People
India's First Lady's Autobiography
ECONOMIC TIMES
Behind every successful man, there is a woman, goes the cliché.
At the first
press conference on the first anniversary of his second term as PM, Dr
Manmohan
Singh was asked about the role played by not one but two women in his
life: his
wife Gursharan Kaur and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. "I have the
benefit of being advised by the Congress president and my wife. Both of
them
deal with different subjects," he added, much to the amusement of the
journalists present.
The advice being offered by Sonia Gandhi is, of
course, constantly being written about by the media.
The advice offered by Gursharan Kaur - India's First Lady and the first spouse to hold such a position who has fulfilled her role with competence, grace and aplomb - could be revealed in the autobiography she is reportedly working on. Journalists could even glean insights from the book that she is reportedly writing in consultation with editor-turned-columnist-cum-historian-cum-novelist, Khushwant Singh.
The PM's daughter, Upinder Kaur, a scholar in her own right,
has authored books titled Ancient Delhi and A History of Ancient and
Early
Medieval India. Another daughter, Daman Kaur, has written a book titled The
Last
Frontier: People and Forests in Mizoram and a novel titled
Nine by Nine.
When Tony Blair was the prime minister of the UK, his wife
Cherie
- a leading lawyer in her own right - came out with a book that was
fairly critical of not just his political opponents but his eventual
successor.
When both the Bushes (father and son) were presidents of the U.S., their
wives
(Barbara and Laura) wrotebooks about how cute their pet dogs were! When Bill
Clinton was the president of the U.S., his wife Hillary wrote a rather
profound
book titled It Takes a Village, which, some said, was meant to advance
her own
political career.
While Gursharan Kaur can be counted on to not spill the beans a la Cherie or to further any independent political agenda a la Hillary, any book with which Khushwant is reportedly involved should hopefully be more than just cute!
May 28, 2010
Conversation about this article
1: Irvinder Singh Babra (Brampton, Ontario, Canada), May 28, 2010, 11:29 AM.
With her book, Gursharan Kaur might be able to give new insights ... from a renowned Sikh woman's perspective. Like her husband, she is not a talkative lady, but quite well known, respected and admired in the various tight circles, in Delhi and beyond. But with dear Khushwant Singh as her co-writer, he will ask the necessary questions to turn a dull autobiography into a stimulating one! Just wait for her book. She is coming to Toronto next month with her husband to attend the G20 Summit.
2: N. Singh (Canada), June 03, 2010, 8:40 PM.
This week in Canada, we are commemorating the life of Sardar Jaswant Singh Khalra, Human Rights Activist. "In 1995, S. Jaswant Singh travelled to Canada and spoke to Canadian Parliamentarians in Ottawa about his discovery of government documents evidencing the extrajudicial murder and illegal cremation of approximately 25,000 Sikhs. Upon his return to India, on September 6, 1995, he was abducted by the Punjab Police and after 48 days in illegal custody, was extra-judicially murdered. His only fault: exposing human rights abuses in Punjab, India." I find it unseemly the number of times articles appear lauding the achievements of PM Manmohan Singh. This man has openly denied the human rights violations that men like Sardar Jaswant Singh died exposing! And isn't it about time we had an article on Sardar Jaswant Singh? [Editor: You are articulate and knowledgeable. Please write and send us a piece and we'll be glad to post it in our pages.]