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A review by shelfadmirer
In a Violent Land by Suketu Mehta, Salam bin Razzaq, Mahasweta Devi, Vijaydan Detha, Harvinder Singh Phoolka, Sonia Faleiro, Khushwant Singh, Sanjoy Hazarika, Manoj Mitta, Anna Bhau Sathe, Shahnaz Bashir, Udayan Ghosh, Barkha Dutt
4.0
‘In A Violent Land’, as the name suggests, is a collection of stories about terrible times in the history of India. Be it the ‘2002 Gujrat riots’, or the other kinds of ‘war’ happening throughout the country, these stories bring us the gruesome details and the mindset of the people who actively participated in these events.
These riots are mostly community driven. The Babri Masjid incident, or the massacre of Sikhs after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the brutal rape of thousands of women in the name of violence and the ineffectiveness of the politicians and public servants to do anything about it or their role in instigating these fights.
The authors whose stories are a part of this collection include Barkha Dutt, Khushwant Singh, Suketu Mehta, Sanjoy Hazarika etc. My most favorite story would be ‘Powertoni’ which is based on the authors account of his experience while doing research on the 1992-93 riots in Mumbai. The story gives us a glimpse of the mindset of a Hindu activist who murders numerous Muslims in cold blood and the irony is that he also needs this community to earn money and make an easy livelihood.
This collection is a very powerful and compelling one. It is also full of raw violence, cheap and double standard mindset and stories which only see the light of the day through one particular narrative-the one who emanates power.
These riots are mostly community driven. The Babri Masjid incident, or the massacre of Sikhs after the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the brutal rape of thousands of women in the name of violence and the ineffectiveness of the politicians and public servants to do anything about it or their role in instigating these fights.
The authors whose stories are a part of this collection include Barkha Dutt, Khushwant Singh, Suketu Mehta, Sanjoy Hazarika etc. My most favorite story would be ‘Powertoni’ which is based on the authors account of his experience while doing research on the 1992-93 riots in Mumbai. The story gives us a glimpse of the mindset of a Hindu activist who murders numerous Muslims in cold blood and the irony is that he also needs this community to earn money and make an easy livelihood.
This collection is a very powerful and compelling one. It is also full of raw violence, cheap and double standard mindset and stories which only see the light of the day through one particular narrative-the one who emanates power.