Book Review - S. Jaishankar - Why Bharat Matters Rating ★★★

Why Bharat Matters is a book written by Indian politician and author S. Jaishankar , and published by Rupa Publications. Jaishankar was the incumbent Minister of External Affairs of the Government of India. In this book, Jaishankar discusses India's foreign policy and emphasises the importance of Bharat, i.e. India, with its ever-growing role on the global stage as a potential superpower.

Why Bharat Matters is Jaishankar's second book, followed by his previous book The India Way: Strategies for an Uncertain World, in which he provided his analysis of India's geopolitical strategy since independence, along with India's historical statecraft and the impact of colonisation. In Why Bharat Matters, Jaishankar delves deeper into India's foreign policy landscape, emphasising the country's cultural values and global ambitions. He explores the significance of India's historical heritage, particularly drawing insights from the epic Ramayana. It discusses India's evolving role in the global arena, emphasising the importance of transparent digital realms, resilient supply chains, and strategic economic decisions.

The book also addresses key initiatives implemented by the Indian government such as 'SAGAR' and 'Neighbourhood First', showcasing India's surfacing as a positive force on the global stage. Through a blend of tradition, heritage, and modernity, Jaishankar portrays India as a confident and committed nation poised to play an important role in international affairs.

S. Jaishankar being a top-level IFS officer, is blessed with a huge vocabulary unlike an ordinary person. The book written with such a huge vocabulary makes the book distasteful for ordinary Indians for which it is written. The book is very heavy to read and there are a lot of repetitions over and over again citing the same thing. If the book was written properly it would rather finish in 100 pages, which means it was repeated almost 3 times. The book basically praises all BJP leaders and criticizes Nehruvian ideas. He blames all bad conditions of India on 60 years of congress rule and things suddenly changed after 2014. While currently India is making great strides in the International arena not everything is going well.

The book discusses the situation of Bharat (not India) on a global scale, and how being Bharat instead of India which literally means Bharat under Hindu rule of Modi is working hard to bring it on the global map following guidelines given by its traditional epic Ramayana. A few examples of Ramayana are given to approve various steps taken by Bharat in international politics.

The main target of all this text is Pakistan and China, about how India is trying to befriend the neighbourhood and entire world for mutual benefits and these two nations are adamant on destroying it. The so-called global police USA also failed to recognise this threat just for short term gains. Various examples are given to prove this and an appeal is given to international audience to recognise genuine efforts of Bharat and fight against our common enemy today i.e. Islamic terrorism sponsored by Pakistan and Global bullying by China.

Overall if Mr. Jaishankar had taken help of some professional writer, this book would have been really readable, but in actuality it is very boring to read and difficult to finish. When I first saw this book on Amazon I had decided to buy a Hardcover copy for my library, as I myself share the same vision of Bharat. But when I read it I was totally disappointed by its quality and decided against it. You better read a summary of this book if available than pay for it and get bored.