New Delhi, March 11 : The scandal tarnished the image of two popular Prime Ministers (one posthumously), threw light on the unscrupulous world of the global arms trade and its nexus with politics, and forced banking haven Switzerland to change its impenetrable laws to help foreign governments unearth cases of large-scale corruption.

And all for a weapon system which had a fair chance of winning the contest on its own, as we learn, and did go on to display its worth soon.

The Bofors artillery gun scandal, featuring politicians of all shades and agendas, over-enthusiastic arms manufacturers, shadowy but influential arms dealers, obdurate and obfuscating bureaucrats, conscientious prosecutors, dedicated and manipulative media persons, a Bollywood megastar, et al - could have well flowed from the pen of, say, Fredrick Forsyth or David Baldacci or rather, John Le Carre to spin one of their captivating tales.

However, it is journalist Chitra Subramaniam, known for her decade-long extensive coverage from Switzerland of the twists and turns of the scandal, who does the task.

In "Boforsgate: A Journalist's Pursuit of Truth" (Juggernaut, 328 pp, Rs 899), she offers a detailed account of the episode which brought down the Rajiv Gandhi government in ignominy, blighted the careers of several politicians in governments to come, and exposed the double standards of Swedish global peacemaker Olof Palme and his nation, chiefly based on her own reportage and experiences.

All this despite, as she admits, needing to know "What on earth was a howitzer" and having to consult the UN Library - in those pre-internet days - to find out!