| Publisher |
Context |
| Publication Year |
2024 |
| ISBN-13 |
9789360453336 |
| ISBN-10 |
9360453331 |
| Binding |
Paperback |
| Number of Pages |
312 Pages |
| Language |
(English) |
| Weight (grms) |
272 |
| Subject |
Politics & Government |
A POWERFUL LOOK AT INDIA’S AUTHORITARIAN TURN THROUGH THE EXPERIENCES OF POLITICAL PRISONERS.
Silencing and punishing critical voices lie at the heart of the Hindu nationalist project. The Narendra Modi government’s ten-year rule has made this clear: to achieve its political dream of an exclusively ‘Hindu’ India, anyone who dares to question or dissent is a fair target.
In this unique book, Suchitra Vijayan and Francesca Recchia look at the Indian present through the lived experiences of political prisoners. Combining political and legal analysis with first-hand testimonies, the book explores the small gestures that constitute resistance inside and outside jail for the prisoners and their families, telling a story of destruction of institutions and erosion of rights.
How Long Can the Moon Be Caged? includes visual testimonies and prison writings from those falsely accused of inciting the Bhima Koregaon violence, by student leaders opposing the new discriminatory citizenship law passed in 2020 and by activists from the Pinjra Tod’s movement. In bringing together these voices, the book celebrates the courage, humanity and moral integrity of those jailed for standing in solidarity with India’s marginalised and oppressed communities.
Suchitra Vijayan
Suchitra Vijayan was born and raised in Madras, India. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, GQ, The Boston Review, The Hindu and Foreign Policy.
A barrister by training, she previously worked for the United Nations war crimes tribunals in Yugoslavia and Rwanda before co-founding the Resettlement Legal Aid Project in Cairo, which gives legal aid to Iraqi refugees.
She is an award-winning photographer, the founder and executive director of the Polis Project, a hybrid research and journalism organisation. She lives in New York.
Francesca Recchia
Francesca lived and worked for a decade in Afghanistan where, among other things, she was the Acting Director of the Institute for Afghan Arts and Architecture and the Culture Specialist for the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. She is interested in the geopolitical dimension of Cultural processes and in recent years has focused her research on the relation between (tangible and intangible) heritage, politics and creative practices in countries in conflict. Her practice-based work is grounded on an interdisciplinary approach that combines heritage, design, visual and cultural studies.
Suchitra Vijayan
,Francesca Recchia
Context