Malokh Cantt by Deepak SG [Paperback]

The story is set in the early 1920s, in Malokh, a fictional Himalayan hill-town cantonment in the princely state of Birkot, during British colonial rule.

The protagonist, Raja, is a young man who initially wants to stay away from the political turmoil surrounding India's freedom struggle. However, he becomes the target of police suspicion and is imprisoned. His experiences in prison force him to confront questions of love, loyalty, self-preservation, revenge and honour.

As the story progresses, Raja becomes increasingly drawn into the revolutionary movement. Interestingly, the British Empire eventually comes to regard him as a loyal ally, while he is secretly becoming one of its most patient enemies.