Romen Basu one of India’s significant novelists and poets has once again written in his latest novel "Breach of Faith" about the neglect of, and injustice towards, the poor street children of India. Like his previous crusading novels, he has written about children—victims of class and caste who have been driven to seek shelter in cardboard boxes on the streets or on platforms in railway stations. The story revolves around two children whose parents’ identity is unclear and who grew up in the Delhi railway station, begging for their livelihood. Mithu the protagonist and his friend Munni move on to their separate lives after Mithu was forced to escape to Mumbai from the clutches of Ratnakar, a drug dealer, who threatened his life unless he accepted his offer to sell drugs. But his escape is by no means the end of his misery. By a cruel twist of fate he is driven to selling drugs in Mumbai sliding down to further degradation. Munni’s life takes a turn for the better when a Brahmin family gives her shelter in mistaken belief that she is a Brahmin. Munni gets married into the family, moving to Mumbai and starts a new life. Fate deals her a cruel blow. She accidentally runs into Mithu in Mumbai. Jealous of Munni’s good fortune, Mithu exposes the real Munni to her in-laws. Driven out of a secure home Munni is forced to move in with Mithu and to drugs and degradation. Both lives end in tragedy. Romen Basu has written a moving account of street children who have no chance to escape from their misery and deprivation. It is a poignant tale of injustice at the hands of an uncaring society.
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