THE BAG zooms in on one of the all too many poignant mini-dramas that are played out in the conflict zones of North-East India, where no one ‘wins’. Senior Police Inspector Lahiri, with his pastiche dispassion and pretend cynicism, the dreaded United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) insurgent Hiren Bora, and his 12-year-old brother Okon—each of them is a victim of circumstances not quite of their own making, portrayed with startling realism.
The novel probes the psyche of a morally righteous village youth with strong ideals and big dreams, compassionately delineates his transformation into a militant, and explores the complexity of the relationship that exists between him and his adolescent younger brother—all the while positioning them within their immediate cultural and physical landscapes. The tale unfolds at a lethargic pace, though occasionally punctuated with short yet furious bursts of violent action, leading inexorably
to a dramatic climax. In the process, the reader is subjected to an overwhelming gamut of experiences and emotions, often brutal and inevitably tragic. Objectively tracing the broader history of insurgency in Assam and providing an in-depth, almost insider’s glimpse into the life of a militant, The Bag is indubitably the most powerful insurgency-related novel to have come out of North-East India in recent times.