The Indian criminal justice sytem is like the market for garbage, where innocence and guilt can be bought and sold like polyurethane bags. This is how Abdul, the main character of Katherine Boo’s book on living and dying in a Mumbai slum, makes sense of his tragic life. An extract
TCA Raghavan is a former Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan and Singapore. His first book, Attendant Lords: Abdur Rahim and Bairam Khan: Courtiers and Poets in Mughal India, was awarded the Mohammad Habib Prize by the Indian History Congress. He is also the author of The People Next Door: The Curious History of India’s Relations with Pakistan and History Men: Jadunath Sarkar, G S Sardesai, Raghubir Sinh and Their Quest for India’s Past. His latest book is Circles of Freedom: Love, Friendship and Loyalty in the Indian National Struggle