Thread by @GorwayGlobal

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A long one.
So, in the middle of a pandemic, we get this news: a new biography of #India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This from oneindia.com/india/new-biog…

It was widely reported. see this from Times of India: timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/new-biog…

Who wrote it? Two people:
Adish C Aggarwala, a delhi lawyer and on his own congisance, President of the International Council of Jurists, and Elisabeth Horan, an American author and poet.
Let's take a closer look: First at the book then the authors.

The book: This is how @timesofindia described the book in it's report of the launch - see pic.

My usual; go to place for a book is Amazon to take a look inside the covers and read the reviews. A search on Amazon.in for "Modi biography" threw up these 3 books: But not the one by Aggarwala and Horan that was launched on 31 May

Maybe my search was too broad. I put in the books full title: "Narendra Modi – Harbinger of Prosperity & Apostle of World Peace" That gave me these 2 books.
Strange! a new biography of the PM o India not listed on Amazon.in? Strange...

Lets look at the authors. Adish C Aggarwala, President of the International Council of Jurists. Sounds an impressive post to hold. International... Jurists. It turns out the ICJ is in fact va company (No. 06407095) registered in the UK (@CompaniesHouse)

Anyone with 20 pounds to spare can form a pvt company and register it @CompaniesHouse. You don't really have to trade o carry out any business. Any address will do as the Company's registered address. It's easy and simple.
Company No 06407095's directors are (among others):

You really don't need to reveal your home address, it's perfectly legal to use the company's registered address as the notes to form AR01 make clear. This company No 06407095 has had a chequered history complying with @CompaniesHouse rules. Let me explain.

Here is it's 1st 7 years of existence. Incorporated in 2007, in 2007 it was compulsorily stricken from the Register - a penalty imposed after due notice has been served on the directors for serious non compliance with regulatory filing requirements.

The notice of Dissolution is a pretty stark document published in the gazette for the public record. This is what it looks like a 1-page pdf document.

5 years later on 29 August 2014 application was made for this still-born Company to be restored to the Register. Mr Adish C Aggarwala signed Form RT01. See this picture of page 1 of the form.

On the 2nd page of Form RT01 the errant director is asked
to suggest a different name for the restored company, in case the original is no longer available. In what could be a Freudian slip the new name is in the singular Jurist rather than Jurists. See pic.

So Companies House obligingly gave Company No 06407095 a new lease of life. But the directors appear not to have learned that being a director of a registered company means complying with filing requirements. Between 2015 and now there were 3 further First Gazette notices issued

On each occasion, the directors obv rushed to comply and the Compulsory strike-off action was 'suspended' in the nick of time. Not a well run company clearly, and not good form for the President of the International Council of Jurists. Anyway, lets look at the finances.

Company No 06407095 last filed accounts in July 2017. These were accounts made up to 31 Oct 2016. There's only an abbreviated balance sheet, no Statement of profit and loss. Here it is: But since nothing has changed between 2015 and 2016, I am guessing it has not traded.

Now here's the thing: Since you'd expect a body called the International Council of Jurists to have a large body of members with subscription fees, there's would be some trading data, income coming in, expenses on member services... But nothing. The registered address look thus

134 Buckingham Palace Road is also the address of a firm of solicitors: So the International Council of Jurists's registered address is, as is typical for many privately owned companies not the companies offices as such but a lawyer's office address

Now for the second author of the new Biography of #India's current Prime Minister. The only Elisabeth Horan I can find is this:

After some more searching on the web I gave up Ias far as I can tell I could not find another Elisabeth Horan, American poet and author.

But this isn't the first biography of Mr Modi that Adish C Aggarwala has written. In 2015 this book was published by UK Publishers and Distributors at 134 Buckingham Palace Road London SW1W 9SA. The same address again

Amazon.in says that this book is
"Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock".

The amazon listing for this book also says:

So there you have it, a new biography of India's Prime Minister, Launched by an ex-Chief Justice of India, written by a lawyer who is a director of a company called International Council of Jurists, but describes himself as the President of the International Council of Jursists.

The book itself is not listed (not yet at any rate) on Amazon. It all seems very odd.

I wish I hadn't started this enquiry. It just gets murkier and muddier. Remember the earlier biography of Mr Modi written by Adish C Aggarwala? This one? It was published, according to the Amazon.in page by UK Publishers and Distributors Ltd.

The address listed for the publisher was the same 134 Buckingham Palace Road that is the address for Mr Aggarwala's company International Council of Jurists. But it turns out that there is indeed a company known as UK Publishers and Distributors with a different address. see pic

This company, UKPD, has just the one shareholder and director who is a Amit Kumar of the same address. Interesting his company having been incorporated on 11 Nov 2013 has only ever filed accounts as a dormant company.

Here's what I don't get. Is this Company (No. 08769230) the very same UK Publishers and Distributors Ltd that published the Jan 2015 biography of Mr Modi? If so how is it that it filed accounts as a dormant company. Even publishing 1 book will generate some income and expenses.

If it isn't this company - and it may not be this one since the address on the Amazon blurb is 134 Buckingham Place Road - then why isn't there a UK Publishers and Distributors Ltd. at that address? It's all very murky and muddy as I said.

And here is another absolute corker of a discovery!!!
BREAKING NEWS.
Remember that 2015 biography. Acc to amazon.in the sole distributor is Amish Publications, Gaura Harish Kunj, DS-423/424, New Rajinder Nagar, New Delhi. Now where did we come across that address?

That was the address listed for Mr Adish C Aggarwala one of the Directors of International Council of Jurists, Company No 06407095. maybe some Delhi based journalist might like to follow this up. What is 423/424 New Rajioner Nagar, New Delhi? private residence? or a business?

An update.
09 June 2020. This new autobiography now has a listing on Amazon. See pic 1. But it is currently unavailable( See pic 2)

There is no price listed. The Amazon page says: "We don't know when, or if, this book will be back in Stock." Strangely the main entry gives a publication date of 1 Jan 2020, and the cover lists an outfit called 'USA Publications & Distribution House, LLC New York'

The write up about the book on the Amazon.inapp[ears to be a potted summary of the contents.

So now you know:
- International statesman,
- economics engineer,
- architect of welfare schemes, transparent governance. - - - brokering peace in regions of conflict.
- Under his leadership India made significant contribution to ON Peacekeeping forces. (meant UN, I think)

- played a key role in areas of strife,
- dealt firmly with terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir,
- eradicated terror camps in both India and neighboring countries without civilian damage.
- a man of constant action who strives to alleviate the condition of the poor.

This little write up about the book has spelling errors (ON, instead of UN) and peters out at the end mid-sentence. It cannot have been written by a serious or half competent sub-editor. Sadly no one will ever know what is inside the book that was launched by an ex-Chief Justice.

I cant find a publishing firm on the web known as "USA Publications and Distrubution House LLC New York". Does such a company exist? Does the Book really exist or is it just a glorified album.?
It has an ISBN Number: Lets track it down using that unique book identifier

The ISBN for this book according to its Amazin.in listing is
978-1734015409
But a google search reveals nothing