In an Ideal World

21^st Century India

Altaf Hussein, a young Muslim student, has been abducted from his college hostel. The authorities have washed their hands off the matter and the police are accused of a cover up. Rumours claim he has gone to fight the jihad in Iraq. More sinister rumours have him tortured and murdered for opposing the Nationalist students who are on a rampage to create a Hindu homeland in India, driving out Liberal supporters like Altaf and their decadent ideals.
The divide between Liberals and Nationalists invades the Sengupta household in Kolkata when Joy, a bank manager, and Rohini, his schoolteacher wife – both compassionate humanists – learn the shocking news that their only son Bobby has become a leader of the Nationalist students, and is implicated in Altaf’s disappearance. Disbelief turns to anguish when they encounter his belligerent ideology and his not-too-convincing denial of his role in the Altaf affair.

Out to solve the mystery of Altaf, Joy and Rohini discover conspiracy and hate, forbidden love and exceptional courage, come face to face with a world caught between the real and the ideal. But will they succeed in absolving their son of the heinous crime? Will Altaf be found after all? Or will they, and this fractured land, pay the ultimate price for harbouring a fractured heart?
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Kunal Basu talks about his latest novel, 'In An Ideal World'
- “Was choked by the end. So relevant and real, it sent shivers up my spine. So truthfully foreshadowing our future. A must read for all - rightists, leftists and centrists.”
  Vishal Bharadwaj, Award-winning film director
- “Excellent new book by Kunal Basu- the dangers of everyday prejudice turning into full fledged hate; when no one can separate the political from the personal.”
  Mahua Moitra, Indian parliamentarian
- “Communalism turns men into bombs. They invade lives and explode, recruit the unsuspecting in the army of hate. This brilliantly absorbing novel tells the story of the human bombs and their victims.”
  Ravish Kumar, Ramon Magsaysay award-winning Indian journalist and author
- “Evocative, engrossing, and shot through with the tension of a dangerous new era, Kunal Basu’s In An Ideal World explores the challenging dynamics of family ties and political turmoil. Through his portrait of the Sengupta family and the kidnapping of a Muslim student, Basu paints a disturbing picture of a country where the ties that bind us have come under intolerable strain.”
  Shashi Tharoor, Indian parliamentarian, author and former UN Under-Secretary-General
- “A gripping novel in which the political meets the personal in a ‘fractured land’.”
  Shobhaa De, author and columnist
- “In an Ideal World is a searing account of a world being shattered by commonplace prejudices and complicity. It is a powerful meditation on communalism and its irrevocable hold on our lives. Kunal Basu’s narrative gifts shed light on the deepest divisions of our times.”
  Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Laurance S. Rockefeller visiting professor for distinguished teaching at Princeton University and senior fellow at Centre for Policy Research
- All about Kunal Basu’s new novel 'In an Ideal World'
  Ruchira Gupta, The Telegraph
- Our brave new worlds
  Antara Raghavan, Open (Weekly)
- Kunal Basu: In An Ideal World
  Nidhi Verma, Platform Magazine
- Kunal Basu’s In An Ideal World: An Old Country Of Young People
  Ananya Dutta Gupta, The Punch Magazine
- Book Review: A Gripping Testament To Our Divisive Times
  Rituparna Roy, Outlook
- In an Ideal World is a novel of and for our times.
  Indradeep Bhattacharyya, The WIRE
- In an Ideal World: An engrossing book and a discomforting read.
  Dr. Jai Ranjan Ram, The Telegraph online
“In an Ideal World is a searing account of a world being shattered by commonplace prejudices and complicity. It is a powerful meditation on communalism and its irrevocable hold on our lives. Kunal Basu’s narrative gifts shed light on the deepest divisions of our times.”

— PRATAP BHANU MEHTA, (Laurance S. Rockefeller visiting professor for distinguished teaching at Princeton University and senior fellow at Centre for Policy Research)

21st Century India

21^st Century India