The Coup India Missed- Lt Col K Gopinathan (Retd)

Book: The Coup India Missed

Author: Lt Col K Gopinathan (Retd)

Publisher: Platinum Press (Leadstart Corp)

We have all discussed politics at some points in our lives. Be it while sipping tea at a roadside vendor or a party over some drinks, politics has always dominated our conversations. For every incident that happens in our country, each one has an opinion and possible solutions to a myriad of problems that the country faces. Every election, we have proposed a lot of things to improve our country but as always, things move at a snail’s pace.

The Coup that India Missed by Lt. Col. K Gopinathan (Retd.) is a political satire which begins with a people’s movement that turns into a political outfit to change the system from within. The readers are presented with an alternative India that is free of the shackles that hold us today. There are serious political discussions on topics such as corruption, education, electoral reforms, foreign relations and many more contemporary topics. Facing the conventional political parties, Baba takes up the challenge to enter the parliament to clean up the system. He forms his own Party, the Rashtriya Punarudhaan Sangh (RPS). This party starts with the state elections of Delhi where it wins and then it turns it sights onto the National Elections. Beginning his campaign from Varanasi, the RPS fails to gain majority on its own but manages 210 seats out of 543 in the lower house of the Parliament. Along with the Heritage Party, it makes its government and starts its reforms under the leadership of Professor Murthy, a maverick politician who is chosen by Baba as the Prime Minister. After 20 months of being in power, RPS decides to let go of the burden of coalition partnerships and seeks a fresh mandate from the general public. Inspired by the slew of reforms, the people give a resounding majority to the RPS which paves a path for them to completely turnaround the system that is prevalent in the country. With a majority in the Upper House as well, RPS amends the constitution to bring in the Presidential form of governance with a detailed structure to avoid frequent elections in the country. Reforms continue in all directions, be it education, All India Services, politics etc. Even the issue of contentious borders is dealt with very efficiently in the book.

Lt. Col. K Gopinathan (Retd.) has taken up current issues that are plaguing our country and has provided efficient yet doable solutions for them. Though a fictional satire, he has highlighted the major problems that are holding us back from becoming a developed nation today. Many of the characters of the book can be related with their counterparts in the political system today. With references to incidents such as money laundering and the 2G Scams, the book is very much contemporary yet has a feel of fiction in it.

Towards the end of the book, the reader gets completely immersed in the plot and can imagine this becoming a reality. As a citizen of the country, I feel that the author has struck a nerve here and this should become a mandated reading for the students of politics and statecraft.

I would rate the book 4/5 for its sheer brilliance and aptness.