Book Discussion Group Meeting, Saturday, October 6, 2018, 2:00 PM, San Leandro Main Library

The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota

Three young men, and one unforgettable woman, come together in a journey from India to England, where they hope to begin something new—to support their families; to build their futures; to show their worth; to escape the past. They have almost no idea what awaits them. 

Meet the Author

Sunjeev Sahota was born in 1981 into a Sikh immigrant family in England and grew up in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. He had never even read a novel until the age of 18 when he read Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie. He majored in math in college and worked for an insurance company and a building society (credit union). He also became a prolific reader of novels.

After the London bombings of 2005, Sahota was inspired to write a book from the point of view of a terrorist, Ours are the Streets. His second novel, The Year of the Runaways (2015), is set in Sheffield, where the author currently lives.

Sikhism

Sikh Gurdwara in Sheffield

Three of the protagonists in The Year of the Runaways, Randeep, Avtar, and Narinder, are Sikhs, as is the author. Here is an informational page about Sikhism, a page about the Sikh Gurdwara (place of worship), and a page about traditional Sikh garb, which Sahota often makes mention of.

Untouchability, "Hindutva," and the Ongoing Civil War in India

The fourth protagonist of the book is Tochi, referred to by the other immigrants as a "Chamaar," one of the untouchable or "scheduled" castes of India. Back in India, when Tochi got his first regular passenger as a driver, she made a big deal over what to call him, reminiscent of US debates over "politically correct" terminology. I was able to find an article discussing that very thing.

"Hindutva," roughly translated as "Hindu-ness," is one of the current strains of Indian politics, manifested by Hindu fundamentalism and nationalism. The men who attack Tochi and his family are from such a group. The current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, has been linked to similar groups.

The night Tochi loses his family, the spark for the conflagration is said to be attacks by Maoists on upper caste Hindus. This makes reference to a very real armed conflict that is currently going on in the eastern part of India, which has the Maoists facing off against both the Indian government and right-wing paramilitary forces (attribution).

Kanyakumari

After all the hostility, politics, and strife, here's the view of the southernmost spot in India at night (attribution).