About the Book: Red Badge: A Nove
Kerala, 1974. Rajesh, the fourth-standard topper in a Malayalam-medium school
in Tiruvalla, founded by his upper-caste Kshatriya ancestors, is excited to move
to the big English-medium school there. But things go awry. Grappling with the
challenges of English-medium studies, he is stuck in the middle of the
rank-list. Desperation grows when the socially inferior Veeramani—the son of
Rajeshs fathers boss—gets the red badge for coming first. Rajesh goes into a
tailspin, and even seeks divine intervention.
Meanwhile, a regime deifying the idea of an Undivided Bharata gains power in
the country, and a horrifying reign of persecution