'Vajpayee': New biography of former PM to release on May 10

New Delhi: Busting popular myths and revealing unknown facts, an upcoming biography of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee claims to elevate readers' understanding of the much-admired figure.

"Vajpayee: The Ascent of the Hindu Right", published by Picador India and supported by New India Foundation, will hit the stands on May 10. The first of a two-volume study, the book is written by first-time author Abhishek Choudhary.

"Understanding the man and his early association with the Sangh Parivar is crucial to understanding the history of the Right in India today. Deeply researched over 8 years... its credibility stems from access to previously untapped archival documents in India, the US and the UK and hundreds of detailed interviews," said the publishers in a statement.

A prime minister for six years between 1998-2004, Vajpayee, a Bharat Ratna recipient, died in 2018 at 93 years of age.

In the gripping portrait of 'Hindutva's first prime minister', Choudhary sets out to prove that Vajpayee was far more critical to the project of 'Hinduising India' than is commonly understood.

Weaving previously unseen documents with revealing interviews, Choudhary layers this definitive biography with details of "Vajpayee's early obsession with foreign policy; the shock from the premature deaths of his parents; his tortuous private life and maudlin poetry; his defence of the Sangh Parivar inside the parliament and his averments and deferments outside".

"In so doing, this extraordinary debut revises several lazy myths and false binaries that have come to dominate Indian political discourse," the publishers explained.

The book is endorsed by the likes of historian Ramachandra Guha and French political scientist Christophe Jaffrelot.

While Guha called the book rigorously researched, elegantly written and the "finest biography of an Indian prime minister" that he has read, Jaffrelot said it shows how Hindu nationalism has changed in the 21st century.

"This is a book to read for understanding the trajectory of Hindutva – and therefore of India," said Christophe Jaffrelot, author of "Modi’s India: Hindu Nationalism and the Rise of Ethnic Democracy" in his praise for the book.

Volume two of the biography is expected to be released in December, ahead of Vajpayee's 100th birth anniversary.