This series of posts is on books on the world of realpolitik - hard, ruthless and sometimes dazzling. In this world, what appears obvious may not be the truth, and the truth may never surface. Thanks to a breed of investigative journalists and authors that sometimes the truth is made to surface. It is a mysterious world, difficult to fathom. 

Realpolitik Books - I

The Meadow

July 1995. Ten foreign backpackers, four couples and two loners, trekked to a camping site at 3400 meters in the Kashmir valley.

Six of them were taken hostage by an unknown Islamic extremist group. Kashmir came under the spotlight of the world. This was the starting point for terrorism in Kashmir - terrorism as we understand it today. 

As a ransom, the group demanded the release of some prisoners held in Indian prisons, one of whom was Maulana Masood Azhar. It was the same person who, later on, was responsible for attack on the Indian Parliament. 

Within four day of their being abducted, one of the  trekkers escaped from the clutches of the extremists. The intelligence agencies, police and military forces of India became active. Intelligence agencies of UK and USA, the Scotland Yard and FBI, joined in the fray. The diplomatic channels became hyperactive.

Then the shocking news came that one of the trekkers was beheaded by their captors. That closed the door for the captors irreversibly. All possibilities of a peaceful resolution disappeared.  

What happened to the other four captives? What were their families doing? What were all the other players - governments, military, administrators, journalists doing? The climax of the book is shocking. The ruthless warring between India and Pakistan spoiled the pitch for many. The price that the four captives paid at the altar of politics was heart rendering. It brought tears to my eyes and saddened me that my country could indulge in such inhuman and unethical games for political one upmanship.

The authors, Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark, have worked for 16 years as investigative journalists for the Sunday Times and Guardian. They have three other books to their credit. They have also produced many TV documentaries.

See you again. Namaste. 

Prabir