event

Half-Lion: How P.V. Narasimha Rao Transformed India

Mon. December 19th, 2016
Washington, Dc

When P.V. Narasimha Rao became the unlikely prime minister of India in 1991, he inherited economic crisis, violent insurgencies, and a nation adrift. Despite numerous challenges—Rao lacked a majority in parliament and was deeply mistrusted even by leaders of his own party—he arguably reinvented India, both at home and abroad.

With exclusive access to Rao’s never-before-seen personal papers, Vinay Sitapati’s definitive biography, Half-Lion: How P.V. Narasimha Rao Transformed India, provides new revelations on the Indian economy, nuclear program, foreign policy, and domestic politics. Sitapati shared key findings from Half-Lion, which Mint wrote “has all the ingredients of a good book: well written, informative, with the rigor of a diligent researcher.” Carnegie’s Milan Vaishnav moderated.

Vinay Sitapati

Vinay Sitapati is author of Half-Lion: How P.V. Narasimha Rao Transformed India. He is also a professor at Ashoka University and writes for the Indian Express.

Milan Vaishnav

Milan Vaishnav is a senior fellow in the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where his primary research focus is the political economy of India.

EconomyTradeSecuritySouth AsiaIndia
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Milan Vaishnav

Director and Senior Fellow, South Asia Program

Milan Vaishnav is a senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program and the host of the Grand Tamasha podcast at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. His primary research focus is the political economy of India, and he examines issues such as corruption and governance, state capacity, distributive politics, and electoral behavior. He also conducts research on the Indian diaspora.

Vinay Sitapati