LONDON, Oct 25: A book that showcases India’s strides on the world stage against the backdrop of its transforming relations with the UK, one of its key allies, over the last seven decades was the subject of a special launch event here.
‘The Reverse Swing: Colonialism to Cooperation’ by veteran journalist and political commentator Ashok Tandon captures India-UK ties since India’s Independence in August 1947 to the current day, with a recently concluded Free Trade Agreement (FTA) set to significantly boost trade and economic cooperation.
Organised on Friday evening by the Indian Journalists’ Association (IJA) in the UK, of which Tandon is a past president, the book launch and panel discussion reflected upon some of the important milestones that shaped today’s close partnership between both nations.
“The book is an analysis of the India-UK political ties over the last seven decades, throwing light on the circumstances and developments leading to the change of heart in Britain about Indians’ capabilities for ‘self-rule’ and many other facets,” said Tandon.
“New India has also proved wrong some British and Western prophets of doom who used to describe Indian democracy during the initial decades after Independence as ‘ramshackle’ because of one party and one family ruling the roost,” he said.
Tandon, who oversaw media relations in then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee led Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), between 1998 and 2004 as Additional Secretary, brings a unique vantage point through a section entitled ‘From the Author’s Personal Diary’ in the book.
Structured around a 24-topic compendium set against a historic backdrop, the author uses the cricketing analogy of a reverse swing ball to chart some confounding developments over the years – from a shift in how the leader of the Indian national movement, Mahatma Gandhi, is celebrated in both countries to economic migrants giving way to diaspora soft power.
“The ongoing positive transformation in Indo-British relations for mutual benefit, especially the Indo-UK FTA, has got all the ingredients for a prosperous post-Brexit UK and also new India’s march towards becoming a global economic powerhouse,” Tandon concludes.
The London launch included a panel discussion involving the author and veteran British Indian parliamentarian Virendra Sharma.
“This is an important book that brings together a wealth of information, much of which I had a front row seat to in the UK Parliament,” said the former Labour MP for Ealing Southall in west London. (PTI)
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