Red Sun: Travels in Naxalite Country

Spread over fifteen of the country’s twenty-eight states, India’s Maoist movement is now one of the world’s biggest and most sophisticated extreme-left movements. Hardly a week passes without people dying in strikes and counter-strikes by the Maoists—interchangeably known as the Naxalites—and the police and paramilitary forces. In this brilliant and sobering examination of the ‘Other India’, Sudeep Chakravarti combines reportage, political analysis and individual case histories as he takes us to the heart of Maoist zones in the country—areas of extreme destitution, bad governance and perpetual war.

‘‘ ‘The sombre story of India at war with itself’ —Deccan Herald

‘‘Chakravarti is a gifted writer…Red Sun is an important work, because it chronicles a forbidden India whose reality we deny.’ —The Telegraph

‘‘A disturbing vision of a country splintered by the unevenness of development and unable to stop the Maoists from gaining strength…[Red Sun] manages to breach the walls of silence and denial that fortify middle-class preoccupations, and makes you think.’ —DNA

‘‘An important book, not only because it warns of the grave situation in Chhattisgarh and elsewhere, but because Chakravarti manages to humanize the conflict. Rather than the tactics of guerilla warfare or the euphemisms of the defence specialist, ordinary people, largely caught up in events over which they have no control, are at the heart of this book.’ —India Today

‘‘From the shadowy heartlands of Maoist India, ear-to-the-ground accounts that showcase a refreshingly keen eye for detail…[Chakravarti] serves up an impressionistic travelogue, peppered with riveting dialogue and engaging cameos of people—suspecting rebels, confused bureaucrats, smug policemen—he meets on the journey.’ —Hindustan Times

‘‘A fascinating work of reportage…Red Sun proposes no easy answers, but the author succeeds in his aim of “tearing the veil” off a crisis from which we have averted our eyes for too long.’ —Mint