Meenakshi Lekhi’s debut novel The New Delhi Conspiracy is an engrossing thriller co-written with Krishna Kumar. The story is narrated in a profound and enriching style.
A member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and also a Member of Parliament from the New Delhi constituency representing it for the second time and recently appointed as the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Culture by the Modi Government, Meenakshi Lekhi knows the nitty gritty of Delhi politics. Krishna Kumar, on the other hand, is a post graduate in Sociology. He works at the Lok Sabha Secretariat in New Delhi and is a keen observer of the dynamics of politics and society.
Gripping narrative
The two authors came together for the first time to write the gripping narrative during the past few years. The novel shows the interest shown by a crop of new writers who have gathered experience in real life to tell a readable story to their readers. Meenakshi is an astute politician with almost a decade of experience in national politics. She pulls out unflattering strands from her experience to write the novel which clearly shows the undercurrents of Indian politics to a wider audience.
In the novel, a scientist is shot dead in front of a budding politician at Vedika Khanna’s residence. His dying words leave her almost frozen with fear when she comes out of the shock. She realizes that there is an imminent threat to the life the country’s beloved Prime Minister. A threat to his life was perceived as a threat to national security. Vedika and her trusted aids – journalist Shreya and the techy Kartik - race against time to unravel the mystery and uncover the sinister plot against the government.
Meenakshi’s narrative rattles along with speed and great credibility, not least because of her accurate and detailed background from a lawyer to Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. The New Delhi Conspiracy is a different novel depicting acts of treachery, betrayal of the country perpetrated by the people next door. With its unusual characters and suspense, the novel can be described as a trailblazer.
A few extracts will suffice to gauge the novel’s strong narrative: “Professor Narayan Deo Bakshi was an academician, writer, intellectual and a tough leader of the country. Bakshi’s engagement with the wider society continued on many levels as he went on to become a trustee in the boards of innumerable trusts and foundations. He was also a managing trustee in the organization he himself had created. Such trusts attracted huge donations from donors around the world.”
Foreign support
In another place, the novelist says, “Among national donors, the government had, until recently been his biggest support; but ever since the arrival of the new government under Raghav Mohan, much to the chagrin of Bakshi, the government’s support to his trust had begun to dwindle. Fortunately for him, foreign support had continued to pour in.”
A few more extracts are needed to drive home the point that the novel is a commentary on the national politics not only in India but also anywhere else. “Intolerance of a different type, Bakshi came forward to elaborate. Don’t look for intolerance outside, look for intolerance within your hearts. Be intolerant to Raghav Mohan from within and strike at him where it hurts the most.”
“See Raghav Mohan loves his country, he loves its unity, and he would die for it. You need to break this unity. You need to break the unity of society. Remember Raghav can only be fought by causing disunity in society. Hence we need to nourish each and every fault line that exists in our society and create new ones. Battered from all sides and pining for their older days of glory and opulence, the conspirators wanted Raghav Mohan destroyed and Bakshi’s way seemed like the best one. We have a common enemy, so our strategy has to be common – as long as there is one Raghav Mohan. Let there be one opposition.”
The narrative says, “Inundate people’s heads with lies, never let them ease off and forget anything; when lying you should make it bigger and bigger, no matter how silly or absurd it may sound. Never admit anything good about prime minister and his government and blame him for all the wrongs that happen anywhere and everywhere, confuse the masses, puzzle them with polemic and muddle up their faculty of judgment with rash sophistries. Be relentless in kicking up dirt on prime minister. One day, some of it will stick on him.”
Ahead of conspirators
These lines remind me of the recent tool kit controversy that erupted in Indian Parliament. Assassinating a prime minister or attempting to assassinate a Prime Minister is something not unheard of in a democratic country. But those in charge of national security should be ahead of the conspirators and would-be assassins to spoil their sinister plots.
What makes The New Delhi Conspiracy readable is neither its plot nor its characters. It is the way the two writers tell the story and the beauty of their writing style. The novel is all about a malicious man with a dangerous agenda, an assassin on a diabolical mission, a young politician on a treacherous trail and a conspiracy that will shake the very foundation of democracy.
The writer is an Indologist and a freelance journalist based in Hyderabad, India.