Red Jihad

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Red Jihad: Battle for South Asia
Red Jihad (Cover).jpg
First Indian edition cover
AuthorSami Ahmad Khan
SeriesRed Jihad #1
Genre Conspiracy fiction, Thriller
Publisher Rupa & Co. India Pvt Ltd
Publication date
June 2012
Publication placeIndia
Pages280
ISBN 9788129119872
Followed by Aliens in Delhi  

Red Jihad: Battle for South Asia is a political/military thriller by Sami Ahmad Khan. It was published by Rupa & Co. in June 2012. Red Jihad was hailed as one of the first novels to fictionalize the Maoist-Mujahideen nexus in the Indian Red Corridor [1] and for dramatizing the links between religious fundamentalism and political terrorism in India.

Contents

Red Jihad was Khan's debut after its publication, Businessworld magazine said Khan might have started a genre that will lead many youngsters to learn the English language the way an earlier generation learnt it through our own Robert Ludlums and Fredrick Forsyths. [2] Khan has also been labelled as the Indian equivalent of Tom Clancy by the Millennium Post. [3]

Plot

In 2014, Pakistan becomes a democracy and seeks peace with India, but faces opposition. Yasser Basheer, a Pakistani jihadist leader, travels to the Red Corridor and teams up with Agyaat, an Indian Naxalite commander. They plot to unleash India's experimental missile, Pralay, to attack Pakistan, leading to war between the two nations with other countries threatening to join the conflict. [4]

Awards and reception

Red Jihad: Battle for South Asia garnered generally positive reception and the novel went into a reprint within months of its release. It was praised by think tank Policy Research Group for its "impartiality and sensitivity towards complex geo-political relations and ideologies" and "being able to crystal gaze into the future of Indo-Pak relations" [5] and for extrapolating from contemporary scenarios.

Literary Awards: Red Jihad won the "Muse India Young Writer (Runner-Up) Award" at the Hyderabad Literary Festival 2013 [6] and "Excellence in Youth Fiction Writing" at Delhi World Book Fair 2013.

Sequel

Khan is now working on his second book, a science-fiction sequel to Red Jihad, that is themed around time-travel and alternate history. [7] The working title of the sequel is Aliens in Delhi.

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References

  1. "What if Naxals and jihadis join hands? - Rediff.com India News". Rediff.com. 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  2. "The Story Of A Rogue Missile". Businessworld.in. 2012-10-30. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  3. "Of war and peace | Millennium Post". Millenniumpost.in. 2013-03-23. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  4. "Red Jihad: Battle for South Asia | Rupa Publications" . Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  5. "Strategic Insight - Red Jihad in Fiction". Policy Research Group. 2012-07-14. Archived from the original on 2013-08-06. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  6. "Welcome to Muse India". Museindia.com. Retrieved 2013-10-15.
  7. "In conversation with Sami Ahmad: Author of "Red Jihad" | Transition of Thoughts". Aseemrastogi2.wordpress.com. 2013-02-19. Retrieved 2013-10-15.