A Feast of Vultures: The Hidden Business of Democracy in India Hardcover – 28 July 2016

Fascinating but rather a sad reality check of our country. Commendable research and courage demonstrated by the author.

Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers.-AristotleA feast of vultures, the hidden business of democracy in India is a stellar piece of investigative journalism. And before I write on this topic I wanna salute to the author of this book for being courageous and honest in his thoughts.And the USP of this brilliantly written book is that within few hundred pages he unravelled the dark reality of the world’s largest democratic country, India.So, let’s start with some basic questions. What is democracy? Who are those people who are running this country (India)? And how dangerous is the lethal combination of Politicians-businessmen-criminals-middlemen, for India and it’s inhabitants? And what are the solutions to save India and it’s institutions from such kind of vultures?Theoretically speaking, Democracy means ‘People’s Rule’, but in reality it’s an another form of exploitation of the common man by the elected representatives.And the people who are running this country are the heinous combination of Politicians-businessmen-criminals-middlemen. These people decide the fate of the 1.3 billion People. From the shady defense deals to the construction of an airport are decided by these people who sometimes works below the radar.And the best example to show that how dangerous these people for the country can be gauged by the fact that ‘India is a rich country with too many poor people’.These narrow minded people always put their self interest first and they also make sure that all the wealth of this country resides in their hands only. They promote their own family members to the top position of this country. They have the habit to fool the people of this great country in the name of pseduo-socialism and pseduo-secularism.And to save this country from these vultures we have to shed the slave mentality which sadly ingrained in most of the Indians who foolishly accepts the hereditary transition in Politics as well as in bollywood too.I will end with these lines of Dr BR Ambedkar :-Democracy in India is only a ‘top dressing on an Indian soil, which is essentially undemocratic’.My Ratings : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)I hope you like this, thanks for reading, Jai Hind.

I read the second book (Named The Silent Coup: A History of India’s Deep State) from Mr. Joseph first and then picked up this one (A Feast of Vultures) which was published almost 6 years before the other one. This book deals with the omnipresent corruption in Indian Democratic set-up. Though the author is hopeful in his epilogue that India is changing for betterment in his second book he’s lost all his hope and declares there is no democracy left in India anymore.One mustn’t take this book as against one party or in favour of the other, which it emphatically is not! It shows some true colors of Indian History which is nothing but corruption. The politicians and the crony capitalists play the dirty games whose brunt fall upon none but the poor and innocent citizens of India. This book is highly recommended as Pre-Modi era corruption cases’ refresher course. Since the book deals till 2016, it doesn’t take into account the cases of recent decade long history of “corruption” or “lack thereof”!This is an interesting treatise as it tells the facts and figures in story form. At times, I felt depressed on coming face to face with the true state of our nation and the history. Someone once told rightly that ‘Raw truth is actually depressing’. But, for the seekers of truth it’s highly recommended!

“A Feast of Vultures” by investigative Journalist, Josy Joseph is a book that investigates the murky world of how things are done in India. Be it road construction in a village or electricity connection in a village household or be it setting up a huge industry. What goes behind the scenes in the big world of industrialists, how deals are clinched in favour of one or the other. The role and power of middlemen who fix the big defense deals and despite being charged with wrongdoings they still are part of the game.The book opens a portal for the common people to have a look at how things work in India. It documents how the country’s resources are plundered by the rich, the big business rivalries, and the corruption at every level of doing business which means profit for the richest of the rich at the cost of the majority of the citizens of the country.

Corruption has almost become passe in India and most of us dismiss it with a shrug. The books put on paper what most people know / discuss or at-least suspect. It has named many of the people involved in the stories discussed which many authors are not keen to do. However, the book does not go into much detail about the incidents and many a times we are expected to accept the authors words for the what is narrated. While the book regularly points out conflicts of interest and inconsistencies in the rise of a particular group or businessperson it does not give any details about the corruption indulged.Also, while one of the themes of the book is middle-men and power brokers he does not really explore the topic in detail.Curiously there is no mention of some big names who are considered to the major power brokers. I hope he will go into more details in his next book and certainly also examine and expose the corrupt actions of bureaucrats and politicians just like he has done with businessmen. I feel some bias does creep into the narration now and again but for the most part the tone is unbiased.Overall the book is well written and very readable. The Author has done a good job in keeping it interesting.

Good book

In Indian politics nothing surprises us anymore. But even so, every chapter through this book manages just that and on so many level that it is an 'unputdownable' validation of the horrors of governance and administration that politics has bequeathed to the idea of democracy for the citizen.With facts on the table, the 'feast of vultures' is aptly titled and is a must read for everyone interested in India and its future as a democracy in its true meaning.Though focusing on middlemen their role as a central cog in the wheel, it provides a picture into the reality of what It takes to keep the wheels turning even if it ultimately tramples on the citizen and his/her written rights.An experienced insight cannot be written better !

Great book !!

Enjoyed reading the book 📖 The author has informed the reader about facts and the corruption at the highest levels .From the controversial dealings in aviation to all the other scams this is a very informative book if one wants to know what it means to live in a society where your most vulnerable if you don’t have contacts finances or a roof above your head .It also informs the readers how the multi billionaires get away by building the best on land meant for others .Its very surprising that most people who start up businesses are never questioned as to where they get the money to invest from but once they vanish all such questions are raised this especially in the case of Jet Airways .Its disheartening to read about all the crooks who have absconded and not paid the people .The justice system must step up faster or as truly stated by the author we will never see that India whis is fair to all irrespective of caste or social status .Well written and an informative book and I found mostly the aviation part interesting as I was working for a domestic airline in the 90”s.

Loved it. Feels a little like reading a rather long news item which is understandable. But content is king here and recommend it strictly to anyone wanting to get an oversight on some of the examples of how things work in India.