THE DISRUPTER Arvind Kejriwal and the Audacious Rise of the Aam Aadmi

by Soma Banerjee | Gautam Chikermane

  1. ISBN: 978-81-291-3133-1
  2. Pages: 200 pages
  3. Date: April 2014

ABOUT THIS BOOK

The meteoric rise of the Aam Aadmi Party—from inception to running the state of Delhi in thirteen months—is a story with three principal strands. First, Arvind Kejriwal; iconoclast, leader, and disrupter par excellence, who has dared to defy the fundamental templates of Indian politics and governance. Second, the coalescing of a group of unprecedented diversity—a journalist, a lawyer, an academic, a policymaker, a CEO, a retired NSG commando, an architect, and a poet, among many others—on the streets of New Delhi, all bound together by a shared idea of an India that could have been. And, third, of the awakening of the aam aadmi, and of his realization that he can be as active a participant and change-maker in national politics as any other.
In The Disrupter, veteran journalists Gautam Chikermane and Soma Banerjee provide an in-depth, fly-on-the-wall account of how these three strands came together to create a brand-new political tapestry. And how a single political party shattered the status quo; captivated the imagination of the citizenry, taking people beyond the usual cynical labels of caste and creed; and changed the contemporary political narrative in ways that are both unthinkable and unpredictable.

AUTHOR OF THE BOOK

Soma Banerjee
In a first innings of twenty-three years, as a journalist in The Economic Times, Soma Banerjee chronicled the energy sector, the political theatre and the corridors of power. While she still feels the tug of that profession, she recently embarked on a second innings, heading the energy vertical of the Confederation of Indian Industry. Here she participates in the narrative of public policy by engaging with key stakeholders as she tries to make energy a coffee-shop conversation. When she’s not dealing with such weighty matters, she immerses herself in music and keeps threatening to become serious about her Hindustani classical practice.
Gautam Chikermane
Gautam Chikermane is a writer, tracking the unholy trinity of money, power and faith. He is currently excavating a subaltern trilogy on the Mahabharata. As a journalist, he has held leadership positions in some of India’s largest newspapers and magazines, including Hindustan Times, The Indian Express and Outlook Group. A keen participant in non-profits, he is a director at CARE India and has served three terms as director and one as vice chairman at Financial Planning Standards Board India. His body lives in Delhi, his soul in Pondicherry. You may follow him on Twitter at @gchikermane.