SCATTERED FATES

A novel on the second partition of India

About The book

Scattered fates- a novel on the second partition of India is an alternate history fiction
which explores the backdrop of violent anti- Hindi agitations that rocked Tamilnadu as
well as other South Indian states.
The story is set in Madras, narrated over two time frames -1965 and 2005. It also tells
the story of a son's search for the truth about his father's disappearance and the political
situation that led to India's second partition into South and North. The story is
intertwined with the history of Korea. The book consists of 15 chapters with each
alternate chapter set in 2005 and 1965 respectively.

Released on- 26 September 2013

No paperback available.

About the AuthorRam Garikipati is a business journalist based in Seoul, North Korea. He occasionally
writes up od pieces for business newspaper, a blog- Seoul Buffoon and takes up
corporate project. Till 2012 He was the head of corporate communications at the EU
Chamber of Commerce in Korea and also Chief editor of their Monthly business
magazine. Earlier in India, he was working for the business newspaper of The Hindu
Group of Publications. He has also authored two e-books - Impetus for Growth and Realty
Reality.Scattered fates is his debut novel which he released for free.

Purpose behind the BookThe writer state that one fact that has been overlooked in the contemporary fiction set in
India is that the country came very close to a second partition, as the result of racial
tensions in 1965. It has not been fictionally explored in the domestic English Publishing
media, perhaps due to stroking tensions.He says that his book bridges the gap, and
explore the underlying tension that continue to exist in Present day India.

Summary
Subbaiah, a university professor who gets drawn to the ideology of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(DMK), a political party that opposed the imposition of Hindi as the sole national language on 60
percent of the country's population (who are non Hindi speaking) He is assigned with the task of
rallying students to protest against the government's decision to remove English as an official
Indian language. The violence follows and spreads across South India. The military is called in to
restore peace and order.
He shelters Moon. a young injured foreign exchange student from Korea. While staying in his
house, Moon gets acquainted with the culture and tradition of his host including the intricacies of
the caste system through Subbaiah's neighbor and best friend Ganapathy, a brahmin who is
initially against the movement beacause it is led by the backward castes. Later he changes his
mind. Moon is put on the first flight home as the civil war spirals out of control.
Subbaiah ends up to playing a crucial role in the freedom movement that ultimately leads to the
second partition of India into Dravida (South India) and Hindustan (North India). A decade after
the independence, Subbaiah suddenly disappears without a trace. The government records state
that Hindustan agents kidnapped him in 1975. A few people argue that he was a communist spy
and has defected.
Thirty years later we meet his son Naga who is an experienced journalist in Dravida's largest
newpaper "The Hindu". He plays host to Maya, a beautiful online friend from Korea. She is a
research scholar and has comes to visit Madras. She is pursuing her PhD on countries divided by
civil war. While helping her, they encounter a retired professor, Ganapathy, who denies knowing
Subbaiah, reacting in a suspicious manner. They are convinced that he is hiding something, and
are determined to unravel the truth. When finally manage to get the truth out. It was not
something they were expecting to hear.

My Opinion
I found the book a very interesting and grasping read. However there are faults too. The
writer appears to be partial and prejudeced in his imaginations as he has portrayed
Dravida as one of the most industrialized and advanced countries in Asia. In 2005,
Madras is shown well developed and prosperous with great advancements in technology,
infrastructure and system while Hindustan is shown to be too underdeveloped, not even
able to provide the basic amenities to its public.In 2005. The writer says that Hindustan's
president is Sanjay Nehru. There are baseless statements like" the rest who wanted to
revert back to a secular democracy were pit in prison. They have many such camps for
political prisoners. They conduct elections every six years to show world.

The reader has to refer to internet to get a clear and better understanding of people and

events that are mentioned. Have to think hard about economic terms and processes
though writer has tried to make it simple. It becomes confusing at a pint to find out what
is true and what is fiction.
There are no surprises except the end. It is. easy to set the connection even though the
writer doesnt give in straight .The book gives us insight and information about a lot of
things like Indian society, languages, race. Religion, caste and politics. We also get to
know Korean culture, society and their history. Dravida's politics is influenced by the film
stars.
Vivid and interesting description of what was going on during the civil war. How people
suspected each other. The ending leaves you with a smile as everything turns out well.
But then after such a grasping and detailed story the ending is quite abrupt and looks
forced to put an end. Also so many coincidences of everyone being related to each other
is hard to digest. The style of writing is smooth and easy to understand.

Conclusion
The book is not too literary. However the plot is very interesting and entertaining. The
plot is smooth, grasping and well written. Fresh perspective on racism in India and it's
history is provided. The book beautifully captures the elements of differences in India.
The book is recommended for those who are interested in Indias political and
economical history. South Indians will love it more than North Indians.