Azadi

Azadithe slogan of the struggle for freedom in Kashmir, used by Kashmiris to oppose what they perceive as Indian occupation. Ironically, it also became the slogan of millions of people on the streets of India opposing the project of Hindu nationalism. What lies between these two calls for freedomis it a chasm or a bridge? Just as the time had come to ponder the answer to this question, the streets fell silentnot just in India, but across the world. With COVID-19 came another understanding of freedom, a far more terrifying one. It rendered borders between countries meaningless, imprisoned entire populations, and brought the modern world to a standstill like never before. In these riveting essays, Arundhati Roy challenges us to consider the meaning of freedom in an era of increasing authoritarianism across the world. These articles explore private and public voices in our unsettling times, addressing the need for storytelling and new dreams. According to Roy, the pandemic is the threshold to a new world. While it has brought disease and devastation, it is also a welcome sign for a new kind of humanity. It is an opportunity to dream of a new world. In a time when the politics of division and hatred are gaining ground, the author considers the crucial role of storytelling and language. A significant portion of the book focuses on the new Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Population Register (NPR-NCR), as well as the protests against them. The author attempts to examine the significance and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic within this political and divided society. As a novelist, she has written extensively about the process of conceptualizing and writing both of her novels. She also examines her work as an essayist. The translation is as if the book was originally written in Hindi.