May 28, 2021

Book Review: Undercover by Ashish Khetan


Ashish Khetan's book is a non-chronological personal account of his sting operations on Hindutva organizations. It was an account that was often, hard to read, as gory details of pillage, murder, etc. sprung forth from Khetan's pages. Khetan lays bare the 'Gujarat model' of encounters, pliable defense lawyers (and judges), and how careers of those who tried to save rioters got a leg up versus how those who tried to stop riots or bring the perpetrators to book were vilified and hounded. I especially enjoyed the blow by blow account of the Godhra train burning, the Bilkis Bano incident and then the judicial proceedings, and the Modi SIT deposition. I reduced 1 star from a 5 star rating because of the non-chronological nature of the book which confused me - often a case that was to be addressed in the future came up in the past and vice versa.


Outside that minor niggle, Khetan's Undercover is essential reading to understand how the "System" was broken at a national level by proponents of the Gujarat model.

PS: Read it before the System bans it.

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