A word in the Kashmiri dialect that loosely translates to “freedom,” although the pathways to freedom, and what freedom means when it is achieved, mean very different things to different members of the Kashmir community.
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Azadi Term Timeline in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
The timeline below shows where the term Azadi appears in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 7
...the forest, Biplab can hear the cries of Kashmiris protesting the deaths of their compatriots. “Azadi! Azadi! Azadi!” they cry. While Biplab understands that the word in their dialect loosely means...
(full context)
...Roman alphabet, all associated with words commonly used in Kashmir. For instance, A is for Azadi, America, Afghan, Ammunition; F is for funerals; H is for HRV (human rights violations), Half-widows,...
(full context)
Chapter 8
...too, was a Kashmiri separatist but, after losing several family members in the struggle for Azadi, or “freedom,” he has come to “see the light.” He also thinks aloud, wondering what...
(full context)
...his son passes, the soldiers open his cell and let him out, saying, “you wanted Azadi? […] Congratulations! Today your wish has come true. Your freedom has come.” Once he is...
(full context)
Chapter 9
...watching the funeral procession of a local professor who was active in the movement for Azadi but disagreed with the more radical new resistance groups. After several warnings from the militants,...
(full context)
...shares that he met Arifa “in the most horrible way” in 1991, when Kashmiris thought Azadi was about to be theirs. Hearing about Musa’s wife makes Tilo remember when she had...
(full context)
...into, but at the same time, it is “debilitating” and “humiliating.” For him, rather than Azadi, the conflict is a fight to maintain the dignity of the Kashmiri people. But he...
(full context)
...funerals of Gulrez and the others that died the day before. Even small children shout Azadi, showing their solidarity with the martyrs that have died. Tilo tells Khadija that she wants...
(full context)
