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Foot Soldier of the Constitution: A Memoir
'I salute you.' — Zakia Jafri
'One wishes there were more such citizens.' — Romila Thapar
Who is Teesta Setalvad?
For the Hindu Right, she is a dangerous impediment to India’s onward march to ‘glory.’ This is the story of the real Teesta – inheritor of the best and most progressive traditions of India’s struggle for freedom, a ceaseless and courageous fighter for justice.
In these moving memoirs, she speaks of the influence of her grandfather and father; her early career as a journalist; her coming to political maturity during the horrific violence in Mumbai after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in the winter of 1992-93; her own trajectory as an activist with fellow traveler, Javed; and, of course, her role during and after the post-Godhra violence in Gujarat. This is a stirring, inspiring tale of determination, courage, fortitude and an unshakeable commitment to constitutional principles.
‘Teesta has a distinguished lineage. Her grandfather, Motilal Setalvad, was India’s first Attorney General; his son Atul (Teesta’s father) was a leading Senior Advocate in the Bombay High Court. Each of them gave shape to our constitutional law. But Teesta carved out a separate niche for herself – as a worthy footsoldier of the Constitution.’ — Fali S. Nariman
‘A crusader in the cause of justice and human rights, Teesta’s life is a saga of small and big battles fought by a person with firm conviction and strong determination. She has proved herself more than a match to her detractors and persecutors however high placed they may be.’ — Justice P.B. Sawant
‘Teesta Setalvad is a woman of courage and deep convictions. This book is a testimony to her spirit and grit.’ — Mallika Sarabhai
‘The Gujarat riots produced, at one end, Modi, and at another end, Teesta. The story of her life is necessary reading for those who engage with the Indian sociopolitical system.’ — Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd
‘The scoundrel times in which we live, where the fascists and the powerful rule supreme, hers is the voice of sanity and compassion.’ — Saeed Mirza
'One wishes there were more such citizens.' — Romila Thapar
Who is Teesta Setalvad?
For the Hindu Right, she is a dangerous impediment to India’s onward march to ‘glory.’ This is the story of the real Teesta – inheritor of the best and most progressive traditions of India’s struggle for freedom, a ceaseless and courageous fighter for justice.
In these moving memoirs, she speaks of the influence of her grandfather and father; her early career as a journalist; her coming to political maturity during the horrific violence in Mumbai after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in the winter of 1992-93; her own trajectory as an activist with fellow traveler, Javed; and, of course, her role during and after the post-Godhra violence in Gujarat. This is a stirring, inspiring tale of determination, courage, fortitude and an unshakeable commitment to constitutional principles.
‘Teesta has a distinguished lineage. Her grandfather, Motilal Setalvad, was India’s first Attorney General; his son Atul (Teesta’s father) was a leading Senior Advocate in the Bombay High Court. Each of them gave shape to our constitutional law. But Teesta carved out a separate niche for herself – as a worthy footsoldier of the Constitution.’ — Fali S. Nariman
‘A crusader in the cause of justice and human rights, Teesta’s life is a saga of small and big battles fought by a person with firm conviction and strong determination. She has proved herself more than a match to her detractors and persecutors however high placed they may be.’ — Justice P.B. Sawant
‘Teesta Setalvad is a woman of courage and deep convictions. This book is a testimony to her spirit and grit.’ — Mallika Sarabhai
‘The Gujarat riots produced, at one end, Modi, and at another end, Teesta. The story of her life is necessary reading for those who engage with the Indian sociopolitical system.’ — Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd
‘The scoundrel times in which we live, where the fascists and the powerful rule supreme, hers is the voice of sanity and compassion.’ — Saeed Mirza
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226 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 12, 2017
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October 30, 2019
I first came to know about Teesta Setalvad through R. B. Sreekumar’s Malayalam book on the Gujarat riots. As I read up on her, she piqued my interest as a tireless crusader for civil liberties – and activist in the true sense. And since the establishment never likes activists (especially one built on fascist principles as the current Indian government), she was permanently in the cross-hairs, running from one anticipatory bail to another, at the same time pursuing cases against the high and the mighty doggedly, without getting disheartened even if the outcome was negative. A ‘Karma Yogi’ in the true sense of the word.
So it was with great hopes I picked this memoir up – it promised to deliver the goods on the BJP and its poster boy Narendra Modi, currently the Prime Minister of India. It was under Modi’s watch as the Chief Minister that around two thousand Muslims were massacred by Hindu fundamentalists in Gujarat in February – March 2002. A lot of people have accused him not only turning a blind eye, but actively supporting the goons – and it was Teesta who relentlessly kept the pressure.
On that front, the book does not disappoint. It lays bare the conspiracy hatched in the halls of the Gujarat polity to do a thorough job of ethnic cleansing – and Modi’s part in it is at least subject to fair conjecture, warranting further investigation. However, Teesta lays out, step by step, how the investigation was torpedoed by a state administration in collusion with the perpetrators, and a central administration not willing to go out on a limb to extend the long arm of the law into the corridors of power.
For all its high-flown talks about tolerance, attacks on religious minorities is nothing new in India – and many a time, the law enforcement which is largely majoritarian turn a blind eye or in the worst case, collude. Teesta did not become an activist with the Gujarat riots: her public life started way back in 1992 – 93, when the extreme right Shiv Sena of Maharashtra targeted Muslims after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. She narrates one chilling instance:
Coming to Gujarat in 2002, Teesta narrates many incidents – reporting from the ground, as it were – about the gleeful participation of the police and the local populace in targeted and brutal violence against one community.
On 27 February 2002, the compartment of a train containing kar sevaks - Hindu fundamentalists on a mission to demolish the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya and build a temple to the Hindu deity Rama in its place – was allegedly set alight by Muslim miscreants at Gujarat’s Godhra station. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (the Hindu militant organisation that is the social wing of the BJP) used this incident to fan communal passions. The bodies were subjected to open post mortem and then brought in a cavalcade to Ahmedabad, with the accompaniment of provocative slogans all the way, whipping up passions to start the carnage on the 28th of February.
(The concept of “who cast the first stone” has been used by fascists since time immemorial. It goes like this. Provoke the Other, until some of them react – or if they don’t, manufacture a reaction – then “retaliate” with brute force out of proportion to anything that happened until then. All of this is justified because the Other “cast the first stone”.)
As the mayhem went on, police resolutely looked the other way or, as said before, even colluded. The key fact here is that (according to the testimony of many witnesses) Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat who held the Home portfolio himself, asked them to - according to the testimony of more than one witness. He apparently said: “Hindus will vent their anger, we should not stop them.”
Was it planned? It seems to be:
***
Enter Teesta Setalvad. She and her husband Javed Anand swung into action. They had turned into activists from 1992-93 onward, as mentioned before; they had been fighting religious fanaticism through the magazine Communalism Combat. After the riots, they formed the organisation Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) to specifically tackle various human rights violations which took place.
Teesta comes from a liberal family. Her paternal great-grandfather was the famous Chimanlal Setalvad, who made General Dyer sweat and confess after the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre. Her father was a progressive atheist who conducted a civil marriage in the 1950s, and who made his daughters call him by first name. When Teesta started living together with Javed before ultimately marrying after three years, nobody in her family batted an eyelid.
All this liberal background and family support has stood Teesta in good stead as she tackled a hostile government, which had no ethical concerns, singlehandedly. I am not going into details – it has all been comprehensively laid out in the book – except for a single quote:
Teesta says that had the perpetrators of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots been properly taken to task, there would have been a better system where the weak can also hope for succour against the might of the state. Unfortunately, that has not happened: successive governments get away with gross violations of human rights because all said and done, they are in the same boat when it comes to power. But that does not mean one has to give up the fight.
(PS: I would say, though, that the book suffers from below-standard editing, with too many repetitions and timeline jumps – which is why it’s only three stars.)
So it was with great hopes I picked this memoir up – it promised to deliver the goods on the BJP and its poster boy Narendra Modi, currently the Prime Minister of India. It was under Modi’s watch as the Chief Minister that around two thousand Muslims were massacred by Hindu fundamentalists in Gujarat in February – March 2002. A lot of people have accused him not only turning a blind eye, but actively supporting the goons – and it was Teesta who relentlessly kept the pressure.
On that front, the book does not disappoint. It lays bare the conspiracy hatched in the halls of the Gujarat polity to do a thorough job of ethnic cleansing – and Modi’s part in it is at least subject to fair conjecture, warranting further investigation. However, Teesta lays out, step by step, how the investigation was torpedoed by a state administration in collusion with the perpetrators, and a central administration not willing to go out on a limb to extend the long arm of the law into the corridors of power.
For all its high-flown talks about tolerance, attacks on religious minorities is nothing new in India – and many a time, the law enforcement which is largely majoritarian turn a blind eye or in the worst case, collude. Teesta did not become an activist with the Gujarat riots: her public life started way back in 1992 – 93, when the extreme right Shiv Sena of Maharashtra targeted Muslims after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. She narrates one chilling instance:
One young (23 year old) zari worker from Cheetah Camp named Abdullah was writing a letter to a friend in Kuwait, telling him about the birth of his child. He died as he wrote. The police burst into his room and dragged him out. Two policemen held him while a third shot at him. He tried to crawl back into his hut, but the police prevented him by locking the door of his hut. They left him in a drain where Abdullah died.The police did this, mind you.
Coming to Gujarat in 2002, Teesta narrates many incidents – reporting from the ground, as it were – about the gleeful participation of the police and the local populace in targeted and brutal violence against one community.
The police watched as the well armed and angry crowd went to attack Muslims and their homes. There was no attempt to stop them. On the other hand, the police did fire – but mainly at Muslim crowds. On February 28, in Ahmedabad, the police killed forty people – all Muslims – in police firing at Morarji Chowk and Charodia Chowk. By the third week of May 2002, of the one hundred and five people killed by police firing, seventy-five were Muslims.The division of Gujarat on religious lines had started long back: Teesta talks about the signs she had seen while visiting the state, in people’s attitudes and the slow ghettoisation of Muslims. (I have personal experience of this. Our company had a regional office in Vadodara, and we stayed in official accommodation provided in a Muslim area, as the rent was cheap! Being Keralites, our largely non-Muslim workforce had no problem living in the predominantly Muslim neighbourhood.) She recounts a conversation with a Gujarati gentleman in a train:
-
It is chilling that for seven to eight hours a whole locality was actually enjoying a massacre. When you have women and men celebrating the persistent hounding and killing, including the daylight rapes of the young girls and women, it is reflective of the public space before and after the macabre violence.
He was gleeful at the growing popularity of the aggressive and violent organizations that owed their allegiance to the ideology of Hindutva and the Hindu Rashtra. They have removed the fear within the Gujarati to fight and kill, to take to violence. That is good’, he said. He was referring to the unashamed espousal of and use of arms and violence against the imputed ‘minority enemy’, the Other of Gujarat.How this growing hostility was used by the Hindu Right in Gujarat is instructive. First fill the powder keg, keep it ready to light – then provide the spark. This time-tested fascist formula was used to great effect.
On 27 February 2002, the compartment of a train containing kar sevaks - Hindu fundamentalists on a mission to demolish the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya and build a temple to the Hindu deity Rama in its place – was allegedly set alight by Muslim miscreants at Gujarat’s Godhra station. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (the Hindu militant organisation that is the social wing of the BJP) used this incident to fan communal passions. The bodies were subjected to open post mortem and then brought in a cavalcade to Ahmedabad, with the accompaniment of provocative slogans all the way, whipping up passions to start the carnage on the 28th of February.
(The concept of “who cast the first stone” has been used by fascists since time immemorial. It goes like this. Provoke the Other, until some of them react – or if they don’t, manufacture a reaction – then “retaliate” with brute force out of proportion to anything that happened until then. All of this is justified because the Other “cast the first stone”.)
As the mayhem went on, police resolutely looked the other way or, as said before, even colluded. The key fact here is that (according to the testimony of many witnesses) Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat who held the Home portfolio himself, asked them to - according to the testimony of more than one witness. He apparently said: “Hindus will vent their anger, we should not stop them.”
Was it planned? It seems to be:
A senior minister in Modi’s cabinet, Suresh Mehta (who has been chief minister of Gujarat for a year) testified to the fact that Modi, seated next to him in the Gujarat state assembly when the Godhra train burning was discussed, had a look of satisfaction on his face. ‘Now the Hindus will awake’, was the remark made by him.Of course, the people brave enough to testify against Modi were victimised, and those who supported him were showered with laurels – so that the voices of protest remained meek.
***
Enter Teesta Setalvad. She and her husband Javed Anand swung into action. They had turned into activists from 1992-93 onward, as mentioned before; they had been fighting religious fanaticism through the magazine Communalism Combat. After the riots, they formed the organisation Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) to specifically tackle various human rights violations which took place.
Teesta comes from a liberal family. Her paternal great-grandfather was the famous Chimanlal Setalvad, who made General Dyer sweat and confess after the Jallianwallah Bagh massacre. Her father was a progressive atheist who conducted a civil marriage in the 1950s, and who made his daughters call him by first name. When Teesta started living together with Javed before ultimately marrying after three years, nobody in her family batted an eyelid.
All this liberal background and family support has stood Teesta in good stead as she tackled a hostile government, which had no ethical concerns, singlehandedly. I am not going into details – it has all been comprehensively laid out in the book – except for a single quote:
In all, we have so far fought as many as 68 cases right from the trial court up to the Supreme Court. As many as 150 convictions have been achieved (of which one hundred and thirty-seven resulted in life imprisonment at the special sessions court stage. In October 2016, the Gujarat High Court acquitted 14 of those earlier convictions in the Sardarpura case, bringing the total number of those convicted to life imprisonment to 123).Those who have been following these cases know how the administration and even the judiciary tried to stymie the people who fought for justice. It is the general impression that the SIT absolved the state administration of all charges – sycophants of Modi had termed these investigations witch hunts. However, Teesta sticks by her statements that the Gujarat CM had said that ‘Hindu reaction was to be expected and this must not be curtailed or controlled’ and instructed the police to allow ‘people to vent their frustration and not come in the way of the Hindu backlash’. Even though the SIT disagreed (and how partisan the hearings were, even during the terms of UPA rule, would really have one grinding one’s teeth), the amicus curiea agreed with the CJP contentions.
After one year, the SIT submitted its report holding that while many of the allegations in the complaint were true, they were not prosecutable. The amicus curiae in this case, Raju Ramachandran, begged to differ: in a sensational finding in his report dated 25 July 2011 he wrote that there was enough material to prosecute Narendra Modi.Then why the reluctance? Well, when it comes to acting against those in power, for the subaltern people, it seems that all governments are in cahoots. The upper-class, upper-caste, majoritarian ethos which permeates all the arms of our polity apparently call the shots.
There is a lesson to be learned in the struggle for justice. The system that loves the status quo tolerates interventions up to a point, but appears to fall short of delivering radical, real or substantive justice. The system engages with the survivors and defenders in the early years, but a shakeup of the status quo demands an exceptional judicial mind. If survivors and defenders labour on, for decades (15 years as we have done), if we try and take it beyond the small fry offenders, somehow, the system – to keep us in check – makes us pay.Yes, indeed they tried to make her pay – she has been running from pillar to post to battle the frivolous cases against her. It seems that the Gujarat government just wants to get her into custody so that the long arm of the “law” can have its way with her. So far, she has survived.
Teesta says that had the perpetrators of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots been properly taken to task, there would have been a better system where the weak can also hope for succour against the might of the state. Unfortunately, that has not happened: successive governments get away with gross violations of human rights because all said and done, they are in the same boat when it comes to power. But that does not mean one has to give up the fight.
The struggle for justice has become multiple things. It is to speak truth to power regardless of the consequences. It is to fight the good fight even when others tire. It is to relentlessly pursue, gather and cull through evidence while protecting my own back. The entire process has been exhausting. I have to look over my shoulder at every turn. I know that my mobile phone is tapped, my emails are being tracked. The police and other agencies of an increasingly desperate government are on my back. To battle the perverted demon that lurks behind narrow religious-based nationalism, that justifies well-choreographed mutilation and killing, let alone rape, is to lay yourself open both literally and figuratively to all means and manner of attack. It is to make yourself vulnerable and threatened.However, Teesta is not giving up. And as a concerned citizen of India, I hope this “foot soldier” continues her struggle.
(PS: I would say, though, that the book suffers from below-standard editing, with too many repetitions and timeline jumps – which is why it’s only three stars.)
February 18, 2017
A must read for anyone who values the constitution of India; a memoir written by one of the most haunted social activist of our times Teesta Setalvad of whom former Chief Justice JS Verma said "What has Teesta Setalvad done? She has performed in full measure her fundamental duties as a citizen and if every one of us were to follow suit there would be no Gujarat and there would be no hell."
What did I, a privileged Indian living away from conflict or riot zones remember about the Gujarat genocide?
We were made to think of it as communal riots started out by Godhra train burning and spreading as uncontrollable clashes between the Hindus and the Muslims of the area, in spite of the state government's and army's best efforts to bring the situation under control. Best to forget and move on, we were told. What is it that we are made to forget? Who wants us to forget the images of violence and instead remember the photoshopped images of gujarat's progress? This book has made me believe that erasing memories of the atrocities done to the victims who have not yet received justice is another crime done to them.
This book tells me it was a planned genocide and not a riot. Gujarat genocide 2002 was orchestrated by the state government under Narendra Modi throughout by letting communal hatred flare up, denying police protection to the victims, misguiding the army from reaching trouble spots, denying rehabilitation support and trying to usurp judicial proceedings, influencing eye witnesses with inducements and terror to lie in courts, denying justice and granting impunity to the few criminals jailed while the victims still live in fear and under a siege mentality.
Thank you Teesta Setalvad. May your tribe increase!
What did I, a privileged Indian living away from conflict or riot zones remember about the Gujarat genocide?
We were made to think of it as communal riots started out by Godhra train burning and spreading as uncontrollable clashes between the Hindus and the Muslims of the area, in spite of the state government's and army's best efforts to bring the situation under control. Best to forget and move on, we were told. What is it that we are made to forget? Who wants us to forget the images of violence and instead remember the photoshopped images of gujarat's progress? This book has made me believe that erasing memories of the atrocities done to the victims who have not yet received justice is another crime done to them.
This book tells me it was a planned genocide and not a riot. Gujarat genocide 2002 was orchestrated by the state government under Narendra Modi throughout by letting communal hatred flare up, denying police protection to the victims, misguiding the army from reaching trouble spots, denying rehabilitation support and trying to usurp judicial proceedings, influencing eye witnesses with inducements and terror to lie in courts, denying justice and granting impunity to the few criminals jailed while the victims still live in fear and under a siege mentality.
Thank you Teesta Setalvad. May your tribe increase!
August 16, 2017
This book is the 5th one I completed this year. Teesta, I discovered triumphantly, is the name of a river which ' flows fearlessly' in Bangladesh. Teesta Setalvad is a human rights activist and a journalist who serves as a voice of the voiceless in India. She has briefly given an account of her ongoing struggle against inequalities in our society, especially the ones imposed and organised by the ruling government against minorities. As far as the narration is concerned, the book is a disappointment because of the repetition of facts in a boring manner which kills the joy of reading. Many of the facts presented by her were already known because they have already been published in alternative media from time to time.
But I would not dare to discourage reading this book even if it has many blemishes from a literary point of view. This book shares the story of a woman who stands by what she believes. I am not sure of my own ability to fight for any cause to such an extent that I would be able to survive all the threats, hatred and still continue to wage a war. I salute the belligerent spirit in people like her. The strength to resist even in an unfavourable environment is the real strength. It feels good to read about people who still uphold justice and equality as the highest of all virtues that human beings can possess.
But I would not dare to discourage reading this book even if it has many blemishes from a literary point of view. This book shares the story of a woman who stands by what she believes. I am not sure of my own ability to fight for any cause to such an extent that I would be able to survive all the threats, hatred and still continue to wage a war. I salute the belligerent spirit in people like her. The strength to resist even in an unfavourable environment is the real strength. It feels good to read about people who still uphold justice and equality as the highest of all virtues that human beings can possess.
February 10, 2017
Its a difficult book to read, but one which needs to be read. It brings back the second hand trauma of the gujarat riots (imagine plight of those who went thru it first hand) by detailing teesta's blow by blow account before, during and after the riots. The phone calls, the unresponsive police, the barbarim, the bloodshed, the collusion....its all bought back to our mind. One wishes that it would go away. But as she says somewhere in the book...it is essential that these riots be remembered and the guilty punished..for the sake of justice, for the sake of the future. Most of the book deals with test's journey as a social activist...with a few glimpses of her personal life. But one wishes that apart from her illustrious background, she had also been more personal, more introspective. "was the difficult journey worth it' 'did she sit in the dark terrified of the struggle alone' etc...but such questions are not tackled. Instead it is exactly what the book says: her journey as a warrior (not a foot soldier) to get justice for the victims of gujarat and other communal violence (mainly the indian muslims). she also tries to set the record straight on the allegations on her. all in all one thanks god for indians like teesta...who fought for the others. she kinds of balances out gujarat.
June 23, 2020
Born in a privileged family, Teesta is a great person of substance, having dedicated best part of her life to standup for the constitutional values of India.
Her memoir, 'Foot Soldier of the constitution's is about how the idea of India envisioned by India's founders and encouraged by the rest of the world against rising tide of the power of hate.
She was a prime mover is clearly establishing through courts of India on the role of Hindutva forces, led by those that controlled Gujarat govt in 2002 and Indian government since 2014.
The convictions she secured against the few perpetrators of Gujarat anti-Muslim genocide and the fact that other perpetrators are only surviving by avoiding trial in a fair court of justice, on the mountains of evidence documented by several Indians, Teesta being a prominent one is by itself a source of hope that India shall overcome hate.
Her memoir, 'Foot Soldier of the constitution's is about how the idea of India envisioned by India's founders and encouraged by the rest of the world against rising tide of the power of hate.
She was a prime mover is clearly establishing through courts of India on the role of Hindutva forces, led by those that controlled Gujarat govt in 2002 and Indian government since 2014.
The convictions she secured against the few perpetrators of Gujarat anti-Muslim genocide and the fact that other perpetrators are only surviving by avoiding trial in a fair court of justice, on the mountains of evidence documented by several Indians, Teesta being a prominent one is by itself a source of hope that India shall overcome hate.
July 22, 2022
This book should have meant more especially now when Teesta Setalvad is in judicial custody. However, the book has left me confused and disappointed. Not only is it very badly edited, the timelines of her work especially with regards to Gujarat Riots 2002 are all over the place.
I borrowed this book from a friend who lived in Gujarat during the infamous riots. I probably wanted to understand more, empathise more, have better arguments backed with data the next time someone tries to talk to me about the riots, but here I am wondering maybe I should finally muster the courage to watch a few documentaries and movies that I have been avoiding for years now.
While I admire Teesta Setalvad's courage to stand up to a highly complex web of politics, bureaucracy and hatred overall, this book did not make it for me.
I borrowed this book from a friend who lived in Gujarat during the infamous riots. I probably wanted to understand more, empathise more, have better arguments backed with data the next time someone tries to talk to me about the riots, but here I am wondering maybe I should finally muster the courage to watch a few documentaries and movies that I have been avoiding for years now.
While I admire Teesta Setalvad's courage to stand up to a highly complex web of politics, bureaucracy and hatred overall, this book did not make it for me.
January 26, 2017
A book which draws parallels of the Hindu Right with Hitler's storm troopers, and calls cow rakshaks as cow taliban, leaves you with no doubt as to the author's leanings. Like a certain prime time journalist, she is married to a Muslim but has maintained her surname(her roots trace back to a famous legal family). This seems like a Muslim narrative about the sins of the Hindu right, while glossing over riots in Bengal etc. Admittedly, she has not been connected to these nor has she defended the rights of the 'majority' community victim. But should that stop her taking a balanced view as suggested in her own book? Anyways, since a memoir need not be necessarily balanced, I've given it the rating it deserved on its merits, and is worth reading for a 'Left' or minority perspective
June 20, 2018
Not just a Memoir
The book clearly talks about why Teesta Setalvad does what she does and also Chronicles her work combined with her political views in a linear manner.
This book in all likelihood will bring you gave to face with the very worse that our society has to offer and if you dig in deep enough you will probably realize that a lot of the ills she talks about are omnipresent around you.
The book though does become a bit of a drag at certain points as it cites a lot of legal details and judgements which can bore the reader.
A definite recommendation for those who wish to see the honest side of being an activist who stands for truth and secularism.
The book clearly talks about why Teesta Setalvad does what she does and also Chronicles her work combined with her political views in a linear manner.
This book in all likelihood will bring you gave to face with the very worse that our society has to offer and if you dig in deep enough you will probably realize that a lot of the ills she talks about are omnipresent around you.
The book though does become a bit of a drag at certain points as it cites a lot of legal details and judgements which can bore the reader.
A definite recommendation for those who wish to see the honest side of being an activist who stands for truth and secularism.
August 2, 2017
Stunning, and hats off for such courage and integrity
Absolutely stunning. Am awed and humbled by the author's courage, integrity, and humanity against state-sponsored intimidation and outright barbarism. A must-read for anyone who cares for the future of a just peaceful constitutional India, and defeating the forces of hate, and a massive Goebbelsian lie and hate machine against minorities and opponents of all stripes
Absolutely stunning. Am awed and humbled by the author's courage, integrity, and humanity against state-sponsored intimidation and outright barbarism. A must-read for anyone who cares for the future of a just peaceful constitutional India, and defeating the forces of hate, and a massive Goebbelsian lie and hate machine against minorities and opponents of all stripes
February 6, 2017
If you have been reading about 2002 Gujarat riots, this book will not provide any new information. It was nice to know about the good work done by Teesta and CJP. People like them keep democracy alive.
This book is a must read.
This book is a must read.
May 7, 2017
Must read book
This is a must read book by Teesta Setalvad, for anyone who wishes to understand the trials and tribulations of India's foremost activist in her path for justice for all. This will shock your conscience and inspire you to become a changemaker.
This is a must read book by Teesta Setalvad, for anyone who wishes to understand the trials and tribulations of India's foremost activist in her path for justice for all. This will shock your conscience and inspire you to become a changemaker.
July 3, 2017
Very detailed documenting about the 2002 riots
Found the read quite enlightening.
Generates respect as well as contempt for the judicial system.
The author jumps very abruptly between topics sometimes which i found troublesome.
Found the read quite enlightening.
Generates respect as well as contempt for the judicial system.
The author jumps very abruptly between topics sometimes which i found troublesome.
June 28, 2022
Here's the story of another militarist monster. Yea, sure. Soldier, because he can endure for a day the life of a news correspondent in an air conditioned room. And here is the constitution, a god, a piece of paper above the lives of millions.
January 10, 2018
I wish they had an option to give Infinite stars to a book. Enlightened and dusgusted. Kudos!
Read
June 10, 2026Most important book to read at any time, to know how to fight against the government and stand for the victims and understand what is justice and how it's important to prevent future riots
February 6, 2017
Must read..
The country owes a debt of gratitude to this brave lady for her commitment to civil rights movement and her fight for justice. A very well written memoir.
The country owes a debt of gratitude to this brave lady for her commitment to civil rights movement and her fight for justice. A very well written memoir.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews