Anatomy of (A) Riot: An Analysis of Shashi Tharoor’s Riot: A Novel

Abstract

The paper seeks to analyse the various ways in which Shashi Tharoor integrates the riot in Zalilgarh into the main story - the love affair between Priscilla and Lakshman. The riot, as the title itself suggests acts as a leitmotif, around which the various events in the novel revolve. The paper explores how the novel depicts a contestation of narratives like the Ram Janmabhoomi- Babri Masjid,  two different versions of Hinduism & Islam, history and truth itself, which gives the novel its power. Finally, the paper seeks to juxtapose the events in the novel with actual descriptions of journalistic and other reports on riots by Asghar Ali Engineer, M. J. Akbar, Zoya Hasan among others to show the similarities between the two, focusing on aspects such as communal atmosphere pervading the country and the communal tension built up between the two communities, planned nature of riots
and the role of political parties in manipulating people’s faith and most importantly the bloody aftermath of the riot. The paper thus seeks to understand the way in which Tharoor uses all these strategies giving a real-life feel to the novel.