Ram Vilas Paswan: The Weathervane of Indian Politics

Eight years after rejecting the position of a DSP in Bihar Police, Ram Vilas Paswan entered the Guinness World Records for winning a parliamentary election with the highest margin of 4.24 lakh votes from Hajipur, Bihar. He went on to become the longest serving Union Minister in India serving under six different prime ministers. But he is best remembered for being a man with his feet firmly on the ground, and his commitment to empowerment and advocacy for the marginalized. Paswan s unforgettable political acumen, including the steps he took to get the Mandal Commission report implemented in 1990, made him a political luminary. This is the story of a Dalit icon who could make or break governments in his home state. In this first ever biography (in English) of Ram Vilas Paswan, Sobhana K. Nair paints a vivid portrait of an iconic figure whose unwavering dedication to social justice reshaped India s socio-political landscape.