Summary

In “Azadi,” Roy focuses on the Kashmir uprising in 2008. She explains that the Indian state has used money, violence, propaganda, torture, and rigged elections to subdue the Kashmiri people. According to Roy, the protests began when the government decided to transfer 100 acres of state-owned forest land to the Amarnath Shrine Board, which manages an annual Hindu pilgrimage to the Himalayas in Kashmir. The transfer triggered fears that the state was planning to build Israeli-style settlements, and change the demography of the valley” (171).

Roy describes the protest, detailing the words marchers chanted (“Hum Kya Chahtey? Azadi!” or “We Want Freedom!”) and the rallies held. She describes the signs she saw, including “Democracy without Justice is Demon-crazy” (176), and signs supporting Pakistan, such as “What does Freedom mean? There is no god but Allah” (177). Roy confesses that, as a non-Muslim, the connection between freedom and religion is...