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The Delhi Directive: Once you’re marked, there’s no escape
THE KILL LIST IS REAL . . . AND INDIA HAS BEGUN TO CROSS OFF NAMES.
They called it Delhi Directive, a whispered order passed in an insulated room in Sansad, born from a ruthless India will no longer wait for justice.
When Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar is gunned down in Canada, Western capitals erupt in outrage. Beneath the diplomatic denials and public condemnations lies a darker truth. For years, a covert arm of India’s external intelligence agency, the R&AW, has been quietly hunting its enemies abroad, from terror financiers in London, separatist leaders in Vancouver to ISI assets in Karachi.
At the heart of these shadow wars is a R&AW operative who does not officially exist. Moving through embassies and safehouses, he navigates the murky intersection of espionage, geopolitics and personal morality, until one mission unravels the delicate balance between patriotism and power.
Taut, explosive and frighteningly plausible, The Delhi Directive exposes the hidden war India fights beyond its borders through the unnamed agents who live and die in its name.
They called it Delhi Directive, a whispered order passed in an insulated room in Sansad, born from a ruthless India will no longer wait for justice.
When Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar is gunned down in Canada, Western capitals erupt in outrage. Beneath the diplomatic denials and public condemnations lies a darker truth. For years, a covert arm of India’s external intelligence agency, the R&AW, has been quietly hunting its enemies abroad, from terror financiers in London, separatist leaders in Vancouver to ISI assets in Karachi.
At the heart of these shadow wars is a R&AW operative who does not officially exist. Moving through embassies and safehouses, he navigates the murky intersection of espionage, geopolitics and personal morality, until one mission unravels the delicate balance between patriotism and power.
Taut, explosive and frighteningly plausible, The Delhi Directive exposes the hidden war India fights beyond its borders through the unnamed agents who live and die in its name.
481 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 15, 2025
5 people are currently reading
15 people want to read
About the author
Anirudhya Mitra
4 books10 followersAnirudhya Mitra is a journalist and filmmaker. During a successful stint (1982-93) of news reporting in The Times of India and India Today, he broke several stories, including the Bofors scam, Rajiv Gandhi's assassination, drug wars in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, money laundering by the BCCI bank that led to its closure, corruption in the judiciary, the life and times of Indian-model-turned-spy Pamela Bordes, godman Chandraswamy and others. He moved to writing and creating television drama series with UTV in Mumbai in 1994 and also wrote and produced movies in South East Asia.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 15, 2025
This book pulls back the curtain on a world most of us never see—the secret missions, the quiet decisions made far from the public eye, and the people caught in the middle of it all. It’s a story that makes you think about what it really means to be patriotic and how blurry the line can get between right and wrong when it comes to national security.
What really sticks with you is how the story makes you feel. It’s not just about the spy stuff; it’s about the humans behind the missions—the fears, the doubts, and the moral questions they face every day. It’s a reminder that even in the world of shadows, there are real people making tough choices, often with no clear answer. The emotions come through quietly but powerfully, making the story feel more real and personal.
The themes in the book are really relevant today. It talks about power, justice, and the gray areas where good intentions can lead to complicated outcomes. The writing is clear and to the point, pulling you into the story without too much extra fuss. The chapters are short but intense, creating a sense of urgency that keeps you turning the pages. At the same time, there are moments to pause and think about what’s happening beneath the surface.
The author clearly put a lot of effort into telling this story with respect and care. The characters are written with depth—they’re neither heroes nor villains, but real people with flaws and struggles. The main character, the secret agent, is especially interesting because he’s humanized in a way that makes you wonder what you’d do in his place.
The tone is natural and conversational, making it easy to follow along and connect with what’s happening. It doesn’t talk down to the reader or oversimplify the issues; instead, it invites you to think and ask questions about the bigger picture.
If you’re interested in stories about unseen conflicts and the moral questions they raise, "The Delhi Directive" offers a gripping look at a hidden side of the world. It’s a story that stays with you, making you consider the cost of secrets and the quiet sacrifices made in the name of safety. It’s not just a spy novel—it’s a reflection on power, loyalty, and what it really means to serve your country.
What really sticks with you is how the story makes you feel. It’s not just about the spy stuff; it’s about the humans behind the missions—the fears, the doubts, and the moral questions they face every day. It’s a reminder that even in the world of shadows, there are real people making tough choices, often with no clear answer. The emotions come through quietly but powerfully, making the story feel more real and personal.
The themes in the book are really relevant today. It talks about power, justice, and the gray areas where good intentions can lead to complicated outcomes. The writing is clear and to the point, pulling you into the story without too much extra fuss. The chapters are short but intense, creating a sense of urgency that keeps you turning the pages. At the same time, there are moments to pause and think about what’s happening beneath the surface.
The author clearly put a lot of effort into telling this story with respect and care. The characters are written with depth—they’re neither heroes nor villains, but real people with flaws and struggles. The main character, the secret agent, is especially interesting because he’s humanized in a way that makes you wonder what you’d do in his place.
The tone is natural and conversational, making it easy to follow along and connect with what’s happening. It doesn’t talk down to the reader or oversimplify the issues; instead, it invites you to think and ask questions about the bigger picture.
If you’re interested in stories about unseen conflicts and the moral questions they raise, "The Delhi Directive" offers a gripping look at a hidden side of the world. It’s a story that stays with you, making you consider the cost of secrets and the quiet sacrifices made in the name of safety. It’s not just a spy novel—it’s a reflection on power, loyalty, and what it really means to serve your country.
December 15, 2025
THE DELHI DIRECTIVE: Once You’re Marked, There’s No Escape.
"The Delhi Directive" is unsettling in the best possible way. It reads like a story that isn’t supposed to be told one that exists in the shadows, behind closed doors and official silences.
The novel moves through the covert world of Indian intelligence with precision and restraint. The unnamed R&AW operative at its core is not glorified or heroic, he is controlled, burdened, and constantly negotiating the thin line between duty and conscience. Every operation feels calculated, quiet, and dangerous , exactly how real intelligence work should feel.
What makes this book powerful is its plausibility. The political tensions, international backlash, and secret missions feel frighteningly close to reality. There is no dramatic exaggeration, only a steady build of pressure that tightens with every chapter.
The writing is sharp and focused, letting the story speak without unnecessary noise. Beneath the action lies a deeper discomfort questions about power, accountability, and the cost of national security on human lives.
"The Delhi Directive" It's aims to expose. And that is what makes it gripping.
"The Delhi Directive" is unsettling in the best possible way. It reads like a story that isn’t supposed to be told one that exists in the shadows, behind closed doors and official silences.
The novel moves through the covert world of Indian intelligence with precision and restraint. The unnamed R&AW operative at its core is not glorified or heroic, he is controlled, burdened, and constantly negotiating the thin line between duty and conscience. Every operation feels calculated, quiet, and dangerous , exactly how real intelligence work should feel.
What makes this book powerful is its plausibility. The political tensions, international backlash, and secret missions feel frighteningly close to reality. There is no dramatic exaggeration, only a steady build of pressure that tightens with every chapter.
The writing is sharp and focused, letting the story speak without unnecessary noise. Beneath the action lies a deeper discomfort questions about power, accountability, and the cost of national security on human lives.
"The Delhi Directive" It's aims to expose. And that is what makes it gripping.
January 4, 2026
BELOW IS A REVIEW BY DEBABRATA MISHRA ON HIS INSTAGRAM HANDLE.
There are books that entertain, books that inform, and then there are books that disturb, not through spectacle, but through recognition. "The Delhi Directive" belongs firmly to the third category. It does not rely on shock value or overt nationalism. Instead, it unsettles the reader by how quietly believable it is, how closely it brushes against headlines we have learned to skim past, and how little distance it maintains between fiction and the real machinery of state power.
Written by Anirudhya Mitra, this book reads less like a conventional thriller and more like a controlled disclosure. It feels as though someone has chosen their words carefully, aware that saying too much would be dangerous, and saying too little would be dishonest. What emerges is a narrative that sits in the uneasy space between patriotism and moral ambiguity, never fully endorsing either.
This book explores what happens when a nation decides that waiting for justice is no longer an option. The premise, covert overseas eliminations conducted by India’s external intelligence apparatus, will inevitably draw comparisons to real-world incidents. Yet the book avoids sensationalism. The assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, and the international backlash that followed, is not dramatized as a climactic event. Instead, it lingers like background radiation, unseen, persistent, shaping everything around it.
This choice is crucial. The book is not interested in the morality of a single killing; it is interested in the psychology of policy, how extraordinary decisions become normalized through bureaucratic language, sealed rooms, and plausible deniability.
What gives this book its sharpest edge is how little imagination it demands from the reader. The geopolitics feel current. The diplomatic outrage feels rehearsed. The denials feel procedural. The missions feel disturbingly efficient.
The author understands that modern power does not announce itself. It operates through memos, informal directives, and intermediaries who will never testify. The book’s greatest strength lies in its refusal to exaggerate. Nothing feels cinematic; everything feels administrative and that is precisely what makes it frightening.
Unlike many intelligence thrillers, this book does not ask the reader to cheer for the state. Patriotism here is functional, not emotional. The operative does not question whether India is right or wrong; he questions whether he can continue to carry out decisions whose moral weight accumulates but is never acknowledged.
✍️ Strengths :
🔸High plausibility grounded in real geopolitical contexts
🔸Refusal to glorify intelligence work, offering a mature, adult perspective
🔸Psychological realism of operatives who function under moral ambiguity
🔸Strong thematic coherence, especially around silence, power, and consequence
🔸Understated prose that enhances credibility rather than diluting it
•••
✒️ Areas for Improvement :
▪️Limited emotional access to secondary characters may leave some readers detached
▪️Readers expecting a fast-paced, action-heavy thriller may find the narrative deliberately slow
•••
In conclusion, it is not a book that seeks agreement. It seeks attention, and patience. It asks the reader to sit with discomfort, to acknowledge the grey zones that modern nation-states operate within, and to recognize that power today is exercised less through declarations and more through silence. By calling this work fiction, the author creates necessary distance. But while reading it, that distance feels thin. The book does not feel imagined; it feels managed.
This is not a book you finish and forget. It lingers, like unfinished conversations, like relationships that fade without closure. Much like the world it depicts, it offers no clean answers, only consequences.
There are books that entertain, books that inform, and then there are books that disturb, not through spectacle, but through recognition. "The Delhi Directive" belongs firmly to the third category. It does not rely on shock value or overt nationalism. Instead, it unsettles the reader by how quietly believable it is, how closely it brushes against headlines we have learned to skim past, and how little distance it maintains between fiction and the real machinery of state power.
Written by Anirudhya Mitra, this book reads less like a conventional thriller and more like a controlled disclosure. It feels as though someone has chosen their words carefully, aware that saying too much would be dangerous, and saying too little would be dishonest. What emerges is a narrative that sits in the uneasy space between patriotism and moral ambiguity, never fully endorsing either.
This book explores what happens when a nation decides that waiting for justice is no longer an option. The premise, covert overseas eliminations conducted by India’s external intelligence apparatus, will inevitably draw comparisons to real-world incidents. Yet the book avoids sensationalism. The assassination of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, and the international backlash that followed, is not dramatized as a climactic event. Instead, it lingers like background radiation, unseen, persistent, shaping everything around it.
This choice is crucial. The book is not interested in the morality of a single killing; it is interested in the psychology of policy, how extraordinary decisions become normalized through bureaucratic language, sealed rooms, and plausible deniability.
What gives this book its sharpest edge is how little imagination it demands from the reader. The geopolitics feel current. The diplomatic outrage feels rehearsed. The denials feel procedural. The missions feel disturbingly efficient.
The author understands that modern power does not announce itself. It operates through memos, informal directives, and intermediaries who will never testify. The book’s greatest strength lies in its refusal to exaggerate. Nothing feels cinematic; everything feels administrative and that is precisely what makes it frightening.
Unlike many intelligence thrillers, this book does not ask the reader to cheer for the state. Patriotism here is functional, not emotional. The operative does not question whether India is right or wrong; he questions whether he can continue to carry out decisions whose moral weight accumulates but is never acknowledged.
✍️ Strengths :
🔸High plausibility grounded in real geopolitical contexts
🔸Refusal to glorify intelligence work, offering a mature, adult perspective
🔸Psychological realism of operatives who function under moral ambiguity
🔸Strong thematic coherence, especially around silence, power, and consequence
🔸Understated prose that enhances credibility rather than diluting it
•••
✒️ Areas for Improvement :
▪️Limited emotional access to secondary characters may leave some readers detached
▪️Readers expecting a fast-paced, action-heavy thriller may find the narrative deliberately slow
•••
In conclusion, it is not a book that seeks agreement. It seeks attention, and patience. It asks the reader to sit with discomfort, to acknowledge the grey zones that modern nation-states operate within, and to recognize that power today is exercised less through declarations and more through silence. By calling this work fiction, the author creates necessary distance. But while reading it, that distance feels thin. The book does not feel imagined; it feels managed.
This is not a book you finish and forget. It lingers, like unfinished conversations, like relationships that fade without closure. Much like the world it depicts, it offers no clean answers, only consequences.
January 1, 2026
Book Review : "THE DELHI DIRECTIVE" by Anirudhya Mitra
Anirudhya Mitra’s chilling, disturbing intelligence novel, The Delhi Directive, is a thought-provoking examination of the intelligence world. Instead of using spectacle to convey the fear and terror of what is happening within the intelligence community, the author uses the plausibility of the events in the book to create a sense of dread. The author’s intention is to provide insight into the administrative processes and structures of power that support and enable state action against those who would harm others and disrupt the normalcy of life.
The protagonist of The Delhi Directive is an unnamed R&AW agent who is neither a hero nor a villain, but an agent of his employer, tasked with executing orders that often blur the line between being a good patriot and the moral dilemmas associated with being so. The novel relies heavily on restraint for its success. Each of the operations described in the book unfold quietly, without dramatic flair, and are done in such a way as to allow the reader to visualize how the intelligence world likely operates (with bureaucratic precision, procedural discipline and an immense degree of isolation). There is a gradual accumulation of tension as the chapters reveal more of the author’s vision of the intelligence world.
The Delhi Directive shares an eerie similarity with the current international political landscape. Issues of diplomatic denials, reactions to international backlash and clandestine missions all feel disturbingly relatable. Mitra does not utilise sensationalism to develop the plot; he instead focuses on the psychology behind the policies that create the need for such extreme acts of nefarious behaviour and the shift in normalised behaviour of extraordinary acts of negative consequence.
The Delhi Directive is not written as a fast-paced thriller, but rather a mature, serious contemplation of the use and misuse of power; silence and avoidance of responsibility; and the ongoing battle between nations for dominance through the human cost of ensuring national security. It is a book that will remain in one’s mind long after the closing page has been read.
Anirudhya Mitra’s chilling, disturbing intelligence novel, The Delhi Directive, is a thought-provoking examination of the intelligence world. Instead of using spectacle to convey the fear and terror of what is happening within the intelligence community, the author uses the plausibility of the events in the book to create a sense of dread. The author’s intention is to provide insight into the administrative processes and structures of power that support and enable state action against those who would harm others and disrupt the normalcy of life.
The protagonist of The Delhi Directive is an unnamed R&AW agent who is neither a hero nor a villain, but an agent of his employer, tasked with executing orders that often blur the line between being a good patriot and the moral dilemmas associated with being so. The novel relies heavily on restraint for its success. Each of the operations described in the book unfold quietly, without dramatic flair, and are done in such a way as to allow the reader to visualize how the intelligence world likely operates (with bureaucratic precision, procedural discipline and an immense degree of isolation). There is a gradual accumulation of tension as the chapters reveal more of the author’s vision of the intelligence world.
The Delhi Directive shares an eerie similarity with the current international political landscape. Issues of diplomatic denials, reactions to international backlash and clandestine missions all feel disturbingly relatable. Mitra does not utilise sensationalism to develop the plot; he instead focuses on the psychology behind the policies that create the need for such extreme acts of nefarious behaviour and the shift in normalised behaviour of extraordinary acts of negative consequence.
The Delhi Directive is not written as a fast-paced thriller, but rather a mature, serious contemplation of the use and misuse of power; silence and avoidance of responsibility; and the ongoing battle between nations for dominance through the human cost of ensuring national security. It is a book that will remain in one’s mind long after the closing page has been read.
December 30, 2025
Excellent read
Superb , this is the third book by Anirudhya sir, its gripping , intense ,waiting for your next release loveall your previous book and series in sony liv
Superb , this is the third book by Anirudhya sir, its gripping , intense ,waiting for your next release loveall your previous book and series in sony liv
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews