कोशिश गोल्ड - मुक्त
What's Outside?
Outlook
|August 21, 2024
For political prisoners, freedom becomes a longing for small mercies that make us human

MARYAM was six-the youngest of three siblings-when her father, Khalid Saifi, was arrested following the sectarian violence in northeast Delhi in February 2020. The violence took place against the backdrop of months of protests led by Muslim women at several sites across the national capital and in the country, against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed updates to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR). Maryam's mother Nargis recalls the day as the beginning of "a dark, endless night" that has been written into their fates. "Memories of her father have begun to blur in Maryam's mind," Nargis says. The child can only remember how he looks through photographs and videos. When Nargis asks her husband, now 45, in Delhi's Tihar jail to tell her what "freedom" means to him, he says: "The liberty to watch my children grow up."
At his first appearance in court, Saifi was on a wheelchair, with both his legs in bandages. He had been tortured in police custody and has been denied bail so far. FIR 59/2020, in which Saifi is an accused, is based on an alleged "conspiracy" to orchestrate the February 2020 violence at the peak of the women-led protests against the legislations that were criticised as being discriminatory against Muslims. It invokes sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), which inverts the judicial principle of "bail is the rule, jail is an exception". Among Saifi's seventeen co-accused, only two are Hindus. There were 38 Muslims among the 53 people killed in the violence that raged from February 23 to 26, 2020. Saifi, who was once full of joie de vivre and loved food and travel, now pines only for some time with his family. When he misses his favourite dishes, he asks Nargis to have them-"on my behalf, so I'm content".
यह कहानी Outlook के August 21, 2024 संस्करण से ली गई है।
हजारों चुनिंदा प्रीमियम कहानियों और 10,000 से अधिक पत्रिकाओं और समाचार पत्रों तक पहुंचने के लिए मैगज़्टर गोल्ड की सदस्यता लें।
क्या आप पहले से ही ग्राहक हैं? साइन इन करें
Outlook से और कहानियाँ

Outlook
Scaling New Heights
A remarkable journey of an illustrious personality from policy corridors to corporate strategy
2 mins
October 11, 2025

Outlook
Shaping Futures in the North East
A Visionary educator, Prof (Dr) Sangeeta Tripathi, contributing significantly to the development of education in the North- East of India
2 mins
October 11, 2025

Outlook
Driving The Royal Enfield Phenomenon
Think of motorcycles in India and you will think of Siddhartha Lal. Lal stands out as a trendsetter who has without exaggeration redefined the industry landscape. As the driving force behind Royal Enfield's global resurgence.
2 mins
October 11, 2025

Outlook
Designing Impact
Cultural ambassador and economic powerhouse, eminent designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee is an unusual visionary of India's $5 trillion economy ambition
2 mins
October 11, 2025

Outlook
Bridging Innovation and Impact in Global Agriculture
HarvestPlus Solutions supporting India's present through sustainable innovation and sowing the seeds of a healthier, more resilient, and truly Viksit Bharat
2 mins
October 11, 2025

Outlook
The Face of New-Age Leadership
Mahesh Patil, transforming a single entity into a diversified, resilient, and internationally minded conglomerate, shares his vision on career-making in today's global and interconnected workspace in conversation with Aditi Chakraborty
4 mins
October 11, 2025

Outlook
Preserving Freshness Extending Shelf Life
By championing product safety and shelf life through active packaging innovations, Manish Jain is redefining India's role in global healthcare and food systems
2 mins
October 11, 2025
Outlook
Languishing in Loneliness
How do people deal with the unbearable emptiness of being when the system commodifies everything. including love, sex and companionship
8 mins
October 11, 2025

Outlook
Paving the Future Path
Visionary leader Ashok Kheny pioneering progressive transformation by building award-winning roads, corporate hubs, and sustainable townships for a prosperous and futuristic Bangalore
2 mins
October 11, 2025

Outlook
Pioneering the Fusion of Tradition and Luxury in India's Fashion Renaissance
Redefining Indian fashion by intertwining Bollywood glamour with indigenous crafts, inspiring a legacy of cultural preservation and entrepreneurial vision
2 mins
October 11, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size