An Indian Political Life

Charan Singh and Congress Politics, 1967 to 1987, the third and final volume in the trilogy of The Politics of Northern India, begins with the dramatic political event of the fall of the Congress in the most critical state of UP and the formation of the first non-Congress government. This event was of the utmost concern to Indira Gandhi, for she could not rule the country without a firm political base in the most populous state of the country. Insofar as Charan Singh was concerned, it marked the beginning of his rise to power in the state and the beginning also of the dramatic and complicated struggle between him and Indira Gandhi. The current volume, like the previous volumes, is based upon the author’s access to all the critical documents in Charan Singh’s political life, an access that was provided to him by Charan Singh personally, and which he has used specifically for this work on his political life.