“You want to use the rakoshi for political ends.”

“I do not! But the only way to bring India back onto the True Path is through political power. It came to me that I have not been allowed to start this nest of rakoshi for the mere purpose of fulfilling a vow. There is a grander scheme here, and I am part of it.”

With a sinking feeling, Kolabati realized where all this was leading. A single word said it all:

“Hindutvu.”

“Yes—Hindutvu! A reunified India under Hindu rule. We will undo what the British did in 1947 when they made the Punjab into Pakistan and vivisected Bengal. If only I had had the rakoshi then—Lord Mountbatten would never have left India alive! But he was out of my reach, so I had to settle for the life of his collaborator, the revered Hindu traitor who legitimized the partition of our India by persuading the people to accept it without violence.”

Kolabati was aghast. “Gandhi? It couldn’t have been you!”

“Poor Bati.” He smiled maliciously at the shock that must have shown on her face. “I’m truly disappointed that you never guessed. Did you actually think I would sit idly by after the part he played in the partition?”

“But Savarkar was behind—!”

“Yes. Savarkar was behind Godse and Apte, the actual assassins. He was tried and executed for his part. But who do you think was behind Savarkar?”

No! It couldn’t be true! Not her brother—the man behind what some called “the Crime of the Century”!

But he was still talking. She forced herself to listen:

“… the return of East Bengal—it belongs with West Bengal. Bengal shall be whole again!”

“But East Bengal is Bangladesh now. You can’t possibly think—”

“I’ll find a way. I have the time. I have the rakoshi. I’ll find away, believe me.”

The room spun about Kolabati. Kusum, her brother, her surrogate parent for all these years, the steady, rational cornerstone of her life, was slipping further and further from the real world, indulging himself in the revenge and power fantasies of a maladjusted adolescent.

Kusum was mad. The realization sickened her. Kolabati had fought against the admission all night but the truth could no longer be denied. She had to get away from him.

“If anyone can find a way, I’m sure you will,” she told him, rising and turning towards the door. “And I’ll be glad to help in any way I can. But I’m tired now and I’d like to go back to the—”

Kusum stepped in front of the door, blocking her way.

“No, my sister. You will stay here until we sail away together.”

“Sail?” Panic clutched at her throat. She had to get off this ship! “I don’t want to sail anywhere!”

“I realize that. And that’s why I had this room, the pilot’s cabin, sealed off.” There was no malice in his voice or his expression. He was more like an understanding parent talking to a child. “I’m bringing you back to India with me.”