Exclusive: Can’t Tell Just One Part of Ramdev’s Story, Says Author

Exclusive: “As a journalist, I cannot pick and choose parts of the story I tell,” says author of Baba Ramdev book.

Priyanka Pathak-Narain (L); Baba Ramdev.

(Photo: The Quint)

As a Delhi court passes an injunction on the publication of Priyanka Pathak-Narain’s book Godman to Tycoon: The Untold Story of Baba Ramdev (published by Juggernaut Books), Priyanka refuses to back down as she says, “I stand by my book.”

In an exclusive interview to The Quint, Narain stated that her book was “about deeply researched, objective and dispassionate journalism.”

I set out to write about Ramdev ji’s life as objectively as I could. I set out to write about how this individual, who came from such deprivation, struggled against enormous physical and financial odds to scale such tremendous heights. I’ve been admiring of his tenacity, the rise of his company and his contribution to Yoga and Ayurveda. I’ve recorded this in the book.

Also Read: Here’s Why Ramdev Doesn’t Want You to Read the Book About His Life

About the purportedly controversial aspects of the book, however, Narain insisted that her book is a work of journalism and she stands by it.

As a journalist, I cannot pick and choose parts of the story I tell. It would be incomplete if I did not cover events that were happening in his world and to people in it. His story is incomplete without the references to Karamveer, Yogananda, Shankar Dev or Rajeev Dixit. These occurrences have been covered in the press, on television, in press conferences – they are all matters on the public record and in the public domain. I have been careful to point out that none of the cases of death or disappearance have been linked to Ramdev.

Narain is also quick to remind that the book is about every aspect of his personality, every trajectory of his person.

“There is No Personal Agenda”

When I’d spoken to Narain at the time of the book’s release, I had asked her if she were worried about the fallout from what promised to be an explosive book. “I’d be naive not to,” she’d hesitated before answering. However, she’d continued to steadfastly maintain that she had “just tried to do (her) job as a journalist”.

Also Read: I Stand by My Book: Author of Book on Ramdev After Restraint Order

Today, as the biography lands in deep waters, she reiterates her point of view:

The book has been researched over several years. In the last year I have conducted several tens of interviews on tape. I have pored over the extant material on Ramdev’s life. I have even met Ramdev and Balakrishna. I have visited police stations, looked through countless RoC documents, and filed RTIs.

Also Read: Is Ramdev Hiding Behind Power of Saffron Robes? His Biography Asks

Narain had, at the time when Baba Ramdev’s biography was released, mentioned that she was anxious that people see the book for what is was – an objective relaying of his life. “There is NO personal agenda,” she had told The Quint. She repeats herself today as she tells us,

Where investigations have been closed I have pointed that out. Where they are ongoing, I have pointed that out. And wherever Ramdev has denied involvement, that also has been pointed out. I have made no fresh assertions in these matters and only written about what was already known.

She may have beenapprehensive about a fallout, but did she see a court injunction coming?

“I didn’t worry about it. As a journalist I had done my job, I didn’t really think of the future,” Narain signs off.

(Love your mother tongue? This Independence Day, tell The Quint why and how you love your bhasha. You may even win a BOL t-shirt! Sing, write, perform, spew poetry – whatever you like – in your mother tongue. Send us your BOL at [e-mail] or WhatsApp it to 9910181818.)