Is Rahul Gandhi an enigma? Many a political commentator would have us believe so. However, everything about him points to the contrary. He often addresses press conferences and faces questions from media persons, in contrast to many other senior politicians including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He is also among the people more frequently than other politicians. Some months ago, he undertook a 3570 kilometers Bharat Jodo Yatra from Kanyakumari to Kashmir, and is as active in public meetings as well as in parliament. Yet this enigmatic label follows him like a shadow. This book by Sugata Srinivasaraju attempts to answer this question, one must add, fairly successfully. The author clearly states, “It is not a myth busting or myth making exercise nor is it an inquisition”.

At the outset Srinivasaraju, points out that the kind of abuse and hate Rahul Gandhi has had to suffer at the hands of foul mouth trolls on social media has been immense and unrelenting. Yet Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Vadra have shown a great element of forgiveness and compassion which is rare in Indian politics. He compares the hug that Rahul Gandhi gave to Modi in parliament to the gesture of Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan patting Stalin’s cheek as ambassador to Soviet Russia. Stalin had then remarked that he had at last met someone who treated him as a `human being and not a monster`. Another important statement in the book is on how Rahul Gandhi tried to establish his Hindu roots and yet was not able to withstand the BJP onslaught. His visits to the Somnath Temple in Gujarat in 2017 and the Pushkar Temple in Rajasthan in 2018 are cited as examples where he was hauled over the coals because of his mother being a Christian and of foreign origin. On the Congress President post which Rahul Gandhi relinquished after the 2019 defeat the book states that a non-Nehru or Gandhi at the helm of the Congress in post independent India has always been in an uneasy position. He quotes the examples of N. Sanjeeva Reddy, S. Nijalingappa, P.V. Narasimha Rao and Sitaram Kesri in this regard. One wonders how Mallikarjun Kharge will fare, now that he has taken over as Congress President.

Some bloopers by Rahul are also mentioned in the book. At the beginning of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, Rahul Gandhi met a controversial Catholic Priest George Ponniah and conversed about Jesus and God, to which the Priest is heard saying that unlike Shakti, God is a human person. Naturally the BJP jumped upon this comparison with a Hindu term and created a large noise. It is a fact that Gandhi will have to contend with accusations about his Christian lineage.  It will be played up by the Sangh Parivar at every given opportunity.

A good number of pages in the volume are dedicated to the Bharat Jodo Yatra which Rahul Gandhi started on foot from Kanyakumari on 7 September 2022 and culminated at Srinagar on 30 January 2023. It portrays how Gandhi was called a `Yogi` `Tapasavi` and `Superhuman` for wearing a Tee-Shirt in the northern India winter while the Yatra progressed in the region. During the Yatra Rahul Gandhi targeted only the BJP, the RSS and one the principal heroes of the Sangh Parivar group, namely Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. While at Akola in Maharashtra, he said, “Savarkar betrayed leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel by signing a letter of apology out of fear to the British before independence.” Thus, putting his allies in Maharashtra like Sharad Pawar and Udhav Thackeray in a tight spot. The author thus makes the point that good politics is often not always marked by sticking to what one believes.

The author notes that a press conference in Haryana during the yatra Rahul Gandhi made a comment which probably no mainstream politician would have ever said. What Rahul said was as follows : “ Rahul Gandhi is on your mind….….If you do not understand, read the Hindu scriptures. Read about Shiv-ji you will understand. Don`t look puzzled. Rahul Gandhi is in your head and not mine. Rahul Gandhi is in BJP`s head, not mine.” It was a statement with multiple dimensions. At one level, it reflected Rahul Gandhi’s frustration on being constantly attacked by the BJP and its allies. But it was a dialogue with some spiritual overtones too.

Another aspect of the yatra dealt by the book is on the mystery of the tee shirt he wore in the cold. It was apparently the result of his yoga and pranayama. Added to this was Rahul Gandhi’s reference to a meeting he had with a small poor girl who was shivering because she could not wear a warm garment. Apparently, this made him decide that he would not wear anything warm until necessary. This put him in the league of Mahatma Gandhi who also never wore an upper garment except in extreme cold as a token of his empathy for those of our country who could not afford proper clothing. The best comment as quoted probably came from Kanhaiya Kumar who had also participated with Rahul Gandhi in the yatra. Kanhaiya Kumar said “His body has become frost-proof after enduring hate attacks from the BJP……When you face so many attacks your body becomes strong.” At the end of the day, politics must also influence the body!

Srinivasaraju has given adequate space to the recent developments concerning Rahul Gandhi’s conviction in the criminal defamation case by a Surat Metropolitan Magistrate`s Court. The petition had alleged that the speech contained defamatory remarks about Modi’s surname. This allegation was upheld by the court and this led to his disqualification from parliament. Srinivasaraju writes in detail about the haste which all this was done. Srinivasaraju recalls how in 1977, when Indira Gandhi had ceased to be Prime Minister and Member of Parliament after badly losing the election that year, her successor Morarji Desai allotted her a government bungalow at 12 Willingdon Cresent even though as per rules she was not entitled to a government house. Those were different times, as the author says.

A comment is made in the book that Rahul Gandhi should be more careful about what he says in the future. Sugata Srinivasaraju has had a few meetings with Rahul Gandhi which are interesting as they throw light on the spiritual side of his personality which was hitherto unknown. Because of this multifaceted approach to the politics and personality of Rahul Gandhi, “STRANGE BURDENS:THE POLITICS AND PREDICTAMENTS OF RAHUL GANDHI” is a book that should be acknowledged and lauded as one that fills the many gaps that Indian polity and society have in understanding this important current generation politician from an illustrious political family of the country. Certainly, Sugata Srinivasaraju’s account would work as a sort of pocket reference to those who want to follow Rahul Gandhi’s career in public life in the days to come.