A Facebook post criticising the government provokes a cataclysmic turn in the life of a young Muslim girl. Raised in an Indian city-slum, Jivan is determined to rise above her class status—until, based on her post, she’s framed as the perpetrator of a bomb blast on a local train. Will the courts exonerate her or uphold the accusations? In Megha Majumdar’s literary debut A Burning, out this month, the Kolkata-born, New York-based author delves into issues of class, corruption, and communal hysteria in contemporary India.
HARPER’S BAZAAR: The state victimises Jivan, while other characters betray her for their personal aspirations. What is the biggest crime in the novel?
MEGHA MAJUMDAR: I’d love to hear what a reader’s answer would be, but one path of profound injustice for me is in Jivan’s character. Throughout the book, you see how she has to fight to get a water supply, fight to live in her home, and fight to rise to the middle class. She has to make heartbreaking choices about her freedom.
This story is from the June - July 2020 edition of Harper's Bazaar India.
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This story is from the June - July 2020 edition of Harper's Bazaar India.
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