New Delhi, June 1 -- August 17, S. Hareesh's novel translated from the Malayalam by Jayasree Kalathil, is rooted in the fantasy of the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor (Travancore) refusing to join the Union of India following independence from British rule. In reality, the princely states of Hyderabad and Bhopal, too, had raised similar objections, but in Hareesh's imagination, Travancore stays unshaken in its stand on sovereignty, leading to bitter uprisings.

The premise isn't a million miles away from the contemporary liberal adulation of Kerala being the final frontier against the spread of Hindutva-based nationalism. Popularly perceived as an anti-communal and a proudly syncretic state, it is hailed for opposing the right-wing dogma that ...