Preface continues.....

The prologue traverses India’s five-thousand-year-old history. It
highlights the major cultural and political events of the past which shaped
the concept of the Indian nation. It unravels the glory of a thinking India
which gave mankind the immortal Upanishads.

The blossoming of the
heterodox traditions which gave the world one of the greatest religions is
a bright episode in the long history of India.

The prologue portrays in
varied colours the cultural efflorescence signified by the explosion of India’s
creative talents in the beginning of the first millennium.

The prologue, in
fact, covers the great sweep of India’s history. Starting from the Indus Valley
Civilization, it uncovers the major events and contexts of India’s history,
ending with the period of Indira Gandhi. The purpose of such a prologue
was twofold: one, to highlight the continuity of India’s civilizational history, and two, to place the Rajiv Gandhi period in the proper historic context.
The narrative strictly conforms to facts gleaned from authentic sources.

After assuming the office of Prime Minister at the end of an epochal election, Rajiv Gandhi took major political initiatives to find a solution to the vexed
problems of Punjab terrorism, Assam agitation, the Sri Lankan crisis, etc.,
and the result was the various accords. I have carefully studied these issues
and tried to analyze their basic causes. These accords bear testimony to the incisive mind and bold approach of Rajiv Gandhi. The significance of these accords is in the fact that they lay a sound framework for durable solutions.

It can be said with confidence that these accords would really have solved these seemingly intractable problems had the various stakeholders shown foresight and sincerity.

To be continued...