Penguin Random House India has announced the publication of The Chabimaster by Harinder S. Sikka, the bestselling author of Calling Sehmat — the acclaimed novel that inspired the blockbuster film Raazi. A former Indian Navy officer and now Group Director at the Piramal Group, Sikka returns to the espionage genre with a high-stakes thriller set against the turbulence of General Zia-ul-Haq’s 1977 coup in Pakistan.

Blending meticulously researched history with pulse-racing intrigue, The Chabimaster explores the shadowy intersections of politics, technology, and human judgment. At its core is a lethal safe — designed to kill whoever opens it — and the operatives who must decide whether one life can outweigh the protection of many.

The story follows Samy, a RAW specialist whose uncanny mastery of locks earns him the name Chabimaster. Tasked with infiltrating a clandestine weapons network, Samy’s mission spans India, Pakistan, London, and Istanbul. His journey through covert operations, double agents, and coded blueprints unfolds with a cinematic intensity and rare technical precision — from ingress routes and hotel floor plans to the inner mechanisms of espionage itself.

“This novel brings realism back to spy fiction — it’s about method, consequence, and the moral weight of every decision,” says Sikka.

Like Calling Sehmat, The Chabimaster is grounded in real geopolitical textures. But it moves beyond the personal into a broader examination of statecraft and ethics — of how intelligence professionals navigate risk, loyalty, and the fog of secrecy.

The novel also marks a continuation of Sikka’s commitment to bringing Indian intelligence stories into the mainstream cultural imagination, following the extraordinary success of Raazi.

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Why It Matters

• Real geopolitics as backdrop: Set amid General Zia’s coup and its far-reaching aftershocks.
• High-consequence stakes: A booby-trapped safe, a secret weapons network, and a race against time.
• Authentic tradecraft: Precise operational detail — maps, locks, routes — rarely seen in Indian spy fiction.
• Moral complexity: Explores the ethics of risk, sacrifice, and state secrecy.
• Legacy of Calling Sehmat: Continues Sikka’s lineage of realism in espionage storytelling.

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About the Author

Harinder S. Sikka served in the Indian Navy (commissioned in 1981, retired as Lieutenant Commander in 1993). Currently Group Director, Strategic Business at the Piramal Group, he is also the author of Vichhoda and Gobind, and producer of the National Award-winning film Nanak Shah Fakir.

He lives in Delhi with his family.

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Book Details

• Title: The Chabimaster
• Author: Harinder S. Sikka
• Imprint: Penguin Metro Reads
• Publisher: Penguin Random House India