Multi-crore rupee scams and scandals have caused much havoc in India. Anti-corruption movements have gained ground in the recent past and the nation is seething with anger at the blatant misuse of their hard-earned money. In light of the public sentiment, Mukul Deva has penned a page turning thriller which has a deceptively simple idea – death penalty for the corrupt. This book can strike a chord with many a young Indian and I wish, really wish, strike some fear into the hearts of the wicked who rule us.
‘This book
was born out of an extreme sense of anger and shame. Anger at the appalling,
naked greed so shamelessly displayed by the Indian political class. And shame
that they happen to be fellow-Indians.’ – Very well said Mr Deva. Common Indians feel your anger and shame.
Plot
The K-team or
the R.I.P –the Resurgent Indian Patriots is introduced in the first chapter
where they are about to carry out a deadly assassination of a powerful
politician embroiled in several scams.
The K-team, an outfit of a handful of handpicked men from the military
forces led by Colonel Athawale, is out to send out a strong message – Stop
messing around with public funds or die. Amidst tight security, they carry out
the assassination, and send out their warning through media channels leading to
shock waves through the country. Not
only do they do this, but also give away hints on their next strikes. With such
powerful targets, it is but natural, that the K-team is the target of many.
Equally wily forces are hired in addition to the official investigators and the
race is on to see which force finally wins.
Alongside,
some side romances, involving an obviously beautiful woman, are introduced. I
thought these were completely unnecessary although the necessary links were all
present. Thankfully, these did not meddle with the climax of the book.
Characters
All the
characters, right from the K-team were very well etched and had the trappings
of the roles they played. The other characters are mostly well known and it wasn’t
hard to derive parallels from real life.
Much as
Mukul Deva ‘stresses’ on the fact that the book is a work of pure fiction and
resemblances are coincidental and fictitious, it is amusing to note that he
must have been forced to do so to be politically correct. The names have only
been twisted a teeny bit from the originals although the scams that originated
from them have been almost named as they are. For the same correctness reasons and to show
that the RIP outfit is secular, the members of the team include a
representation from all religions. I almost thought Amar Akbar Anthony when I
saw Krishna, Kashif and Kevin in the first chapter! The politicos' hired gun, Raghav Bhagat has been well sketched as the rogue ex-para commando, a ruthless man who can go to any length for the money.
For the
young audience the book targets, a romantic angle has been thrown in for good
measure with the character of the pretty news anchor Reena. Although she takes up a good chunk of the
book, she is like one of those Bollywood heroines, who are nice and pretty but
needn’t really have been there in the world of cold, steely men with missions!
Language
The language
of the book was not exemplary, but was the typical Indian conversational
English and easy to understand like most new Indian authors. There is some use of expletives.
My view
Overall I enjoyed the book for the topic and the a-la Rang de Basanti
storyline. I don’t think I would exhort this kind of justice, but like the
author said, I wouldn’t shed a tear of sympathy if any of these corrupt
politicians are done away with. I would
rate this book a 4/5 for the entertainment value and for the fleeting pleasure
it gave me in thinking of a corruption free country.
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About the Author
An alumnus of La Martiniere College, Lucknow, the National Defence Academy, Pune and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, Mukul Deva was commissioned in December 1981 into the Sikh Light Infantry of the Indian Army. He took early retirement from the army after fifteen years of service, including a decade of combat operations in India and overseas. Now settled in Singapore, he is an entrepreneur, motivational speaker and an executive, business and creativity coach. He is also a Mentor on the United Nations Institute of Training and Research Afghanistan Fellowship. He is India’s leading writer of military thrillers, including the bestselling Lashkar series.
