Summary of the Book
Defragmenting India is an account of the various fault lines of Indian society narrated through the interactions between multitudes of small-town people, framed through the 2002 Hindu-Muslim communal riots of Gujarat. The riots form the backdrop to the travelogue narrative, a journey undertaken by the journalist-author and his friend. The book maps the urban consciousness of India, spanning different spectrums of society, and highlights issues such as the relevance of religion in today's world and the effect of the communal upheavals on the attitudes of those who experience them.
The narrative uses elements like oral history, folklore about local legends and historical events, research papers, imaginative speculations, biographic anecdotes and graphic reportage in an elliptical and poetic style.
The author captures the undercurrents that flow through the life of a nation, community, city, families and individuals, simultaneously cutting across narrow divisive borders. It is a multi-hued portrait of 21st century India.
