A book review of Azadi: Fascism, Fiction, and Freedom in the Time of the Virus
Author
Faculty Advisor
Date
2026
Keywords
Arundhati Roy, Canada, India, book review
Abstract (summary)
Arundhati Roy has won many prestigious literary awards, most prominently the 1997 Man Booker Prize for The God of Small Things, but because of her politics, among many Indians she is a target of scorn. This includes seasoned uncles with an axe to grind but also some young, educated, privileged, upper-caste, English-speaking people. There is misogyny involved in this hatred when it comes from young men who nurse their identity issues by lashing out at highly qualified women with sexually crass language and expletives. Others hide their bigotry by weaponizing patriotism, which Samuel Johnson aptly deemed the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Harassment of intellectuals is not unique to Roy, of course. Academics like historian Audrey Truschke have faced similar treatment from Hindu nationalists, as has 94-year-old Romila Thapar in India. Academics in Canada have been threatened by local Hindu nationalists as well. CBC shed light on how Chinnaiah Jangam at Carleton University in Ottawa and others have received hate mail and threats. This harassment by Hindu nationalists, who characterize themselves as victims of “Hinduphobia,” has led Canadian academics to seek help from the police for their own safety and wellbeing.
Publication Information
Jahangir, J. (2026, May 5). A book review of Azadi: Fascism, Fiction, and Freedom in the Time of the Virus. The Media Co-op. https://mediacoop.ca/node/119359
DOI
Notes
Item Type
Review
Language
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA)
