Gripping, eye-opening
4 stars
It's an eye opener and a thrilling read, although depressing. Josy Joseph explains how India's security establishment - the police, intelligence agencies, investigation agencies and tax departments - has ruined the lives of hundreds of people through its biases, corruption and incompetence. The author does not take sides (mostly).
We see the headlines and infographics of terror attacks, genocides and other tragedies. This book goes behind the scenes and asks pertinent questions and points out coverups and blunders.
Some of the topics covered in the book are the 26/11 terror attacks, Malegaon blasts, Gujarat riots, murders, fake encounters, Kashmir, Kandahar hijack and so on.
One major issue with this book is the chapter on IPKF in Sri Lanka. The author seems somewhat sympathetic to the IPKF and tut-tuts about the mess it 'suffered', and completely ignores the atrocities committed by it on Tamil civilians.
Two other things: the author's digressions …
It's an eye opener and a thrilling read, although depressing. Josy Joseph explains how India's security establishment - the police, intelligence agencies, investigation agencies and tax departments - has ruined the lives of hundreds of people through its biases, corruption and incompetence. The author does not take sides (mostly).
We see the headlines and infographics of terror attacks, genocides and other tragedies. This book goes behind the scenes and asks pertinent questions and points out coverups and blunders.
Some of the topics covered in the book are the 26/11 terror attacks, Malegaon blasts, Gujarat riots, murders, fake encounters, Kashmir, Kandahar hijack and so on.
One major issue with this book is the chapter on IPKF in Sri Lanka. The author seems somewhat sympathetic to the IPKF and tut-tuts about the mess it 'suffered', and completely ignores the atrocities committed by it on Tamil civilians.
Two other things: the author's digressions are annoying. He could have written it in a more coherent manner. Sometimes he assumes that the reader is aware of certain names or events and refers to them in passing. Occasionally, as a non-Hindi speaker, you come across Hindi words or phrases that you can't make sense of. These could have been explained as well. Otherwise it's essential reading for every Indian citizen.