Westland Books announces the release of Kavitha Rao’s Spies, Lies And Allies: The Extraordinary Lives of Chatto and Roy

Westland Books is pleased to announce the release of Spies, Lies And Allies: The Extraordinary Lives of Chatto and Roy by bestselling author and journalist Kavitha Rao.

This book explores the hidden spies, secret missions, and global struggles by Virendranath Chattopadhyaya (Sarojini Naidu’s brother) and M.N. Roy (founder of Indian Communism), who contributed to the freedom struggle but have been forgotten over time. The two jousted with names like Lala Lajpat Rai, Veer Savarkar, Vladimir Lenin, Sun Yat Sen, Chiang Kai Shek, Joseph Stalin, Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. They also survived assassination attempts by the British secret service. The extraordinary story of these two revolutionaries is set to hit the bookshelves on February 17, 2025.

Talking about this book, award-winning author and journalist Kavitha Rao said, “Spies, Lies and Allies arose from my fascination for forgotten figures in Indian history, and why they were forgotten at all. As a person who has lived in several countries around the world, I am often drawn to tales of migrants, travellers and nomads. While reading about the unsung heroes of our freedom movement, I discovered that Sarojini Naidu had a forgotten brother: Virendranath Chattopadhyaya. Reading further, I found that ‘Chatto’ had led a thrilling revolutionary life in exile, and was eventually executed by Joseph Stalin. His rival M.N. Roy had also travelled across the world as a revolutionary and protege of Lenin. I was drawn to these early internationalists and cosmopolitans. It was a challenge to condense the sprawling ideas of these maverick men into one book, but I hope my book does them justice.”

Karthika VK, Publisher, Westland Books, said, “Kavitha finds stories that ought to be better known and then tells them in so compelling a manner that it’s hard to imagine these figures were ever forgotten. There’s such a wealth of research and investigation that goes into her work, but she writes with a light touch that brings these people from the past back to life. We’re so happy that this thrilling history-telling by Kavitha Rao is finally going out into the world.”