New Delhi, June 17 -- Indira Gandhi's ascent as prime minister of India in 1966 seems obvious with the benefit of hindsight, but it was entirely unforeseen at the time. Within years - if not months - she emerged as one of the most powerful political leaders of her era - serving as prime minister for 15 years, leaving behind a complex and deeply controversial legacy. A highly anticipated new book by historian Srinath Raghavan, Indira Gandhi and the Years that Transformed India, unpacks that legacy, uncovering fresh material that challenges much of the conventional wisdom we've accumulated over the years. Raghavan is a professor of international relations and history at Ashoka University and non-resident scholar at Carnegie India. He is the author of several celebrated books, including India's War: The Making of Modern South Asia and Fierce Enigmas: A History of the United States in South Asia. Raghavan spoke about his book on last week's episode of Grand Tamasha, a weekly podcast on Indian politics and policy co-produced by HT and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Raghavan spoke with host Milan Vaishnav about Gandhi's unforeseen rise to power, the daunting conditions which greeted her premiership, and her improvisatory leadership during the 1971 war. Plus, the two discussed the larger global conditions which shaped what Raghavan calls the "long 1970s." Raghavan argued that Gandhi's rise took place against the backdrop of a very significant churn in global economics and global politics, driven by the tumultuous protest politics of the 1960s, the oil price shock of 1973, and the Cold War. "I see India very much as part of this kind of broader story with, of course, its own specificities, which we should attend to," explained the historian. Raghavan pointed out that Gandhi's return to office in 1980 coincided with a second oil shock, triggered by the Iranian revolution, which again sent oil prices skyrocketing and generated inflationary pressures. "And if you look at the period from 1980 to 1984.we see that what is happening in Indian politics can very much be situated or located within various kinds of global currents, be it in the domain of political economy, where there is a clearer understanding that we need to move towards.neoliberal systems of economic management, but also in terms of other things, [such as] the global rise of various kinds of religious movements," said Raghavan. "As I see it, pretty much from the late 1960s through to the mid-1980s, there is a parabola that Indian political history of the period also tracks. And it is very much related and influenced by global currents themselves." As for Gandhi's initial ascension to power, Raghavan's book echoes previous work which argues that many powerful leaders in the Congress Party underestimated Gandhi's political acumen. But he also acknowledged that Gandhi herself was very aware of her shortcomings. "She certainly had her own doubts. She knew that there were many things that she did not know, that while she had considerable experience of politics, had observed her father operating at the highest levels of government and of international politics for a very long period of time.she didn't know a lot of things about the mechanics of government, policymaking, et cetera. So, she knew what she did not know and was open to taking soundings from advisors and others," he said. But Raghavan stated that, in January 1966, when the opportunity presented itself, Gandhi felt that India was in a moment of crisis and that the Nehruvian legacy itself was in danger of being discarded. In a certain way, he said, she saw herself as the keeper of the flame - as the person who would make sure that the country stuck to the political, economic, international profile that her father had set the country on. "As much as she's diffident about some of her abilities, she also thinks that she has a responsibility to come forward and take this legacy ahead," he stated....