Politicians do not pay the price for communal riots: Kota Neelima
Politicians do not pay the price for communal riots: Kota Neelima
Communal riots do not adversely affect the careers of politiciansand instead help them to come to power. The role of voters and communalism was debated at the first ever Dehradun Literature Festival by political author Kota Neelima about her new book ‘The Honest Season’.
Neelima asked the question why politicians who are involved in communal riots and not punished by the voters. She was conversation session with well-known author NayantaraSahgal on the issue of religion and politics. This topic is covered is Neelima’snew book, The Honest Season, which is a story about six conversations recorded secretly in a mythical parliament by a young and honest MP. One of these conversations is about how communal riots are organised and how politicians manipulate religious sentiments of people to come to power.
Known for her hard hitting realistic fiction, Neelima’s earlier best-selling book on farmer suicides ‘Shoes of the Dead’ is soon to be released as a major motion picture. The critically acclaimed bookhad remained on the best-selling charts through 2013. It had focused on dynastic politics and the pressures on young politicians driven by ambition to succeed in Delhi’s power circles. It narratedthe story of two young men, one hailing from Delhi and another from a remote village, with two very different destinies. The book compared the inheritance of power of a political heir with the inheritance of despair of a poor farmer.
Schedule
Dehradun Literary Festival 2016
Second Day, 23rd April
Panel Discussion
Session 3:15 to 4:15 pm
Book Outline
The Honest Season: SikanderBansi, a political heir and Member of Parliament, secretly tapes six controversial conversations inside Parliament, on issues ranging from ministers being chosen for union cabinet to funding of political parties by through arms deals. As Mira Mouli, a newspaper journalist in Delhi,follows this story that exposes corruption in high places of government and politics. The book, although a fiction, is very close to the truth of the corruption of politicians and the despair of common people.
Reviews about the Book
• “But what if the state has to maintain appearances of being a democracy and, that too, the most populous one called India where it is not so much religion but the ubiquitous 24×7 TV channel which is the opium of the masses who elect governments once every five years?…In The Honest Season, novelist Kota Neelima peeps into the not-so-distant future and envisions that world” – The Deccan Herald
• “Engaging, important and insightful. Beautifully written with great cinematic potential.”- Imtiaz Ali
• “An engaging and gripping story. Will keep you guessing till the end.”- HussainZaidi
• “A compellingly told story, ripped from the headlines, about what really goes on behind closed doors…Kota Neelima’s new work of fiction is all too close to the bone.” – KavereeBamzai, India Today
• “A potboiler if there was ever one, this one makes for a compelling read.”- Bengaluru Mirror
Website:http://kotaneelima.com/TheHonestSeason/
