The War Ministry

Raisina #3

by Krishan Partap Singh

Bharat News Ticker: Prime Minister Azim Khan takes office, becomes first Muslim to lead India... Pakistan rejects peace talks after hostilities end in Indo-Pak war... Unconfirmed reports suggest Deputy Prime Minister Karan Nehru's disenchantment with PMO...Tensions with China escalate, as India is accused by Beijing of 'sheltering Tibetan extremists and abetting instability in Tibet'... Ulema leaders ask PM to cater to Muslim interests or face backlash... US presidential candidates debate South Asian crisis... Opposition parties prepare for the possible fallout from a Khan-Nehru split...

Assuming power in the messy aftermath of a war with Pakistan, and mounting hostility with a belligerent China, Azim Khan inherits an India in crisis. Heading a shaky coalition, his leadership is questioned at every turn - most visibly by Deputy PM Karan Nehru, his once-best friend and, more insidiously, by other scheming detractors hidden within his government. India's first Muslim PM must earn the trust of the Indian people in his leadership and prove he is the man with the ability to heal the wounds of the past and chart a path to a united and bold future for the nation.

Buffeted by history, conflicted by ideology, and curbed by his own limitations, Azim and his team of idealists face the ultimate test.
Will they succeed?

The concluding volume of the bestselling Raisina Series, The War Ministry is a gripping account of the complex day-to-day functioning of a prime minister and his office.

440 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2012

About the author

Krishan Partap Singh is a former banker who now lives and writes in New Delhi. He is the author of The Raisina Series, a trilogy of novels set in the political village of Lutyens' Delhi, India's seat of power. The series titles are: Young Turks, Delhi Durbar, The War Ministry.
He can be reached at raisina.series@gmail.com

Reviews

[Saurabh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing spectacular................lots of ambiguity embedded within a usual political ecosystem...................Not sure what KP was doing all these days as the book does not yield much to viewer's expectations and the plot becomes tad simplistic..........I think political books should be comprised of spine chilling moments............This somewhat reflected the mediocrity usually found in Chetan Bhagat's books where everything falls in place towards the end..........Wish life were that simple...............So I guess I wasn't majorly impressed with this last installment of the Raisina series..............It did not do justice to the long wait I had had to do..........I believe it's time KP starts taking cue from someone like Stieg Larsson on how one can keep sequels as interesting and jaw dropping as the earlier prequels...........the elements that pump up an adrenaline rush while you read a suspenseful political thriller was widely missing in this book and I did console myself after I was done reading 300 pages that there might be something that'll be a head turner towards the end but my optimism died a brutal death as I felt the anguish of the reader in me craving for good literature...........Better luck next time KP..........

[Anand Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

The War Ministry is the third book in Krishan Partap Singh's Raisina Series trilogy and, in my opinion, the best of the three books.

The first two books in the series were Young Turks and Delhi Durbar, although it is The War Ministry that begins from where Young Turks left off.

The author has managed to make improbable events (read it yourselves - don't want to play spoilsport :-)) seem plausible with a combination of a tight plot, an accurate and in-depth description of the facts woven into the story-line, and amazingly well fleshed out characters.

The War Ministry provides a fascinating glimpse into the workings of the Indian Central Government ministries (especially the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Defence), the Indian armed forces leadership, the Indian intelligence agencies, and the office of the National Security Advisor.

Over all, the Raisina Series is a very good read.

Krishan Pratap Singh has, in my opinion, the ability to make the Indian political fiction genre his own.

[VaultOfBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

By Krishan Pratap Singh.#3 in The Raisina Hill Series. Grade A

How do you escape the Literary Threequel Curse? How do you meet the expectations of those readers who want to read something better than what already is a masterpiece? The War Ministry of Krishan Pratap Singh takes all these questions, buries them under the Raisina Hill, and kills them forever. EPIC! is an understatement for this trilogy.
Bharat News Ticker: Prime Minister Azim Khan takes office, becomes first Muslim to lead India… Pakistan rejects peace talks after hostilities end in Indo-Pak war… Unconfirmed reports suggest Deputy Prime Minister Karan Nehru’s disenchantment with PMO…Tensions with China escalate, as India is accused by Beijing of ‘sheltering Tibetan extremists and abetting instability in Tibet’… Ulema leaders ask PM to cater to Muslim interests or face backlash… US presidential candidates debate South Asian crisis… Opposition parties prepare for the possible fallout from a Khan-Nehru split…


The War Ministry
Assuming power in the messy aftermath of a war with Pakistan, and mounting hostility with a belligerent China, Azim Khan inherits an India in crisis. Heading a shaky coalition, his leadership is questioned at every turn – most visibly by Deputy PM Karan Nehru, his once-best friend and, more insidiously, by other scheming detractors hidden within his government. India’s first Muslim PM must earn the trust of the Indian people in his leadership and prove he is the man with the ability to heal the wounds of the past and chart a path to a united and bold future for the nation.

Buffeted by history, conflicted by ideology, and curbed by his own limitations, Azim and his team of idealists face the ultimate test.
Will they succeed?
The concluding volume of the bestselling Raisina Series, The War Ministry is a gripping account of the complex day-to-day functioning of a prime minister and his office.
Those who haven’t read the first two of the trilogy (Delhi Durbar and Young Turks) should rush to the bookstores. KP Singh’s accurate and in-depth description of the facts has churned out what can be deemed as India’s best political fiction series. He has made the first two parts transcend from mere books to an experience. If KP Singh hadn’t served a perfectly fitting last installment, he was going to be in serious trouble. Luckily, I have the pleasure to report that you’re not going to be disappointed.
Wipe those tears away now, it’s all going to be okay. The story starts from where Young Turks ends. A bit of a look into the last book and then the readers are introduced to the ludicrousness of the astounding events waiting to be unfolded.

The story takes a particularly self-aware approach to alternate possibilities – India has defeated Pakistan in war. India has its first Muslim Prime Minister – Azim Khan. Azim khan and Karan Nehru are old friends (and geometrically opposite). Everything is very simple and clear in the beginning. But then things begin to become complex, the mist fades and masks begin to slip off. And you are not really sure what lies next, even if a moment ago you were so confident you knew what was going to happen.

So what is this book about? I wish it were easy to tell in one smartly constructed sentence. There is no better word to describe The War Ministry than ‘politics’. Pure politics. But wait, actually add to that ‘religion’, throw in a bit of ‘media’ and wrap it up with a dash of ‘friend-turn-foe’ and once you add everything that can bend and melt in India in this book, you will arguably have awesomeness printed in your lap. The magnitude of its scope is astonishing.

There is such wild oscillation in it that swings us into multiple arenas of politics and diplomacy. It is one of those books that deserve endless essays about each chapter that need to be looked from each imaginable angle, and demands immense respect. Go buy it now.


perfectzack

[Vishal Kale · Rating 5 out of 5]

The War Ministry is all about a running feud between Mr. Steady and Mr. Ego – Azim and Karan – which forces, yet again, Raj Mehra to step in after being harangued into it by the best-friend wives of the two fighting best-friends above! Sounds boring, isn’t it? Well, the interesting point is that these two once-best-friends-and-now-almost-enemies are The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India, running a government in the aftermath of a War with Pakistan; and a running near-war situation with China. The repercussions for the government, and how these are handled make the meat of the book, and provide the spice and the binding – as political and international intrigue all play a role in the scenario – sometimes creating trouble, at other times having trouble created for them by the mercurial Karan’s irresponsible behavior, and the equal straightness, planning and stubbornness of Azim

[Dev · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to win this book in the Goodreads Giveaway,
And I am really very happy after reading this book,
The plot grabs you from the very beginning and as you turn the pages, you pass through the spoken and hidden realities - of Politics, of betrayal and ambition wrapped in the impressive writing style of Mr. K.P Singh. K.P Singh has in my opinion done a wonderful job in revealing the flaws in the otherwise perfect characters. It is an interesting read for those who love to read thrillers and love them even more when it is strongly linked with the reality.

[The Book Outline · Rating 4 out of 5]

The War Ministry is an interesting and gripping political thriller written with the background of an alternate political possibility and around fictitious political figures who resemble very much their real like counterparts.

Read the review of The War Ministry at http://www.thebookoutline.com/2013/05...

[Vikas Datta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A high-octane thriller that well captures the pressures and pulls - domestic and international - on the Indian polity and sketches a very plausible account of the happenings in the country a short time in the foreseeable future. Yet, Mr Singh leaves several issues hanging and should not allow this to serve as the ultimate entry of this taut but highly-engaging story

[Anuradha Goyal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Detailed review here: http://www.anureviews.com/the-war-min...

[Isha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firmly rooted in the back lanes of the Lutyens’ Delhi, the concluding installment in the Raisina Series, The War Ministry gives the reader a bird’s eye view of the maneuvering, negotiation, coaxing, plotting that goes behind the scenes to secure power and dominance in the political space. More of a political drama than a thriller, the book chronicles the tribulations of the prime minister and his administration as they tackle one political issue after another on a daily basis. However, the book is not without its moments of suspense with the reader anticipating the next course of action by the players involved.

Set in the immediate aftermath of the Indian victory in the war with Pakistan, Azim Khan rises to become the first Muslim Prime Minister of India in the deeply fractured mandate with no one party having a clear majority to rule. Becoming the prime minister is the easiest part of the job for Azim Khan. He is closely watched by the entire country and by his allies and enemies alike who are waiting for him to make mistakes to put an end to his premiership. To top it up, China is mounting hostilities and India is in no position to fight another war.

However, Azim Khan’s most deadly foe is his one-time best friend and his biggest political ally – Karan Nehru – who has allowed Azim Khan to become the prime minister to put a show of his self-effacing, magnanimous self for the people, however, Nehru is anything but altruistic. Unlike the previous government heads, the task before Azim Khan is twofold – to lead India out of the war to peace and prosperity and to earn the trust of the people in the nation that was once partitioned on the basis of the religious ideology. Azim Khan’s job is not a cakewalk with the Ulemas in his party threatening him to pull their support and declaring him as a traitor to the Muslim cause. Amidst all this, Azim Khan has not only to prove his political skills but also to stand tall and establish himself as a people’s leadership moving beyond his religious identity.

Not just a political drama, The War Ministry is also a clash between two powerful personalities that have come to dominate the political scenario – Karan Nehru and Azim Khan. While Azim Khan is more balanced and restrained, Karan Nehru is ostentatious and self-aggrandizing with the reader catching a glimpse into the Nehru’s personality at the very beginning of the book during his birthday party. Azim Khan is no saint either, having enough skeletons of his own in the closet. The book shows that in the political milieu, nothing is black and white and the people with good heart and intentions are not above corruption.

Aside from the daily political travails, the author throws in more drama with the suspense surrounding the American mole on the Indian soil, the shady dealings of the Prime Minister’s father, the bombing of the Chinese Embassy’s car by the Tibetan revolutionaries, the scandal surrounding the war promotions and the honours and the like. Despite the bickering and the planning by the people in power to maintain their clout, the ultimate message that the book delivers is about the very nature of power, “But power – that golden elixir that each of us has spent our entire lives pursuing in election after election and the endless years in between – when we do win it after great application of will and effort, it turns out to be deceptive, a slippery prize that distort every aspect of reality.”

Like The West Wing, the book is an excellent piece of political fiction detailing power brokering, diplomacy, Machiavellian tactics deployed to maintain the power, however, short-lived it may be, though. With a racy plot coupled with political intrigue and close-to-real-life events, The War Ministry gives the reader glimpse into the dealings of the lesser known corridors of power and captivates the attention of the reader till the end.

[Greeshma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in the aftermath of Azim Khan's rise to power and his dwindling, staggering friendship with Karan Nehru, this book is more an insight into what happens behind the scenes. Largely to do with the role the NSA, the Principal Secretaries to the PM and intense lobbying that happens. The book is a fat read with over 400 pages of detailing of what it takes to keep a government functioning, with a smart peppering of some necessary espionage. The book tries to tingle but there was a lot missing. The ending felt a bit flat as well. But if you want a real insight into the powerful world that exists on Raisina Hills, this book is it.

[Shweta · Rating 4 out of 5]

The trilogy revolves around two friends, Azim Khan and Karan Nehru and their friendship in the power corridors of Raisina hills. It maps their journey as they arrive with freshly minted ideals on the grimy scenes of politics and what happens to them in the process of becoming the most powerful leaders in this country. It’s a powerful and current premise to build a story in and Singh touches on all issues our democracy faces right now–be it corruption, media playing its tune, casteism, foreign policy, bouts with our neighbours or the babu behind the ministers.

The third is written really tight, but doesn’t have the fluidity of the first two books. It seems to jump or lag and go into some descriptive non-fiction style paragraphs, which I struggled with. Maybe it was edited with too tight a hand, or maybe Singh tried to put in too much of his vision of what India can become in a single book. But that doesn’t say that it’s not a rivetting book. Singh strength lies in building up a story around politicians who are real life-like characters. Who deal with India that is now. It’s the negotiations, relationships and respect that these worldly-wise politicians and babus deciding the fate of India go through every day, is what makes for riveting reading. When he’s using his strength—of characters and their relationships with each other, the writing completely shines and etches itself, much like June’s sun in Uttar Pradesh.

It’s his flawed, reality-etched characters that make the book and the series....read the complete review here:
http://staneja.com/2013/02/28/review-...

[Ajay Muralidhar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding.... Immense Scope for keeping characters alive for sequels.... Hopefully KPS will keep them alive and coming...Abridged play on Pandit Nehru towards the end of the book takes the cake.Characterization of "Pappu" , inspired by the supposedly the most eligible bachelor , youth icon and Prime Minister in waiting is sublime. I would like to see his face and if and when he actually reads this book.

Having said the above , the book presents a rather Utopian landscape in the governing circles at least with those in the lead characters. It is believable and perhaps reason to hope for a similar leadership in reality. I really hope KPS/Hachette sends a complimentary copy of this to every MP and legislator in the state assemblies.

All the best KPS ! Keep them coming...

[Mridupawan Podder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Socio-political thriller at its best. I need to get the first 2 books

[Chiranjit Sen]

Unexpected slow start, hope it eats up the pace to echo its preceding version of Indian Politico !