“I am Hamid Ansari and I am not a spy,” says the man who has just returned to his family and his country after six years in a Pakistani prison. Ansari says he had entered Pakistan for love, and when reality struck, he was caught in the India-Pakistan diplomatic heat. After 2,232 days in captivity, he speaks to Geeta Mohan.
Q. When did you get to know that you were being sent back to India?
I got to know about my release on Tuesday morning. I was so happy that I did not want to waste even a single moment and immediately started preparing myself—mentally as well as emotionally.
Q. What was your first reaction?
When I saw my parents waiting on the other side of the border, I asked the Pakistani authorities to complete the formalities quickly; I wanted to run to my mother.
Q. Why did you enter Pakistan?
Denne historien er fra December 31, 2018-utgaven av India Today.
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Denne historien er fra December 31, 2018-utgaven av India Today.
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Killer Stress
Unhealthy work practices in Indian companies are taking a toll on employees, triggering health issues and sometimes even death
Shuttle Star
Ashwini Ponnappa was the only Indian to compete in the inaugural edition of BDMNTN-XL, a new international badminton tourney with a new format, held in Indonesia
There's No Planet B
All Living Things-Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) returns with 72 films to be screened across multiple locations from Nov. 22 to Dec. 8
AMPED UP AND UNPLUGGED
THE MAHINDRA INDEPENDENCE ROCK FESTIVAL PROMISES AN INTERESTING LINE-UP OF OLD AND NEW ACTS, CEMENTING ITS REPUTATION AS THE 'WOODSTOCK OF INDIA'
A Musical Marriage
Faezeh Jalali has returned to the Prithvi Theatre Festival with Runaway Brides, a hilarious musical about Indian weddings
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
Nikhil Advani’s adaptation of Freedom at Midnight details our tumultuous transition to an independent nation
Family Saga
RAMONA SEN's The Lady on the Horse doesn't lose its pace while narrating the story of five generations of a family in Calcutta
THE ETERNAL MOTHER
Prayaag Akbar's new novel delves into the complexities of contemporary India
TURNING A NEW LEAF
Since the turn of the century, we have lost hundreds of thousands of trees. Many had stood for centuries, weathering storms, wars, droughts and famines.
INDIA'S BEATING GREEN HEART
Ramachandra Guha's new book-Speaking with Nature-is a chronicle of homegrown environmentalism that speaks to the world
