by Manju Kapur
Gun Nidhi Dalmia, my husband, was astute and reassuring in his reading of my manuscript. My hours at the computer would not have been possible without his support.
My children, Maya, Amba, Katyayani and Agastya were with me throughout in body and spirit.
During the research for my novel I consulted the following books for their spiritual commentary: The Secret of the Kath Upanishad, Swami Krishnananda, The Divine Life Society: Tehri-Garhwal, UP, India, 1974; Maharishi Mahesh Yogi on the Bhagavad-Gita, A New Translation and Commentary, Chapters 1-6, Penguin, 1967.
For the political events that form the background of the novel I consulted: Ayodhya Imbroglio: T. P. Jindal, Ashish Publishing House, New Delhi, 1995; The Demolition: India at the Crossroads, Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, Harper Collins, 1994; The People’s Verdict: An inquiry into the December ‘92 & January ‘93 riots in Bombay by the Indian People’s Human Rights Tribunal Conducted by Justice S. M. Daud & Justice H. Suresh published by The Indian People’s Human Rights Commission, August 1993; Pradeep Nayak, The Politics of the Ayodhya Dispute, Commonwealth Publishers, New Delhi, 1993; and Cry the Beloved Country, a PUDR pamphlet.
In section VI, the advertisement by Ramjanambhoomi Nyas (a non-political body affiliated to the VHP) in The Pioneer, May 11, 1991, has been taken from Pradeep Nayak, The Politics of the Ayodhya Dispute, (details mentioned above) p. 167.
The Hindustan Times was consulted on microfilm, accessed from the Teen Murti Memorial Library. I am grateful to the library for allowing me this facility.
*
The actual events leading to the destruction of the Babri Masjid have either been fictionalised or used in imaginative reconstructions.
*
This book went through several of its many drafts during a three month stint at the Universities of Kent and Stirling in the UK. I am indebted to the Charles Wallace Trust, India for granting me a fellowship to these places.
About the Author
Manju Kapur is the author of four novels. Her first, Difficult Daughters, received tremendous international acclaim, won the Commonwealth Prize for First Novels (Eurasia Section), and was a number one bestseller in India. Her second novel A Married Woman was called ‘fluent and witty’ in the Independent, while her third, Home, was described as ‘engaging, glistening with detail and emotional acuity’ in the Sunday Times. Her most recent novel, The Immigrant, was called ‘intensely readable’ in the Daily Mail and ‘admirable and enjoyable’ by the Guardian. She lives in New Delhi.
Copyright
This ebook edition published in 2012
by Faber and Faber Ltd
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA
All rights reserved
© Manju Kapur, 2003
The right of Manju Kapur to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
ISBN 978–0–571–26780–4