Three years on, Modi’s biography still awaits a publisher

It all began when Team Spirits, an Ahmedabad-based publisher, approached Modi for a biography soon after his victory in the 2002 Assembly elections. Modi suggested Kamath as the author. Publishers approached Kamath, who agreed after talking to Modi. “In three interviews totaling six hours with Modi and a lot of research, the book was finished more than three years ago. It is a political and personal biography of Modi. It deals with Hinduism, Godhra riots and Modi’s emergence as the leader of Gujarat,” said Kamath. Kamath said a cheque of Rs 10,000 sent by the publisher bounced and, therefore, he wanted to publish with another.

Kamath approached his friend Nair. Nair decided to hold it after he found sections dealing with Godhra train fire and subsequent riots “inadequate”. Kamath says it is an objective account of the happenings in Gujarat in 2002. “I have quoted reports critical of Modi also. But it also brings out a lot of unknown things. For instance, the army was called in the very beginning of the riots unlike the anti-Sikh riots of 1984,” he said. “The manuscript was also shown to Modi to avoid errors,” he said.

Jaico was willing to publish it but then Team Spirits said the idea was originally theirs and threatened legal action. “It was getting messy,” Sharma said. In the meanwhile, Modi also lost interest apparently. Kamath says he can update the manuscript, which was completed three years ago, once he finds a publisher.