Sharad Pawar

SINCE he became Defence Minister of India in 1991, Sharad Pawar has rapidly established his reputation as a leader of national stature, who is increasingly being talked of as a future Prime Minis ter. Yet, surprisingly little is known about Pawar-his views, his ideas and his personality outside his home state of Maharashtra, where his outstanding administrative ability and his enormous grassroots appeal have long been recognised.

This biography of Sharad Pawar paints a vivid portrait not only of Pawar the politician and the human being, it also describes the social milieu and the cul tural and political ethos which has shaped him.

Full of telling anecdotes and insights, and based on several interviews with Pawar himself as well as with his close friends and associates, this is an author itative and authentic biography, which brings to life the different facets of Pawar's personality and charts the course of his career from his childhood in Baramati, through his days as a stu dent leader, to his steady climb up the political ladder, first in Maharashtra and now in Delhi.

Pawar comes across, in this perceptive and informative biography, as both a thinker and a doer. Dynamic and deci sive, creative as well as pragmatic, he is a leader whose breadth of experience and proven track record have amply prepared him to play a major role on the national stage.