Revolution 2020
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| Author | Chetan Bhagat |
|---|---|
| Country | India |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Realistic Fiction |
| Published | 2011 Rupa & Co. |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| Pages | 296 |
| Website | www.chetanbhagat.com |
Revolution 2020: Love, Corruption, Ambition is a 2011 novel by Chetan Bhagat. Its story is concerned with a love triangle, corruption and a journey of self-discovery. R2020 has addressed the issue of how private coaching institutions exploit aspiring engineering students and how parents put their lifetime's earnings on stake for these classes so that their children can crack engineering exams and change the fortune of the family. While a handful accomplish their dreams others sink into disaster. The book is available as an Audiobook on Amazon.
The author stated that the novel is based on the "rampant corruption" apparent in the Indian youth educational system, with the choice of Varanasi as a setting emerging through "a special connection to the city" following his visit. He further said "it is one of our oldest cities, and people there now have modern aspirations. I thought the contrast would be interesting. The city also has a lot of character.
This book follows the story of two friends separated by their ambitions and passions yet connected by their love for the same girl. While Gopal, who has experienced the harsh realities of life due to poverty aspires to become rich, his friend Raghav is a boy from a well-off family who desires to "revolutionize" India by fighting corruption.
Aarti and Gopal have been childhood friends, and share a deep but platonic relationship. As teenagers, Gopal pushes Aarti for more, but she later reveals that she was not ready for anything. Gopal gets a low ranking in the AIEEE exams while Raghav is among the toppers. Gopal moves to another city (Kota), to join reputed coaching classes to help with his ranking. Raghav becomes a celebrity in the town after he passes the Indian Institute of Technology entrance exam. Aarti falls for Raghav during Gopal's absence. Aarti and Gopal chat online, and Aarti reveals her relationship to Gopal, who is heartbroken. He studies hard but gets a low ranking in the AIEEE exam for the second time. His father dies shortly after. Raghav decides to become a journalist and pursue a career in a newspaper publishing house.
Meanwhile, Gopal is contacted by a politician who wishes to build an engineering college on the highly valuable land that Gopal's family owns. Gopal agrees to the deal, and joins the system of corruption in India in order to build the college with the politician's black money. He is tired of "giving white envelopes" to officials but has no other choice. Raghav, now a journalist, exposes the corruption-funded college and is eventually fired from the newshouse. Raghav starts his own newspaper, Revolution 2020, to "change the world" and expose the corrupt system in India. After another expose, Raghav's newspaper is shut down by politicians and thugs, and he loses almost everything.
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