series of interviews with Patil, deals with various events in her personal life — her childhood, marriage and continuous struggle to successfully play her roles as wife, mother, minister, governor and now as the President. The author has pointed out that this had even some times caused tension, albeit temporarily, in her family life. Patil’s views on feminism, a woman’s role in family and in public life, and the so-called conservatism or traditionalism versus modern, liberal outlook becomes interesting addition in the book in this perspective.
The author has mentioned that Pratibha Patil is among a few politicians in Maharashtra who had never quit the Congress, not even after the turbulent political period of the Emergency and has written about her intimate relationship with the Gandhi family. It would have been better if the biographer had dealt in depth on how Patil faced crises in her political life — especially during the Emergency and later — and her close relationship with the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The author also fails to highlight her personality as a politician. However, the author’s narration style is impressive.
Camil Parkhe
Monday, December 08th, 2008 AT 1:12 PM
Tags: Rashtrapati Pratibhatai Patil (Marathi), book review, president
Close...
Title: Rashtrapati Pratibhatai Patil (Marathi)
Author: Chhaya Mahajan
Publisher: Rohan Prakashan
Pages: 156
Price: Rs 150
Five decades ago, a college-going student was encouraged by her family members to seek nomination to contest the State Assembly election in Maharashtra. Y B Chavan, the first chief minister of Maharashtra, offered her Congress ticket and the girl won the poll. Pratibha Patil later also won the distinction to be the first woman President of India.
Rashtrapati Pratibhatai Patil, a Marathi book written by Dr Chhaya Mahajan, chronicles the journey of a girl born in a conservative family from Jalgaon to the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.
Pratibha Patil holds many firsts in her 50 years long public life. She was among a handful of women politicians in Maharashtra and in the country who had proved their political leadership in various capacities. She was only 27 and without any political legacy in her family when she entered Maharashtra State legislature in 1962. A loyalist of the Congress party, she held important political posts including that of a cabinet minister in the Maharashtra government and the deputy chairperson of the Rajya Sabha before she suddenly went into political hibernation. The political pundits had almost written off when after the return of the Congress at the Centre, she took over the gubernatorial post in Rajasthan.
The book, which is based on a series of interviews with Patil, deals with various events in her personal life — her childhood, marriage and continuous struggle to successfully play her roles as wife, mother, minister, governor and now as the President. The author has pointed out that this had even some times caused tension, albeit temporarily, in her family life. Patil’s views on feminism, a woman’s role in family and in public life, and the so-called conservatism or traditionalism versus modern, liberal outlook becomes interesting addition in the book in this perspective.
The author has mentioned that Pratibha Patil is among a few politicians in Maharashtra who had never quit the Congress, not even after the turbulent political period of the Emergency and has written about her intimate relationship with the Gandhi family. It would have been better if the biographer had dealt in depth on how Patil faced crises in her political life — especially during the Emergency and later — and her close relationship with the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The author also fails to highlight her personality as a politician. However, the author’s narration style is impressive.
