Sharad Pawar is one of Indias key public figures. Through his five- decade-long career, during which he has never lost an election, he has served as chief minister of Maharashtra four times and as Indias defence minister and minister for agriculture. On two occasions he came close to becoming the countrys prime minister. He has often bucked the trend, preferring policy and pragmatism over populism, and won admiration for his administrative acumen and consensual politics.

Eyewitness-at the highest levels-to Indias and Maharashtras history since the 1960s, he shares in this memoir his...