Rajesh Pilot

Rajesh Pilot rose in the political scene of the 1980s — when Indira Gandhi and later Rajiv Gandhi helmed the country. This is his incredible story. A farmer, he first came to Delhi to work as a milk-man in his uncle’s dairy. But young Rajeshwar Prasad was ambitious. He put himself through flying school and became a pilot in the Indian Air Force. Years later, in 1979, he met the then Congress president Indira Gandhi and told her that he wanted to fight elections. On a whim, Mrs Gandhi gave him a ticket. Pilot quit the Air Force and contested elections, winning first from Bharatpur and then from Dausa. At various points, he also served as minister for Telecommunications, Internal Security and Environment. An energetic and ever-smiling member of the Congress Party, he was always at the centre of every happening. Written by his wife Rama Pilot, this personal biography is a celebration of life of a mass leader.