Nayantara Sahgal launches new novel, attacks Modi

New Delhi, Feb 27 (IANS) Veteran author Nayantara Sahgal launched her new novel "The Fate Of Butterflies" amid a gathering of bibliophiles and several known faces from the literary and political world here on Wednesday.

The novel, Sahgal said, confronts the toxic dangers of "war, religious polarisation and authoritarian charisma -- a dystopian future that is already upon the world".

Introduced by author Namita Gokhale, "The Fate Of Butterflies" is published by Speaking Tiger and is priced at Rs 450.

In conversation with Sanjoy Roy, producer of the Jaipur Literature Festival, Sahgal said that all her novels have been stories of the times she has lived in and how they contributed to the making of India.

"But this novel is about the unmaking of India," she said, pointing to the horrors of innocent people being lynched.

Sahgal, a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family and one of the most vocal critics of Indira Gandhi during the Emergency, alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government draws inspiration from Nazi Germany.

Alleging that India was under a dictatorial regime, the 91-year-old writer said that while Germans were told that Jews were a danger to them, the majority community in India is being told that it is under threat from the country's Muslims. She said that ministers from the ruling government have spread this fear.

Sahgal said that she is a believing Hindu, but maintained that she "absolutely rejects" the ideology of Hindutva.

"What's happening in the country has nothing to do with Hinduism, it is a political ideology, has nothing at all to do with religion," she said.