WATCH| Monday Talk: Uniform civil code is need of hour, says Bill Koul author of book ‘Does India Need A Dictator’

In just a few months the country will be going to witness Lok Sabha elections 2019. As the nation is gearing up to witness its biggest democratic festival, there are a lot of Indians, whether living in India or abroad, who have expressed their concerns about various challenges which India is facing today.

One such person is NRI Bill K Koul. He recently wrote a book—Does India Need A Dictator– which talks about such challenges.

To know more about the book, journalist Anurag Sason has an in-depth conversation with the author.

Here are important excerpts from the exclusive interview: (Scroll down to watch the complete interview)

Q1) What this book is all about?

Bill K Koul: This book is about India. About India’s youth, its sustainability, survival and livability. I am very worried about the country. 70 years have passed by but still, Indians do not identify themselves first with India. There is regionalism. There is a lot of fragmentation.

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Q2) Why you decided to write the book?

Bill K Koul: I’m connected with the country although I left it long back. What puzzles me is the livability in this country. Whether it’s the quality of air, water or commuting from one place to another, the parameters of liveability I see are not pointing towards the right directions. So what are we doing about it? The root cause of all these problems is India’s uncontrolled growing population. India has grown fourfold in the last 70 years. This uncontrolled population is putting pressure on everything, on every resource. These are the problems which compelled me to write this book.

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Q3) How many chapters the book comprises of?

Bill K Koul: There are five chapters in the book. It talks about Kashmir, education, secularism, liveability and political infrastructure of the country.

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Q4) How can these problems will be solved?

Bill K Koul: One common civil code, one child policy for population control and increased spending on education are some of the solutions. Quality of education in private and public school should be equal.

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Q5)Your book talks about a dictator. Please elaborate.

Bill K Koul: Yes it talks about a dictator but a benevolent one. People like authoritarian visionary leaders.

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Q6) Who that person can be in India?

Bill K Koul: For that, you have to read the book.

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Q7) In the past, you have written three other books. Tell us something about them in brief.

Bill K Koul: My first book is about Kashmir…How I left, how I came back and how I fell in love with Kashmir. My second book is about mental health. And my third book is based on my observations of India during my frequent visits to the country.

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WATCH COMPLETE INTERVIEW: Monday Talk: Uniform civil code is need of hour, says author Bill Koul to Anurag Sason

About the author: Author is Deputy Editor in India TV and tweets at@AnuragSason

The interview is taken in the personal capacity and is exclusively for this website.