INDIA'S POLITICS: A VIEW FROM THE BACKBENCH By Bimal Jalan Penguin Viking Pp: 244 Price: Rs 350

Bimal Jalan is one of the people who put in place the economic policies whose effects are being applauded the world over. So, when he warns the nation not to take India's place at the world's high table for granted, it deserves deeper scrutiny and, hopefully, some action. The former Reserve Bank of India governor is now a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha. This has given him an insider's view of how Parliament functions and the often fractious relationship between the executive, the legislature and the judiciary.

But his primary concern remains the Indian political system's seeming lack of preparedness to deal with coalitions and, more particularly, the emergence of small one-to-five mp parties that switch allegiance from one coalition to the other depending not on esoteric ideological considerations, but on more base political ones. Also, he says, the compulsions of coalition politics may force the government of the day to pass laws that may not necessarily be good for the country as a whole. This, and the degeneration of the institutions of state, Jalan feels, can seriously undermine the edifice of India.

"In a nutshell, without meaning to be provocative, I believe that if some of the emerging trends are not reversed, India's democracy by the people, will become more and more 'oligarchic'-i.e., of the few and for the few," he writes.

But it's not a doomsday book. On the other hand, its underlying tone is cheerful as it notes with the quiet satisfaction so typical of the author that the country has progressed to a point where it is the toast of the world, despite running on flat tyres for most of its existence as an independent nation. There are some slightly amusing sidelights as well. Despite being the architect of some of the measures that have taken India out of the economic rut it had dug for itself, he confesses that "it is hard to believe that, not so long ago, India was a slow-growing poor developing country which was lurching from one crisis to another. It was dependent on aid to meet its perpetual deficits... The same India is now projected as one of the most important countries in the world".

He suggests a mixed bag of 10 measures that he feels will ensure that there are no goof-ups in the journey from here to the higher reaches of the league of nations. We say mixed bag because some of these measures are perfectly doable, while others will require a level of political will that no government has displayed in a long time.

But still, this book is important not because of the remedies it suggests, but because it correctly diagnoses the malaise when others see only a glorious future.

EVERYDAY GREATNESS By Stephen R. Covey Pearson Pp: 445 Price: Rs 499

Cust as not everyone who reads this magazine is a CEO, not everyone in this world is a great inventor, painter, musician or mathematician. Most of us are just ordinary folks, trying hard to be good employees, citizens, friends or parents. That means, except for a small circle of family and friends, no one will know about our existence in or eventual departure from this world. Don't get depressed. That's how it is meant to be. Yet, once in a while a person will come along who makes a lasting impression on you-perhaps, even changes your life forever. That person may not be rich and famous, but just a co-passenger on a train or an airplane. What he has, though, is what Stephen Covey calls everyday greatness-something that "has to do with character and contribution…a way of living".

Put together by David K. Hatch, an organisational effectiveness consultant, Greatness is a compilation of 63 of Reader's Digest's most inspiring stories. In it you will encounter stories of courage, hope and dignity. Some of them will appeal to you more than some others, but almost all of them will make you think about the purpose of your own life. It's anything but a business book, but the sort that you'd want to gift your family and friends.