HALF LION

Vinay Sitapati

When PV Narasimha Rao became the prime minister of India, in 1991, he assumed power amid economic crisis, violent insurgency and political turmoil. Despite this, the academic Vinay Sitapati argues, the skilled politician was able to transform India’s economy and foreign policy. Drawing from over 100 interviews, and some of Rao’s never-before-seen personal papers, this biography traces his life from a village in Telangana, through his years in power, to his humiliation in retirement.

Penguin Random House, 392 pages, Rs 699