Review ‘Hello, Bastar’ by Rahul Pandita

Poetry, Fiction, Politics, Bollywood and many other exciting topics have been covered under the Book Reviews program. Today we have a book based on an untold story of India’s Maoist movement. We present to you with a non-fiction book today, which falls under the category of History and Politics. Rahul Pandita‘s popular book ‘Hello, Bastar’ is the next one to be featured in this program! He studied the Maoist movement for more than a decade and here is his book, a first hand account of his observations and information acquired while researching them.

We are giving away 10 copies of this enthralling book signed by Rahul Pandita . Here’s the excerpt of ‘Hello, Bastar’:

Hello, Bastar is the inside story of the current Maoist Movement in India.

With direct access to the top Maoist leadership, Rahul Pandita provides an authoritative account of how a handful of men and women, who believed in the idea of revolution, entered Bastar in Central India in 1980 and created a powerful movement that New Delhi now terms as India’s biggest internal security threat. It traces the circumstances due to which the Maoist movement entrenched itself in about 10 states of India, carrying out deadly attacks against the Indian establishment in the name of the poor and the marginalised. It offers rare insight into the lives of Maoist guerillas and also of the Adivasi tribals living in the Red zone.

Based on extensive on-ground reportage and exhaustive interviews with Maoist leaders including their supreme commander Ganapathi, Kobad Ghandy and others who are jailed or have been killed in police encounters, this book is a combination of firsthand storytelling and intrepid analysis.

Hello, Bastar is the story of:

• How the idea of creating a guerilla base in Bastar came up.
• What the rebels who entered Dandakaranya had to deal with.
• The Jagtial movement that created the ground for the Maoist movement.
• The first squad member who died for revolution.
• How Maoists and their guerilla squads function.
• Their goals, recruitment, party structure and funding their ‘urban agenda’ for cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai.
• Their relationship with people and peoples’ movements.
• Maoist supremo Ganapathi and other top leaders.
• Anuradha Ghandy’s journey from Bombay to Bastar.

With an afterword by jailed Maoist ideologue Kobad Ghandy.

Praise for Hello, Bastar

“Rahul Pandita had done something unusual – He had studied the Maoist movement at ground level for more than a decade, growing ever more interested in the way it functioned, travelling through the remoter jungles of Central India for weeks on end and spending time with the tribal people.” — Patrick French, British writer and historian.

Know the Author: Rahul Pandita is a senior Special Correspondent with the Open Magazine. He is the co-author of the critically acclaimed book on insurgency: The Absent State. He has extensively reported from conflict zones ranging from Bastar to Baghdad.

Ready for an exciting read? Then let us know. Read the rules first – The review should be of 500+ words and should be posted on your blog within 7 days from the day you receive the book. In your review, tell us about the story, the writing style of the author, main characters, their description, your likes, dislikes, expectations, etc.

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This book can be yours! Click here to review Hello, Bastar.

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