New Delhi, May 24 -- The idea that you could walk into a neighborhood store, buy a phone, insert a SIM card and start calling family and friends within hours would have been the stuff of science fiction in pre-1990s India. Which is why the telecom sector is considered the poster child of the transformative powers of the reforms of 1991, which threw open a moribund government monopoly to the private sector.

But a phone in every Indian's hand isn't a story of a smooth and steady transition. It is a tale of bitter business rivalries, some wise and some inept government handling, fierce maneuverings in courts, and a whole host of characters who played significant parts in the decades-long drama. It is also a story of the rise and fall of man...