Sanjaya Baru is a

political commentator A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...

and

policy analyst Policy analysis or public policy analysis is a technique used in the public administration sub-field of political science to enable civil servants, nonprofit organizations, and others to examine and evaluate the available options to implement the ...

. He served as Secretary General of the

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

(FICCI) until his resignation in April 2018. Prior to this, he was Director for Geo-Economics and Strategy at the

International Institute of Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...

. He was Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...

's media advisor and chief spokesperson (PMO) from May 2004 until August 2008. He has also served as associate editor at ''

The Economic Times ''The Economic Times'' is an Indian English-language business-focused daily newspaper. Owned by The Times Group, ''The Economic Times'' began publication in 1961 and it is sold in all major cities in India. As of 2012, it is the world's secon ...

'' and ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'', and then chief editor at ''

Business Standard ''Business Standard'' is an Indian English-language daily edition newspaper published by Business Standard Private Limited, also available in Hindi. Founded in 1975, the newspaper covers the Indian economy, infrastructure, international busi ...

''. Baru writes a column for ''Civil Society Magazine'' called Delhi Darbar. His father B. P. R Vithal was Finance and Planning Secretary during Dr.

's tenure as Secretary of Finance in the Government of India.

''The Accidental Prime Minister''

In April 2014,

Penguin India Penguins are a group of aquatic flightless birds from the family Spheniscidae () of the order Sphenisciformes (). They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. Only one species, the Galápagos penguin, is equatorial, with a smal ...

published '' The Accidental Prime Minister'', Baru's tell-all memoir about his time at the Prime Minister's Office. In it, Baru alleges that the prime minister was completely subservient to

Congress President The national president of the Indian National Congress is the chief executive of the Indian National Congress (INC), one of the principal political parties in India. Constitutionally, the president is elected by an electoral college composed of ...

Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi (, ; ; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest-serving president of the Indian National Congress, a big-tent liberal political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independence history. ...

, who wielded significant influence in the running of the Singh administration, including the PMO itself. The book sparked off a controversy, with the office officially denouncing it as "fiction".Anu Anand.
Indian PM Manmohan Singh 'not in charge', new book claims
. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''. 11 April 2014. Baru has said that he set out to show an empathetic portrait of the prime minister.

Works

* The Political Economy of Indian Sugar: State Intervention and Structural Change (1990) * Strategic consequences of India's economic performance (2006) * The Accidental Prime Minister: The Making and Unmaking of Manmohan Singh * 1991: How P.V. Narasimha Rao Made History by Sanjaya Baru (2016) * India and the World: Essays on Geoeconomics and Foreign Policy (2016) * India's Power Elite (2021) * '' The Importance Of Shinzo Abe'' (2023)

In popular culture

Based on Baru's book ''The Accidental Prime Minister'' Rudra Production Limited and

Pen Studios Pen Studios (formerly Popular Entertainment Network) is an Cinema of India, Indian film production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company established by Dr. Jayantilal Gada on 31 March 1987. Based in Mumbai, it mainly pr ...

released a film of the same name in January 2019 in which he has been portrayed by

Akshaye Khanna Akshaye Khanna (born 28 March 1975) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. Khanna is known for his versatility, which has secured him numerous accolades including two Filmfare Awards. Born to actor Vinod Khanna, he made his acting deb ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baru, Sanjaya Living people Jawaharlal Nehru University alumni Indian male journalists Indian newspaper journalists Indian political journalists Manmohan Singh administration Academics of the University of East Anglia 21st-century Indian journalists Year of birth missing (living people)