With a splendid foreword by Purno A. Sangma, the former Speaker of Lok Sabha, the dazzling book by Phidalia Toi – The Dawn: Marathon Race to Acche Din is the first installment on the governance of the Modi-led NDA government in the centre. The Dawn annunciates the beginning of a new era in the politics of India where a man of determination becomes the commander-in-chief of a nation which is aspiring to be on the top in coming years. The book is a part of a verdict on the Modi government which will come in further installments by the able author Phidalia Toi who has written many books in the past. So, what’s the deal with this book? Is this book an authentic measurement on the Modi’s style of governance? Let’s see what I found in the chapters of this book.
Before I read this book, I thought of seeking information about the author and which was, indeed, a fruitful attempt for me. Phidalia Toi is a multi-talented lady who has been praised by P. A. Sangma for her research, analytical ability and writing in this book. So, this was surely going to be a good read for me; I was sure.
The Dawn: Marathon Race to Acche Din begins with a lucid foreword, and then the author takes charge of the proceedings. Phidalia has divided her book into 22 chapters in a pre and post manner. She has tried her best to deliver a pre-poll scenario before the much-anthologised general elections of 2014. We get to know about ‘a secular league’ and the wings of the AAP before the elections. The most striking part of the book is the chapter which very well delivers us the message how the Congress ran itself into a catastrophic collapse before the polls; thanks to the bad deeds it has committed during the two consecutive reigns at the centre.
The virtual second part of the book begins with a clear-cut line drawing the distance between Modi and the typical Hindu-ideologised cadre which serves the base of BJP (and Sangh). Which is, to me, a very detailed observation and a sharp research of the matter. Mrs. Toi has written very wonderfully how the ‘lotus blooms’ under the able leadership of Narendra Modi before the elections and takes people into its charm.
Chapters from 10 to 15 are dedicated to the personality of Narendra Modi and the campaign that he did during the elections. Phidalia has points to make and she does it very carefully and rightly with the evidence that she got. She measures Modi in these terms – his versatile personality, his administrative skills, his oratory and his campaign designing. She has written wonderfully about the little details that general audience generally oversees and finally, she beautifully defines the oath-taking ceremony in these terms (perhaps as a dedication to the hard work NaMo has done):
“A man who used to sell tea at a railway station as a young boy was the centre of the glittering event. Modi walked in as a Prime Minister-designate at 6 P.M to the roar of “Modi, Modi” and cries of “Bharat Mata ki Jai” and was sworn in by President Pranab Mukherjee.”
After the elaborated chapters on Modi’s reign at the centre and his hard-working style of diplomacy, development and other things, the author has also an important thing to bring to the light.
Phidalia did not shy away from exposing the fringe elements who are trying to disturb the path of India to her destination. She takes them on in a dedicated chapter and exposes what they do the best – try to create a communal divide in the nation’s various parts and unsettle the government’s development agenda. She rightly ended her book with:
“To transform foolish, aimless and dirty mindsets is the key to bring about positive social transformation.”
I have liked this book very much and I will gladly recommend this book to every reader who wants to observe the general elections of 2014 and the first year of Modi in power. Phidalia has done her great observation without any bias that you often find in the books with political themes. I commend her writing style as well as the content. Great job – Phidialia!
