The Sunflower Seeds Partners with Swaroop Chaturvedi to Bring ‘Bandits of Chambal’ to Life

India, May 2026: The ravines of Chambal have long been associated with stories of bandits, rebellion, and survival. Yet much of this history remains buried beneath folklore and cinematic retellings. In a significant new collaboration, The Sunflower Seeds, a literary consulting and brand-building company founded by Preeti Chaturvedi, has partnered with producer and author Swaroop Chaturvedi to present Bandits of Chambal - a storyverse that brings the complex, real-life narratives to light through lived experiences and archival accounts from one of India’s most turbulent eras.

Spanning Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh between the 1950s and 1980s, Bandits of Chambal revisits a defining chapter in India’s socio-political history, examining the realities of law enforcement and outlawry in the region.

The first installment, The Man Who Won the Chambals, draws from the life and work of Swaroop Chaturvedi’s late father, Rajendra Chaturvedi, a 1969 batch IPS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre. Chosen by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and then Chief Minister Arjun Singh to lead the surrender operations of “ Bandit Queen Phoolan Devi & Bandit King Malkhan Singh”. As SP Anti-Dacoity Operations & later as SP Bhind in MP, he operated under strict confidentiality, often with minimal resources and without the knowledge of his colleagues or family.

At a time when violent encounters were the norm, Rajendra Chaturvedi’s approach stood apart. He championed dialogue, reform, and rehabilitation, leading to the peaceful surrender of hundreds of dacoits.

Preeti Chaturvedi’s The Sunflower Seeds is the literary consulting company behind titles - It’s easy to be healthy by Malaika Arora, Piyush Mishra’s Tumhari Auqaat Kya Hai and Shalini Passi's The Art of Being Fabulous, among other celebrated books. Speaking about the collaboration,

Preeti Chaturvedi said, “Bandits of Chambal is not just about revisiting history, it is about restoring nuance to stories that have long been reduced to folklore. At The Sunflower Seeds, we are committed to bringing forward narratives that humanize even the most mythologized chapters of India’s past.”

Swaroop Chaturvedi added: “This is my father’s legacy, shaped in a turbulent era. He chose dialogue over force, championing reform and rehabilitation, and successfully negotiated the peaceful surrender of hundreds of dacoits whom he referred to as ‘baaghis’ rather than the more common ‘daaku’.”

The book also acknowledges the role of a few Officers of the Madhya Pradesh Police team involved in one of the most complex covert operations of the 1980s, which led to the surrender and reform of over 300 dacoits, including gangs of Malkhan Singh, known as Dasyu Samrat, Phoolan Devi & Baba Ghanshyam

As part of the larger Bandits of Chambal storyverse, upcoming titles include Rajendra Chaturvedi – The Man Who Won the Chambals, along with Operation 1 Down: The Hunt for A1 Bandit King Malkhan Singh and Operation 2 Down: The Hunt for “Teetar” aka Phoolan Devi.

With a focus on truth over myth, the storyverse seeks to revisit history through a human lens, opening conversations around one of India’s most layered and misunderstood eras. The first book is scheduled for release in the coming months.

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