A book that tells us who we are, what we might have been, and what we are afraid of
The Binayak Sen Story is really the story of contemporary Indian democracy. It tells us who we were, who we might have been, and what we are afraid of. It is a story that needs to be told over and over, and in as many different ways as possible. A Doctor to Defend is a welcome addition to what’s already been written about the man.
Minnie Vaid’s debut sets out to discover what makes Sen such a hero. While there is some information about the legal case, that’s not what the book is about. It is about Binayak Sen — student, colleague, bad cook, good doctor.
The prologue begins promisingly with the author confessing that she was disappointed initially: Sen didn’t look, sound or behave like the hero he is.
(This story appears in the 25 March, 2011 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)