Autobiography of a Mad Nation

Book excerpt: If I had to choose between letting down A friend or my country, god, give Me the strength to betray my nation. ' I was born in a mentally retarded country.' Thus begins this provocative, stylish, and racy literary rant against India by a twenty-four-year-old awaiting capital punishment; hoisting so huge a historic and political canvas to paint upon-- opening at the Emergency that almost murdered Democracy and culminating in the Godhra riots, which almost destroyed secularism-- a canvas so grand, it will leave you staggered . . . . . . and set the tone for a modern story of an ancient Mad Nation! Longlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, Autobiography of a Mad Nation is written on an epic scale-- where history, personal friendships, love for a nation and belief in its values, sense of great literature, fight against censorship, passion for ideas, and a zeal for unforgettable characters and dialogue fuse-- to leave a mesmerizing impact on the minds of readers who discerningly distinguish between great, and all else.