ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Prashenjit Shome is a published author of four fictions. Last year his book ORDEAL OF A MAN received golden book award 2024. Currently, he is working as a teacher and psychotherapist and living in Dibrugarh with wife and son.
Confession of a Terrorist and Other Stories
Confession of a Terrorist and Other Stories is published by Literature Chronicle. Prashenjit Shome’s Confession of a Terrorist and Other Stories is a bold and unsettling collection of short fiction that traverses some of the darkest and most complex terrains of contemporary society. Through twelve diverse stories, Shome sheds light on lives caught in the crossfire of poverty, violence, custom, and political neglect, exploring how ordinary individuals are shaped, and often shattered, by forces beyond their control.
The collection opens with its most ambitious piece, the titular Confession of a Terrorist. It follows Bashir, a soft-spoken madrasa teacher whose seemingly pious life hides a secret allegiance to radical networks. The narrative unfolds through his arrest, interrogation, and eventual narco-analysis, gradually revealing his descent into extremism. Shome handles this with chilling detail — from the indoctrination camps of Kashmir and Kerala jungles to the planning of coordinated bombings in Bangalore and Ahmedabad.
What stands out is the psychological portrait
Bashir is both a victim of manipulation and a willing conspirator, making the reader confront the uneasy grey areas of fanaticism. The story exposes how ideology, poverty, and charisma of leaders can warp fragile minds into instruments of terror.
Several stories shift focus to the villages of Assam and Bengal, capturing the raw struggle of survival:
The Poor Peasant and Compensation is heartbreaking in its simplicity, following Netra Gohain, an old farmer who, after losing his bullocks, tries to plough the fields himself — a futile struggle that ends in tragedy. The irony of government compensation arriving too late underscores the systemic apathy rural poor face.
Flood vividly documents devastation in Moria village on the banks of the Brahmaputra. Here, floodwaters not only destroy homes but also erode dignity, as survivors face police brutality when they demand rehabilitation.
Hunger personalizes drought through a woman’s stubborn fight to keep her children alive — a battle that ends in surrender to starvation.These narratives highlight how disaster, whether natural or man-made, is compounded by government indifference, leaving the marginalized to endure endless cycles of suffering.
Social Commentary and Cultural Nuance
Not all the stories are tragedies of poverty and terrorism. Shome’s “Unity in Diversity” is a refreshing exploration of harmony: Rama Pillai’s family celebrates both Hindu and Christian traditions under one roof, symbolizing an ideal of coexistence. In contrast, “The Little Widow” returns to social critique, portraying young Shanti, crushed under the archaic and exploitative customs of widowhood.
The cluster of stories about surrogate women (Rekha, Hema, Ranjita, Urmila, Renuka) expose another layer of exploitation — women’s bodies turned into commodities for wealthier couples. These stories touch on themes of desperation, morality, and the unseen costs of modern reproductive practices.
Themes and Impact
Across the collection, several recurring themes stand out:
Injustice and systemic neglect — from peasants denied timely support to flood victims silenced by force.
Women’s suffering under patriarchy — widows, surrogate mothers, deceived wives.
The seduction of extremism — ordinary men turned into symbols of destruction.
Hope in coexistence — glimpses of unity amidst chaos.
The emotional range is wide: anger, grief, pity, and occasionally hope. But overall, the book leaves the reader unsettled, forcing them to confront uncomfortable truths about society.