'The Cabinet Conspiracy': Of BRI, politics and an assassination bid!

Thats where fiction took over from facts and I wrote this story, where China, with help from an insider in the Indian prime ministers cabinet, plans his assassination, Ashar adds.India has been severely critical of the BRI as the project includes the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.Ashar, who has previously written two books with Ravi Subramanian - Insomnia and A Brutal Hand, says few characters in his new book, published by Srishti, are inspired by todays politicians.

China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has been vehemently opposed by India, provided writer Jigs Ashar the idea for his new novel which deals with various aspects of India's political landscape.

''The Cabinet Conspiracy'' is set in India a few months before a general election. The prime minister makes a surprising announcement that he will not contest the elections despite completing two successful terms. Instead, he nominates a surprise prime ministerial candidate, which upsets his cabinet.

Ashar says it was in April 2018 when the idea for ''The Cabinet Conspiracy'' came to him.

''I was in Indonesia on work, and one weekend, I was reading a special report in the NYT about the BRI. Until then, while I had heard about it, I had no idea about the scale at which it was being planned and developed. It blew me away,'' he says.

''And India being a critical link in the Silk Route (as the BRI is also referred to), I wondered as to how far China could go to get India to sign up. And this is where the plot started developing in my mind. That's where fiction took over from facts; and I wrote this story, where China, with help from an insider in the Indian prime minister's cabinet, plans his assassination,'' Ashar adds.

India has been severely critical of the BRI as the project includes the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Ashar, who has previously written two books with Ravi Subramanian - ''Insomnia'' and ''A Brutal Hand'', says few characters in his new book, published by Srishti, are inspired by today's politicians. ''I tried to strike a delicate balance between real and fictional characters.'' He also says he had to ''verify and re-verify my findings'' to ensure he presents an accurate picture since the topic is internationally volatile.

''I also used my professional network to speak with a few people across geographies to get their views on what I was trying to depict. For example, the rise of 'Khorgos', a city in China bordering Kazakhstan. It is expected to be a huge player in global economics in a few years… I discovered it when I read about BRI for the first time,'' he adds.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)