The Edge of Power

Tuhin A. Sinha

The heinous gang-rape of Nirbhaya has jolted the Indian nation out of its apathy. But rape and violence against women are only symptomatic of a deeper malaise that ails the nation: the total collapse of governance under the weak and vacillating PM, Devender Singh. Ironically, aiding the PM and his Indian Democratic Party(IDP)'s cling to power is a casual and largely indifferent Opposition led by the venal Ravi Nehra.

A ray of hope finally emerges when ex-journalist and RTI activist Daivik Verma, and the gorgeous Catherine Khan, a leading Bollywood film-star with a mysterious lineage, decide to challenge the existing system by floating a new political party. But lack of funds and cadre-support thwarts their efforts: their only recourse being Shruti Ranjan, who had sworn off politics three years ago.

Will Nirbhaya's gruesome rape and her subsequent death bring a disillusioned Shruti Ranjan back into the political fray, dominated by crime lords and bankrolled by industrial barons? Will the trio manage to stage a coup and dethrone India's worst regime? Will the land of great leaders like Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka and Akbar, finally get a dynamic Prime Minister she so badly needs?

A racy political thriller, The Edge of Power is a powerful enquiry into the underbelly of Indian politics. It raises important questions over the funding of Indian political parties, while presenting Shruti Ranjan, the immensely popular protagonist of The Edge of Desire, in a refreshingly new, resurgent avatar.